How to take the waist measurement

Most salespeople will measure a customer's waist just above the waistband of the pant he is wearing. This technique works as long as the customer doesn't have "love handles". Since a good majority of people do have some extra love in the middle area these days, we've found that it's more accurate to measure a customer directly ON TOP of the waistband of the pant he is wearing.

By measuring on top of the waistband, you follow the angle of the pant on his hips at exactly the spot where he likes his pants to rest. If you go above the waistband, you'll almost always get a bigger measurement than you need.

The second step is to subtract for the thickness of the waistband fabric. If the customer's pants are a light-to-medium weight wool, and they fit well, subtract ONE INCH from the measurement you took. If his pants fit very loose (if he recently lost weight for example), either have him wear a pant from your inventory (one that fits better than his own) to get a better measurement, or subtract TWO inches instead, since you will get extra folds in the waistband when it's too loose, causing a larger measurement than you need.

Also, if he is wearing very thick pants like Corduroy, Denim, or a very heavy wool, causing the waistband to be quite thick, you should also subtract TWO inches from the measurement taken over the waistband.

By following these rules, you should get very good results.

How to take the seat measurement

Measuring the seat is actually quite easy. There is a difference however, when measuring a man versus measuring a woman. Men need to have more room in their pants since they're built differently than women. Most factories receiving your orders will assume that you have taken this into account when writing the seat measurement on your order. If the factory you deal with has given you their measurement specs for their pants, and they show a difference of 8 inches between the waist and seat measurement, they are likely assuming you are adding ease. If they are showing a 6 or 7 inch difference, they are likely assuming you are giving a measurement without ease, and they add their own amount into the pattern.

You should contact any factory you currently send orders to, to find out if they're assuming that you've added ease to the seat measurement you write on your orders. If not, your job is simple since you just need to put the tape around the largest part of the seat, and write down the measurement you get. Don't pull the tape too tight. It's always better to err on the loose side for this measurement.

If you do need to add ease for the factory you work with, there is the question of how to do it. Some people stick two fingers between the tape and the customer's body, and some just use instinct to loosen the tape by an amount they think will work. We've developed a formula that produces great results, since it takes into account that larger men need more room than smaller men, and applies more ease in their case. The chart below will guide you to add an amount that will give you good results more consistently.

Regardless of whether you need to add ease or not, when you measure your customer's seat it's very important to MAKE SURE THAT HIS FEET ARE TOGETHER. For some customers, this will make a significant difference.