How to Measure for a Belt

The belt I made to wear on my wedding day.

I guarantee my belts to fit the measurement provided, I cannot guarantee it will fit the person it was intended for without taking the measure myself. Taking the best possible measurement is critical to ensuring you are pleased with your purchase, but don't worry, this article should give you a good understanding of everything required to do just that.

Made to measure belts are one of the few exceptions to my no questions asked return policy.

What Not To Do

Customers often come prepared to present me with their pant sizes when ordering, but that number simply doesn't tell me what I need to know.

Every clothing brand handles sizing differently, clothing stretches and shrinks with time, and for those and a dozen other reasons, the measure printed on a pair of pants is not always a true reporting of the distance around the waistband.

What We Do Instead

We will take a measure off of another belt, and to ensure the most accurate result, we will measure the belt as it is worn over the same style of pants as you would like to wear with your new belt, and using the same style of buckle as you intend to wear with the belt.

Put on the those pants and adjust your old belt as you would like the new belt to fit. If you are on either the first or the last holes in the belt, ask yourself if this is indeed how you want the new belt to fit? If we measure off the belt while it is too tight or too loose, that is how your new belt will feel.

You could do this with multiple pairs of pants to come up with a range rather than a single number if you wanted to be able to wear the belt with both higher and lower rise pants.

Taking the Measure

For the absolute best results, you will need a flexible seamstresses tape measure and a second set of hands to help. These tape measures are cheap and useful for much more than sewing, so it might be worth ordering one if you do already own one. This can be done alone and with a metal tape, it is just a bit fussier, with a bit more room for error. With your belt comfortably adjusted, thread the seamstress tape measure through your belt loops and over top of the belt. Making sure the tape is taught, and with a second set of eyes confirming that the tape is running down the center of the belt all the way around your waist without slipping off anywhere, note the number where the tape overlaps.

This is your belt measure. It represents the right distance around your waist, at the right height on your waist, while also accounting for material thickness. Jot it down and send it to me. If you only have an inflexible measuring tape, you will need to mark or remember the hole you've used, remove the old belt, place it flat on a table, do your best to get any warp or curve out of the belt, and measure from the tip of the prong of the buckle, to the marked hole or holes.

Do not measure from the fold of the belt where the buckle attaches. We need to account for the length of the buckle itself too because that makes up some of the distance around your waist as well.

A Few Other Things To Consider

Before I get started on your order, here are a few other questions that will help me deliver the best possible product for your needs.

What styles of buckle do you intend to wear this belt with?

Will you be wearing this with a trophy style buckle, or a simpler, heel-bar style, or would you like the option of switching back and forth? If you'll be using multiple buckles, how wide is your widest buckle, and how narrow is your most narrow buckle? For this, measure from the tip of the prong to the bar the belt wraps around.

I usually do 7 adjustment holes, 3/4 of an inch apart, which would give a range of just over 5 inches, which is a bit less than most department store belts, with a bit finer adjustment. Does this range around your belt measure feel sufficient?

Due to medication, recent happy marriages, exercise journeys, or for any other reason, do you have any expectations of gaining or loosing weight in the near future that would mean I should bias the adjustment of the belt in one direction or the other?

What if I do not have a belt that fits well?

I really do not have any other good way to take this measurement. I would recommend borrowing a belt from a friend with a similar build if possible, or maybe buying a cheap belt for the purposes of taking the measure. You can try to arrive at a measure on your own through creative means, but you do so at your own risk. If you do try to get creative with rope or something keep in mind the following three things. You need to account for the right distance around your waist, at the right height on your waist, while also accounting for material thickness.