The following is how we measure by laying clothing flat:

(Shirts & Dresses) Chest/Bust: armpit T-seam to armpit T-seam and doubled. 

Length: bottom hem to neck/shoulder seam. 

Shoulders: shoulder T-seam to shoulder T-seam. 

Sleeves: shoulder T-seam to sleeve end.  If no seam, measured from the neck T-seam and noted. 

Waist: 8” down from armpit T-seam, across, and doubled. 

Hips: 15” down from armpit T-seam, across, and doubled. 

(Pants) Waist: across belt line and doubled. 

Hips: 7” down from waist, across, and doubled. 

Length: top corner to bottom corner.  Inseam: crotch seam to bottom corner. 

Ankle hem: across and doubled. 

*Measurements in the glory days ran smaller than they do now.  For example, a label from the 70's that reads "Large" may fit much smaller than a current day "Large".  Please measure a piece of clothing that you love the fit of the way we measure our clothes, and then you’ll know…At the end of each description we usually give the approximate modern size, generally determined by the chest or waist measurement by itself, so please be aware that this may not be accurate and should only be used as a guide.  Especially with thicker lined items like coats, our measurements taken from the outside may not represent a true measurement from the inside.  It is still and always best to measure a piece of your clothing and compare the two sets of measurements. 

Please also notice that a lot of our listings have our measurements in the headings so that you can determine if the product is worth clicking on.  Listings that are followed by a letter or measurements within quotation marks are from the label.  Elastic bands will also be in quotations.  Depending on what the clothing is and whether it's men's or women's, the rule of thumb in the heading is chest/waist/hips.  For men's pants it's waist/inseam.