Measurements needed for a surprise gift!

[lafarat]

My friend and I went to the Angelic Pretty Booth at Sakura-con, and she was absolutely mesmerized by sweet and classic lolita. She had never seen anything like it before, and she was rendered speechless by it. Her expression, those wide star-struck eyes; I knew and had shared that face when I held my first piece in my hands. It was love at first

Comments

[pastelchan]

I'm quite petite, I normally wear a (europe) size XS/S and I'm 5 feet I believe. personally, I always check the total lenght of the dress or skirt (for me it's between 90-95 centimeters for dresses, 50-55cm for skirts) and sleevelenght is important too (60cm max). When I'm sewing something, I don't really use any seams to make more room for the bust, as I'm quite flatchested. it's not really needed. I also like lacing and waistties, because if something is too big, I can always tighten it. the lenght of the bodice is also important to me, I normally use 37cm from shoulder to waist. I have a 78cm bust (bra size 70/75A in Europe) and 61cm waist.

I hope this helps a bit :)

[cemetery_dreams]

I used to be a UK size 4 - 6 which would be an American 0 - 2 I believe.

At that time I had a 31-32 inch bust (78 - 81cm) and wore a 30B bra size (narrow back), 22 inch waist (56cm) and 32 inch hips (81cm)

[has a little cry about how she'll never be that thin again]

I'm 5 ft 3 too - but I have a long torso and short legs, so sometimes regular t shirts and stuff are a bit short on me, but jeans are always too long. I just measured my skirts and the ones that fall just above/on the knee are all around 50 - 55cm long, but if your friend has longer legs you might want to add a little to that?

Shirring is always useful, but I actually prefer to have lacing because I'm pretty flat chested (even though my waist is 25- 26 inches, my bust is still only 33 inches) and it helps to be able to bring it in at the top!

[cemetery_dreams]

Btw I think it's a lovely idea to make a dress for your friend =]

[angelicrabbit]

I'm taller than your friend but probably about the same clothes size. My measurements are 29/20.5/32. I find myself needing to get clothes altered if they are 'one size fits all', as I have a very small bust and waist. I agree with Cemetery Dreams that lacing is useful. :) Really nice of you to do this for your friend and I'd love to see a picture when it's finished!

[clarice]

If her US off the rack size range is 00-2 and she's buying standard brands targeted at adults, she's probably around a 32" bust, 24" waist, give or take. I'm the same height as your friend but my average size is a 4. The bodices on western dresses are usually too long for me unless they're meant to be a little high waisted, in which case they hit me at the waist. 5'3" is the border between petite and standard clothing, so a 5'3" woman with a short torso (like me) will often wear petite bodices, but a 5'3" woman with a long torso will usually wear a standard size. Unless you can sneakily measure some of her clothing you'll just have to guess on torso proportions, but you might want to err toward cutting it slightly shorter than standard. A slightly high waisted dress is more flattering than low waisted dress.

[sweetokashi]

I'm probably about the same size as your friend. I'm just about 5ft, 3.75 inches tall; and like her, I usually wear a size 00-2 in Misses, and about a 3 (Medium) in Juniors. Currently, I've got a 33" bust, 25.5" waist.

When I sew dresses for myself, I usually use a 10 or 12 in commercial pattern sizes, or a size M or L in the Otome no Sewing Books. I try to go for skirt hem lengths between 21 and 23 inches. Waist ties, corset lacing, and shirring will all help your friend wear this dress better. Seeing as your friend is petite, just about any style of Lolita dress should look good, but take caution in how long you make the bodice. I find some brands like AP to be a little (annoyingly) short-waisted on me, but others like JetJ and Meta hit me just right.