Most exchange requests we receive come down to one thing: the size was chosen from memory rather than from a tape. "I am usually a large" is a reasonable starting point in a shop where you can try three of them. It is a guess when the piece is being cut for you in Nilambur and posted to your door.
Ten minutes with a tape measure fixes it. Here is how to do it properly.
What you need
A soft tailoring tape. Not a steel builder's tape, and not a piece of string you plan to hold against a ruler afterwards — string stretches and you will lose two centimetres without noticing.
Wear the underwear you would wear with the gown, and nothing bulky over it. Stand in front of a mirror if you can; it is the easiest way to check the tape is level at the back, which is where most errors happen.
The four measurements
Bust. Around the fullest part of the chest, tape flat across the back and level all the way round. Breathe normally and let your arms fall. Do not pull the tape tight — it should sit against you, not compress you.
The commonest mistake here is letting the tape ride up at the back. In a mirror, the tape should look horizontal from behind, not like a smile.
Waist. The narrowest part of your torso, usually an inch or so above the navel. Find it by bending sideways — the crease that forms is your natural waist.
Do not hold your stomach in. You are going to wear this gown for a whole evening, including after dinner.
Hip. The fullest part, roughly 20 cm below the waist, standing with your feet together. Feet apart widens the measurement and pushes you up a size you do not need.
Length. From the highest point of your shoulder — where a bra strap sits — straight down the front of the body to exactly where you want the hem. This is the measurement almost everyone skips, and it is the one that decides whether a gown looks made for you or borrowed.
Take it in the shoes you plan to wear. Two inches of heel changes the answer.
Reading the numbers
Compare your three body measurements against our size guide. The tables list bust, waist and hip in both centimetres and inches, from XS to 6XL, plus the finished length of each style.
Two rules make the reading easy.
Go by the largest of the three. If your bust says medium and your hip says large, take the large. Fabric can be taken in at the waist by any tailor for a hundred rupees. Nothing can be added to a hip that does not close.
Between two sizes, take the larger one. Our cuts are relaxed by design, and a gown that skims reads more expensive than one that pulls across the seat. This is particularly true in Korean nida, which has no stretch at all.
Where people go wrong
Measuring a garment instead of a body. Laying an old kurta flat and doubling the width tells you about that kurta, not about you — and it silently adds whatever ease that maker chose.
Measuring over a thick dupatta or a cardigan. Add nothing but the underwear.
Pulling the tape. A tape pulled snug rather than resting adds a size of error across three measurements.
Trusting a size letter. There is no standard behind XL in modest wear. Our XL is 42 inches at the bust; another label's might be 40 or 44. The numbers are the only thing that transfers.
Length, specifically for gowns
A floor-length gown that is genuinely floor length is hard to walk in and collects everything off the floor. A gown that stops at the ankle bone looks deliberate and stays clean.
Our gowns run 140 to 147 cm from shoulder to hem depending on size. If you are under about 5 feet 2, that will sit on the floor with flat shoes and you should plan on a small hem alteration; over about 5 feet 8, it will sit at the ankle. Neither is a fault in the gown — it is a fact about hems, and knowing it in advance costs nothing.
If you want a specific finished length, message us before you order. On made-to-order styles we can sometimes cut to it.
When you are still unsure
Send us the three numbers on WhatsApp at +91 62381 54017, tell us the piece you are looking at, and we will tell you which size to take. We would far rather answer that message than process an exchange — and there are no refunds, only exchanges, so getting it right first time genuinely matters here.
When you are ready, start with the pieces in ready to ship, which leave us in 1–2 working days, or browse the full gown range. The shipping and exchange page has the rest of the detail.