Where is hip exactly?

[jane_marie]

I'm just curious around where people think hip is. I have looked and this particular body marker seems to vary a lot.

I thought that Hip length starts when hair hit the upmost part of the iliac crest. Is that correct?

Here's an image of the bones that make up the pelvic region. Which label does hip start at in your opinion?

https://cdn.britannica.com/99/120999-050-8E7B574A/Bones-girdle.jpg

[neko_kawaii]

Top of the iliac has always been my interpretation.

[shelomit]

Ah, this explains some of my confusion about the term--I had always envisioned it as the widest point of the hips, usually hitting around the top of the femurs where they joint in.

[jane_marie]

Ah, this explains some of my confusion about the term--I had always envisioned it as the widest point of the hips, usually hitting around the top of the femurs where they joint in.

Oh wow! I thought that was basically classic!

[MusicalSpoons]

Ah, this explains some of my confusion about the term--I had always envisioned it as the widest point of the hips, usually hitting around the top of the femurs where they joint in.

At first reading this I thought 'whaaaaaaat?! :confused:' but actually it makes sense, as that's generally where you measure your 'hips' for clothing!

At LHC we tend to prefer anatomical correctness thankfully, for ease of consensus (most of the time, with TBL being an exception for some) so I also thought it was where you put your hands on your hips - the top of the iliac crest.

[blackgothicdoll]

Idk if it's just me, but if you poke around there you can feel your bones. In my case, they are very close to waist. Maybe start at the waist and poke downward until you feel the bone where your upper leg connects.

[Milady_DeWinter]

Where you can feel your hip bones in the front.

[Bri-Chan]

I was asking the same some days ago. What made me confused, were also the hair length chart I found: there hip length looks like BCL

[rhosyn_du]

Ah, this explains some of my confusion about the term--I had always envisioned it as the widest point of the hips, usually hitting around the top of the femurs where they joint in.

Widest point of the hips can vary so much person to person, though. I'm very much not gluteally-blessed, and the widest point of my hips is about an inch below my iliac crest.

[knobbly]

I'm sure you can use whatever bony landmarks you like, but for short-waisted me, there's very little difference between waist and the posterior iliac crest, so for my goal, I'm going for my PSIS (posterior superior iliac spine) which is a landmark not on the graphic as you can only see it when taking a posterior view of the pelvis.

https://images.app.goo.gl/tJmYNE7ZshkTkbn6A

[Dark40]

I would say hip length hair is right where your kidneys are on the sides. Or, lower back part.

[Spikey]

For LHC in general, most that I've seen use the iliac. But personally? My waist is basically the top of my iliac, give an inch or two :p. So to give myself a marker between waist and bcl I call the top of my mid-rise jeans hip.

[SnowSpot]

Yay, these are my favorite kinds of conversations! :D

Someone mentioned measuring hip for clothing. Whereas the consumer usually needs just one measurement, from a clothmaker’s point of view there are actually 2 or even 3 measurements of hip, depending on the anatomy. Basically there are upper hip and lower hip measures and sometimes a second lower hip too. I may have to draft a chart of some sort for you to see...

The anatomy varies so much that I think it’s difficult to make the exact all-valid definitions. The height of the hip is one thing and the slopeness is another.

Personally, for myself, I would call ”hip length” the point where you are half way from waist to TBL. That’s about where my ”upper hip” measure would be. But I believe there’s a variation between individuals :)

[squirrrel]

That sounds really interesting SnowSpot.

For me, with a measurement of heading for four inches, it was easiest to call hip part way down the bottom bone of the spine I think. With the way the ligaments and skin come together, it makes a distinct bump at about the correct place on me. Is this possibly the PSIS you mentioned Knobbly?

[squirrrel]

That sounds really interesting SnowSpot.

For me, with a measurement of heading for four inches, it was easiest to call hip part way down the bottom bone of the spine I think. With the way the ligaments and skin come together, it makes a distinct bump at about the correct place on me. Is this possibly the PSIS you mentioned Knobbly?

[SleepyTangles]

I consider 'the hip' the wider part of my hips. I can't really feel my bones ;)

[Ylva]

I consider hip length to be the top of the iliac where you can place your hands and look determined and tough. It's a clear location in my opinion.

That makes the stretch to BCL rather long on me, and my distance from waist to hip is very short, but oh well, bodies aren't fair.

[MidnightMoon]

I measure it like Milady, I put my index fingers where my bones in the front are, and my thumbs behind, and call it at that point. Additionally, there are the lower back dimples (apparently called dimples of Venus?) which are maybe a bit lower but definitely hip, so any of those two. But in my case I have very defined hips and both my tailbone and classic are much below on me, so there's no confusion.

[squirrrel]

These lower back dimples are either side of the area I choose to measure as hip. They are likely part of what makes the ’bump’ I mentioned so clear.

[florenonite]

Top of the iliac crest, as others have said. Typically the progression is waist, hip, tailbone then classic, so it's not the widest part of the hips (the seat, as I've seen it called in clothing) as that would be between tailbone and classic.

[jane_marie]

Thanks all! So by the sound of it, for those of use that are short, (5'3" here) hip could be about 2.5 inches past waist? Does that sound right?

That's where the top of my iliac crest is for me. I feel like most of my milestones are really squished together.

[CopperButterfly]

I mean even on a talk person, like me, hip and waist can be really close. For me it's only about 3 inches, but I've got a long haul between hip and TBL.

[jane_marie]

I mean even on a talk person, like me, hip and waist can be really close. For me it's only about 3 inches, but I've got a long haul between hip and TBL.

Yeah... I'm not looking forward to that. I have a big but so my hair will have to travel over and out. :lol:

[blackgothicdoll]

Thanks all! So by the sound of it, for those of use that are short, (5'3" here) hip could be about 2.5 inches past waist? Does that sound right?

That's where the top of my iliac crest is for me. I feel like most of my milestones are really squished together.

I'm 5'6 and it's barely two inches. I don't have much of a torso. Really depends on body type.

[jane_marie]

I'm 5'6 and it's barely two inches. I don't have much of a torso. Really depends on body type.

Huh... maybe I should remeasure. I think I was likely being generous in the inches because I thought there was no way it could be that short of a distance.

Thanks for the help!

[Ylva]

5'4 and for me, waist and hip are less than two inches away from one another.

[jane_marie]

5'4 and for me, waist and hip are less than two inches away from one another.

Okay! Thanks Ylva!

[Bri-Chan]

I'm am 5'3'' too, but with a long torso. I need about 3 inches from WL to the iliac crest. I'm at 33 inches now, I still need about an inch to be there

[knobbly]

These lower back dimples are either side of the area I choose to measure as hip. They are likely part of what makes the ’bump’ I mentioned so clear.

Sacral dimples are medial of the PSIS, so I agree with this 😉

[MidnightMoon]

Just measured. I'm 165 or 166 cm (5, 5 feet??) tall and on me it's 8cm (3.15 inches?) under my waist. But I can only imagine it can vary a lot from person to person. I have a typical pear shape.

[florenonite]

I'm 167cm-ish/5'6" and it's 10cm/4" from waist to hip for me and then 6cm/2.5" from hip to tailbone. I have a long torso for my height, but all the height in my torso is above BSL and below hip, so those measurements get squished together (it's 5cm/2" from BSL to waist for me).

[lapushka]

I know we measure when it hits the hipbones, not when it hits the widest part of you (dress-size hip).

[Deborah]

Hip length refers to the usual place where hips are measured for clothing, i.e., wherever your hip measures the largest. It's not based on the bone placement, (you need an xray for that) but rather on where you are the largest. That is why hip placement differs so much from person to person. Using a tape measure you measure where you are the largest below your waist. On most people this includes the buttocks, while on some it is above the buttocks.

[knobbly]

Hip length refers to the usual place where hips are measured for clothing, i.e., wherever your hip measures the largest. It's not based on the bone placement, (you need an xray for that) but rather on where you are the largest. That is why hip placement differs so much from person to person. Using a tape measure you measure where you are the largest below your waist. On most people this includes the buttocks, while on some it is above the buttocks.

You don’t need an X-ray to see where the bones are, you just need to poke yourself with your fingers. 😉

[Dark40]

I'm 4'11" and for me, hip length from WL is 3 inches. Because, I have a short torso. I agree with some of the comments on hip being where the dimples are.

[Bri-Chan]

Hip length refers to the usual place where hips are measured for clothing, i.e., wherever your hip measures the largest. It's not based on the bone placement, (you need an xray for that) but rather on where you are the largest. That is why hip placement differs so much from person to person. Using a tape measure you measure where you are the largest below your waist. On most people this includes the buttocks, while on some it is above the buttocks.

But, according to this, hip length coincides with other milestones, like BCL or TBL

[MusicalSpoons]

You don’t need an X-ray to see where the bones are, you just need to poke yourself with your fingers. ��

My brother is pretty obese and he can't feel them exactly, but he still knows where they are without an x-ray :rolling:

[jane_marie]

But, according to this, hip length coincides with other milestones, like BCL or TBL

Yeah, that's sort of what I was thinking.

[lapushka]

Yeah, that's sort of what I was thinking.

It's waist, hip, BCL, TBL, in that order; always has been on LHC as far as I remember. :)

[shelomit]

Oh wow! I thought that was basically classic!

That was what I was confused about, since for most people that would put classic just barely below hip-length, making them very close to equivalent. . . I just kept my confusion to myself and was grateful that I'm somewhere in the vast thigh expanse where there is very little ambiguity ( ;

[shelomit]

At first reading this I thought 'whaaaaaaat?! :confused:' but actually it makes sense, as that's generally where you measure your 'hips' for clothing!



Fair thought--I've done a lot of sewing over the years, so that probably influenced my ideas about hips and their location!

[shelomit]

Widest point of the hips can vary so much person to person, though. I'm very much not gluteally-blessed, and the widest point of my hips is about an inch below my iliac crest.

"Gluteally-blessed"! I love it ( : I'm not accustomed to thinking of the prodigious size of that particular anatomical feature as a positive in my own case, so you have reminded me to "count my blessings"!

[squirrrel]

I find this interesting. For me, the widest part of my hips doesn’t really feel like my hips at all. I’m measuring round my upper thighs, just below where the ball fits into the socket. On me, that’s between tailbone and classic. I would never call my hair hip length at that point. Another place where dress making and anatomy require two different perspectives.

[MidnightMoon]

I find this interesting. For me, the widest part of my hips doesn’t really feel like my hips at all. I’m measuring round my upper thighs, just below where the ball fits into the socket. On me, that’s between tailbone and classic. I would never call my hair hip length at that point. Another place where dress making and anatomy require two different perspectives.

But everyone else here agreed that's also not where they call it hip. For dress making it's relevant only because on many women this part is much wider than the "upper hip", I guess?

[Dark40]

I agree with squirrel. I wouldn't call the widest part of my hips hip length hair either. Hip is where your spine ends.

[knobbly]

I agree with squirrel. I wouldn't call the widest part of my hips hip length hair either. Hip is where your spine ends.

Well, no. Your spine ends at the tip of your coccyx (tailbone.)

[Dark40]

Well, no. Your spine ends at the tip of your coccyx (tailbone.)

Oh yeah, that's true but I wouldn't say hip length is at he widest part of the hips. That's to far down.

[ynne]

Waist to LHC hip is about 5 cm for me (~1.95 inches?), so quite close as well. But I have a long way to go to waist still!

I'll have to join the others who would assume it is the usual "hips" definition, used in clothing context – the widest point. :) So it is helpful to know that LHC defines it this way instead!

[Belgrade Beauty]

I use the method of shots(Injections)...When a nurse is giving you a shot,she does it in the hip, she finds it on the front side ,(Antirior supirior iliac spine on your picture) and then draws her finger across the side to the back side aka gluteus :) That is where I post my hands when taking length photos since that is the goal I'm chasing...I try to find it on front side..:)

[squirrrel]

But everyone else here agreed that's also not where they call it hip. For dress making it's relevant only because on many women this part is much wider than the "upper hip", I guess?

Mmmm... I was really responding to the one or two who are saying otherwise. I called hip a while back, and am still nowhere near the dress making relevant area. Sorry for any confusion. :)