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chahuahuas
July 12th, 2011, 08:10 AM
I've had some confusion on where hip length is (since I'm not a very hip-y girl). I finally settled on a point below my hip bones, but it seems to be really close to BCL for me.

I've browsed some other threads, and it seems some ladies consider "hair length hip" to be at the hip bones. Hip bones are higher up than the "clothes" measurement of the waist, which is the widest point of your waist (which is where low rise jeans fall, I think.) I feel the clothes measurement would be better to go by, because my hip bones jut out so close to my waist, it's basically at waist for me.

So where do you guys consider hip length to be? Is your version of hip length higher or lower than BCL? Is it really close to your waist, or is it closer to tailbone? Or is it right in the middle for you?

pink.sara
July 12th, 2011, 08:18 AM
Waist would be the smallest part of your torso (usually around your bellybutton or elbow length, not the widest part or where shop bought jeans come up to. So the widest part of your hip bones will be a few inches below that, then BCL or butt crack length will be below that a few inches more.
I have a very hourglass body and long legs so these measurements are close together on me (i can feel my hipbones right under my waist) but waist is still 3 inches above my widest hip part then 4 inches to BCL for example. :)

I guess we use that as it gives us more goals between waist and classic (which seem like a long way when you're focused on growing I noticed!) ;)

Alaia
July 12th, 2011, 08:23 AM
Waist would be the smallest part of your torso (usually around your bellybutton or elbow length, not the widest part or where shop bought jeans come up to. So your hip bones will be a few inches below that, then BCL or butt crack length will be below that a few inches more.


This.

The difference between waist and hip for me is about 4", hip to BCL 4", and then after that about another 4" to TB (then only 4" to classic :eyebrows: ).

QueenJoey
July 12th, 2011, 08:24 AM
As pink.sara said, waist is the smallest part of your torso beneath the rib cage. So hip is a bit lower than that where the hip bone juts out the farthest. You can feel it.

BCL is right where your butt crack starts. I doubt it could be higher than hip, since the body just isn't really designed that way, but I don't know how everyone is.

Hip is a few inches below waist and a few inches above BCL. BCL is very close to TBL

Elysium
July 12th, 2011, 08:28 AM
IMO, hip length is where your sides start to curve outwards again, about 3-4" below the bellybutton. Some people count hip length as the widest part of your thighs, like just before they meet your torso :shrug:

squiggyflop
July 12th, 2011, 08:38 AM
it depends on your body.. my hips are MUCH higher than BCL.. about 5 inches or so.. however my hips are just 2-3 inches from waist (i have a short torso).. everyones skeletal system is different..

hip is where the actual bones start..

elbow chic
July 12th, 2011, 08:42 AM
Higher.

I think a lot of people think their waist is further down than it is-- like where their hips start, basically. I blame a youth spent in low-rise jeans.

So waist, then hip, then your buttcrack, then your tailbone, and then classic.

It confused me for awhile too. In sewing, your hip measurement is at the widest part of your butt, basically, which is for me a lot further down than "hip" for LHC purposes.

kamikaze hair
July 12th, 2011, 09:24 AM
cheers elbow chick!

you just made that really clear for me, i've been wondering for a while now exactly what order thats suppose to go in...

:cheese:PARTY PARTY PARTY!!!!! the cheese says PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!

Lianna
July 12th, 2011, 09:37 AM
Now I see how it can be confusing since the hip measure for clothes is further down (around bum).

This chart (http://images27.fotki.com/v995/photos/1/1037193/4630639/HairLengthsChart-vi.jpg) might help too.

Anje
July 12th, 2011, 09:44 AM
Higher for just about everyone. Different people have different definitions, but I tend to consider "hip" to be the top of the pelvis, illiac-crest length. (ETA: On my short-torsoed body, that's actually a smidge above the point of my elbows.) Hip for clothes, which is the widest point, is somewhere between TB and classic for me.

MsBubbles
July 12th, 2011, 09:49 AM
Well get this, I have a really long bum area because I have sticky out hip bones right below my waist, and the widest part of my hips encompasses the entire area from those higher hip bones, down to the tops of my saddle-bags. So then I would have hip length hair from about 36" to 40". I have a square butt. No nice curvy bum for me. So where is hip, in that case? The measurement is the same width up at the top part, in the middle and at the bottom.

Lianna
July 12th, 2011, 09:58 AM
Well get this, I have a really long bum area because I have sticky out hip bones right below my waist, and the widest part of my hips encompasses the entire area from those higher hip bones, down to the tops of my saddle-bags. So then I would have hip length hair from about 36" to 40". I have a square butt. No nice curvy bum for me. So where is hip, in that case? The measurement is the same width up at the top part, in the middle and at the bottom.

I'm like that too, for buying clothes (online) I go buy the larger measurement, or it won't fit. The largest on me is around my hip bones (I blame my belly though :p)

Anje
July 12th, 2011, 10:06 AM
For me, the widest point is about where the femurs join the pelvis.

MsBubbles, I'd still say "hip" is top-of-pelvis, and it can be pretty close to waist, depending on the person. For others, waist is closer to just under the boobs. Waists in particular move a lot with build and weight, which is one reason why I'm all for skeletal markers, even if it seems a bit strange. That, and I'm just a geek.

chahuahuas
July 12th, 2011, 10:21 AM
I know my waist is the smallest part, guys! I can find that just fine. You just take a ribbon, and where ever it can go around your body tightest, that's waist. Easy Peasy :p


IMO, hip length is where your sides start to curve outwards again, about 3-4" below the bellybutton. Some people count hip length as the widest part of your thighs, like just before they meet your torso :shrug:

THIS is my problem! My widest part is near my tailbone/thighs, since I don't have much on the way of hips. My side actually dips inwards a little underneath where my hipbone juts out, if that makes any sense... Seriously, I'm built like a boy (besides the boobs+butt)



hip is where the actual bones start..

See, some people think it IS where the bones start. If that's the case, my hips are just a couple inches (if that) below my waist!

And if it's the widest part, then my hip length would be below BCL!




It confused me for awhile too. In sewing, your hip measurement is at the widest part of your butt, basically, which is for me a lot further down than "hip" for LHC purposes.

Again, exactly! But If it's further down for LHC purposes, what landmark do you use to define it?

elbow chic
July 12th, 2011, 10:30 AM
See, some people think it IS where the bones start. If that's the case, my hips are just a couple inches (if that) below my waist!


That doesn't sound abnormal to me. If you aren't all that tall, you have less distance between landmarks than someone who's taller, and not everyone has perfectly evenly spaced landmarks anyway. :)

pink.sara
July 12th, 2011, 11:33 AM
Just to clarify, when I said hip was the widest part, I meant the broadest part of your hip bones not the fattest bit ;) if that were the case my "hips" would be bubble butt length, and my best friends would be halfway down her thighs...
Lol.
I'd say if we all go by skeletal structure we will know what we are referencing. :)
(Obviously we will all have very different measurements to get to those physical markers.)

Mrspuddinhead
July 12th, 2011, 11:39 AM
Waist would be the smallest part of your torso (usually around your bellybutton or elbow length, not the widest part or where shop bought jeans come up to. So the widest part of your hip bones will be a few inches below that, then BCL or butt crack length will be below that a few inches more.
I have a very hourglass body and long legs so these measurements are close together on me (i can feel my hipbones right under my waist) but waist is still 3 inches above my widest hip part then 4 inches to BCL for example. :)

I guess we use that as it gives us more goals between waist and classic (which seem like a long way when you're focused on growing I noticed!) ;)

I was having some confusion about waist so thank you very much. Now that I look at it, waist seems awfully far. I measure in at 24", 2" below BSL. BSL on me is 22". I think my waist is some where around 30". So June of 2012 hopefully I shall be there.

chahuahuas
July 12th, 2011, 11:41 AM
Just to clarify, when I said hip was the widest part, I meant the broadest part of your hip bones not the fattest bit ;) if that were the case my "hips" would be bubble butt length, and my best friends would be halfway down her thighs...
Lol.
I'd say if we all go by skeletal structure we will know what we are referencing. :)
(Obviously we will all have very different measurements to get to those physical markers.)

Okay, well I haven't tallied it up, but most of you ladies seem to go by your hip bones, specifically the widest part of the bones (and where they 'jut' awkwardly on me I guess :?)

In that case, my hip length would [obviously] be quite a bit higher than BCL, and just a couple inches lower than waist. Sooo, at least on me:

waist @ smallest part of torso---a couple inches---> hip [bones]---a few inches--->BCL---a few inches--->tailbone

Sound about right?

MsBubbles
July 12th, 2011, 12:16 PM
For me, the widest point is about where the femurs join the pelvis.

MsBubbles, I'd still say "hip" is top-of-pelvis, and it can be pretty close to waist, depending on the person. For others, waist is closer to just under the boobs. Waists in particular move a lot with build and weight, which is one reason why I'm all for skeletal markers, even if it seems a bit strange. That, and I'm just a geek.

Yes I think a skeletal marker would be the best thing in my case, because I am literally the same width all the way down starting at sticky -out pelvic bones to where the femur joins. No bubble butt for me! I am SUCH a weird shape. In my avatar I look all curvy but what you don't see is that the top part of my hips is really just the tip of the iceberg and my entire hip/bum area goes on forever below, in what would be the rest of the photo. Do we have a dinosaur smiley?

bluesnowflake
July 12th, 2011, 04:26 PM
"Hip" for me is right (about an inch and a half) before my pants in the front- about where your hands would sit if you put them on your hips.

MissManda
July 12th, 2011, 04:59 PM
Hip is probably higher than BCL on most people.

For me, Hip is about 4-5" below the smallest part of my torso. Like most of the others have said, I go by where the top of my pelvis sticks out the most, which also happens to be where the waistbands of most of my skirts and pants are.

Being a short-torsoed person, the "Midback Abyss" that I've heard so many others dread is basically nonexistent, so I've got the Mysterious Lower Back length instead. But it isn't that bad because the longest I have to wait between goals is from TBL to classic. Thanks a lot, round bottom, for making me wait. lol

After Hip, BCL is only one inch farther down and TBL is an inch below BCL. After that, I have 5-6" to wait until I hit classic.

I have decided that since I still have a ways to go before I reach Hip that I'm making Elbow another mini-goal length. :D I go by where the bone sticks out when I bend my arm while standing upright. It's only 3" below waist, so I guess I will soon be satisfied with having Elbow length very soon. :P

celebriangel
July 12th, 2011, 05:05 PM
I am not going to measure "hip" to be the start of my hipbones, because I am so short and also short-waisted that I only have 2 inches between the bottom of my ribcage and the top of my hipbones, so "hip" for me would be basically the same as waist.

Instead, I am going to take "visual hip" - ie the widest portion of my body between waist and classic. On me, this is roughly the same place as I prefer jeans to start, about 2.5 inches above BCL and about 4 inches below waist.

Mesmerise
July 12th, 2011, 06:53 PM
For me I consider hips to be errr... the hips... not the biggest part necessarily, but the part where your body flares out again after narrowing in to your waist (and no, I don't have a particularly defined waist nor particularly large hips...but they exist lol).

Hips, though, aren't a discreet measurement like waist or BCL. BCL is a very defined point, and if you're growing your hair, you're not going to be there long. I mean, you hit BCL and an inch later you're past it!

Waist, too, is the narrowest part... the narrowest part doesn't last for long, and before you've grown much, you're past waist length.

Hips, however, from the top of the hip bone exist for a few inches, so you can consider "hip" to be the start of the hip (or the hip bone) or you can consider it to be the biggest part of the hip. My whole "hip" area I would consider to be sort of a 3" or so region of my body, and my hair would be "hip" length no matter where it hung within those 3"!

Lianna
July 12th, 2011, 07:06 PM
you can consider "hip" to be the start of the hip (or the hip bone)

This is what LHC consider hip for hair length purposes. However, in clothes size charts, the hip they refer to is a bit lower down (around bum).

This chart (http://www.dancingrahana.com/content/images/MeasurementChart.jpg) shows the upper hip and the lower hip.

chahuahuas
July 12th, 2011, 07:28 PM
This is what LHC consider hip for hair length purposes. However, in clothes size charts, the hip they refer to is a bit lower down (around bum).

This chart (http://www.dancingrahana.com/content/images/MeasurementChart.jpg) shows the upper hip and the lower hip.

OoOoh that chart is very helpful. "Upper hip" is a very good way to describe it. Also, it gives a good way for LHCers to more accurately describe the length of their hair in proportion to their body. "my hair upper hip length, my goal is lower hip length" Is very specific, and it sounds a little nicer than "butt crack length" :lol:

(Not that I mind being a little crass! :p)

Cirafly24
July 12th, 2011, 07:40 PM
My hip bones are about 3-4" below my waist, and bcl is about 2 inches below that.

Lianna
July 12th, 2011, 11:09 PM
OoOoh that chart is very helpful. "Upper hip" is a very good way to describe it. Also, it gives a good way for LHCers to more accurately describe the length of their hair in proportion to their body. "my hair upper hip length, my goal is lower hip length" Is very specific, and it sounds a little nicer than "butt crack length" :lol:

(Not that I mind being a little crass! :p)

BCL isn't the same as lower hip though. BCL would be a little above.

Here's (http://www.eveningarwen.com/images/40.large.jpg) a woman measuring her lower hip. Or just "hip" for clothes.

Joliebaby
July 13th, 2011, 12:23 AM
Yeah that looks like TBL. For clothing purposes it has to be the widest point of hips, to make sure they fit :D

chahuahuas
July 13th, 2011, 01:38 AM
Yeah that looks like TBL. For clothing purposes it has to be the widest point of hips, to make sure they fit :D

Good point on lower hips being TBL. I guess BCL is smack in the middle of your hips then? (or where my hips would be if I actually had them :p)

This thread is great! I've just realized that my hair, when wet/stretched, just about reaches the top of my hip bones!!! I'ld say I *just about* have hip length hair already!!! :hollie::cheese:

(it's still at my waist with my natural curl, of course :p)

ETA:
I was recently thinking about getting some coochie cream for my head, but I don't know if that will even be necessary! My original goal was hip, but considering I'm pretty much already there, why rush it? :D :D (and risk a couple side effects. and spend lots of money on it, lol)

Zesty
July 13th, 2011, 03:02 PM
For me, the tops of my hip bones are right in between tailbone and waist (3" from either). I tend to think of hip as that length. For me, TBL and BCL are the same. TBL MIGHT be at most 1/4" below BCL, if you're being picky. I wonder if that's common, or just a weird quirk of my body. :hmm:

Anje
July 13th, 2011, 03:22 PM
For me, the tops of my hip bones are right in between tailbone and waist (3" from either). I tend to think of hip as that length. For me, TBL and BCL are the same. TBL MIGHT be at most 1/4" below BCL, if you're being picky. I wonder if that's common, or just a weird quirk of my body. :hmm:
All bodies, and booties in particularly, are quirky. TBL and BCL aren't very close on me, but I've got about a mile and a half of BC.

chahuahuas
July 13th, 2011, 04:51 PM
All bodies, and booties in particularly, are quirky. TBL and BCL aren't very close on me, but I've got about a mile and a half of BC.

Hehehe. I'm picturing a literal mile and a half of butt crack. It's like something off of a Sir Mix-a-lot video (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1r7qc_sir-mix-a-lot-baby-got-back_music) :p

punkcatknitter
July 13th, 2011, 06:28 PM
Glad to see this thread, I just reached waist and have been obsessing over where the heck hip was on my body. I have an odd shape, my back is VERY curved and as best I can figure, the top of my hipbone is only 1-1 1/2 inches below my waist! and then tailbone.... I decided to just call TB when my hair touches (or nearly touches) the ground when I sit on the floor.

Basically I'm expecting to wander in confusion between the Waist to Hip and the Hip to Tailbone threads until I hit classic. :P

monsterna
July 25th, 2011, 10:31 AM
ETA: Posted in wrong thread, hehe.

AuburnAlight
July 30th, 2011, 06:35 PM
Sorry, but just what is BCL? :grin: Is it really "butt crack lenght"?

Yame
July 30th, 2011, 06:58 PM
My hair is a little below WL right now, and some people would consider it hip length but I agree, the term is a little vague.

Personally, I will consider my hair hip length when it hits the dimples of my back. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out the picture (warning: this isn't quite work safe http://woodoomagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/back-dimples-16.jpg)
On my body, that also happens to be around where my hip bones protrude out the most in the front.

On my body, this "back-dimple length" looks like it is 2-3 inches below waist length and, and 2-3 inches above tailbone length. So it seems to me like a good marker for hip length.

rusika1
July 30th, 2011, 08:25 PM
Higher for just about everyone. Different people have different definitions, but I tend to consider "hip" to be the top of the pelvis, illiac-crest length. (ETA: On my short-torsoed body, that's actually a smidge above the point of my elbows.) Hip for clothes, which is the widest point, is somewhere between TB and classic for me.

Yep. The iliac crest is what most people mean when they say hip.
Your real hip is the joint at the very top of your thigh that allows you to sit down.

APL, BSL, waist, hip, BCL, tailbone, classic would be the progression for most people.

ETA: Now why did that make me remember that old 4th grade joke about your nose running and your feet smelling?

Anje
July 30th, 2011, 11:00 PM
Your real hip is the joint at the very top of your thigh that allows you to sit down.
I figure that's basically classic. Maybe an inch or so north of classic.

MandyBeth
July 30th, 2011, 11:57 PM
For me, ultra leggy, ultra short waisted, muscled legs and butt - waist is 2" from hip, hip is maybe .5" from BCL, BCL is 5" from TBL if measured over my butt, TBL is 4-6" to classic, hard to tell.

McFearless
July 31st, 2011, 12:44 AM
Not everybody has pronounced hips. On some body shapes the top of the thighs is the widest part of the body. I always thought "hip length" was were the two lower back dimples are located if you have them, or where they would be if you do not. That is how I define it.