Waist, Hip, Tailbone - Where are these lengths on the body?

[ElusiveMuse]

I feel like these three lengths - waist, hip, and tailbone - are kind of ambiguous. Everyone seems to measure them differently. For some people, there doesn't seem to be much difference between waist and hip, or hip and tailbone. Some people have very little space between BSL and waist.

What do you consider waist, hip, and tailbone length?

For me, there really is no hip length. The smallest part of my torso is immediately followed by my hip bones. Also, because I'm rather long-waisted, my 30 inch hair is still a good 3 or so inches from waist length.

[sun-kissed]

Tailbone - I go by the LHC's 'top of buttcrack' which on me is about six inches from waist.
Hip - About three inches below my waist, and three above tailbone.
Waist - thinnest part of my body.
BSL - Seven inches above waist.

I also have 30 inch long hair, and a have good four inches before I hit waist. (I'm 5'8 tall) So I agree it depends on the person's body.

[Arya]

I feel like these three lengths - waist, hip, and tailbone - are kind of ambiguous. Everyone seems to measure them differently. For some people, there doesn't seem to be much difference between waist and hip, or hip and tailbone. Some people have very little space between BSL and waist.

What do you consider waist, hip, and tailbone length?

For me, there really is no hip length. The smallest part of my torso is immediately followed by my hip bones. Also, because I'm rather long-waisted, my 30 inch hair is still a good 3 or so inches from waist length.

BSL is the one that annoys me most, but that's because most women don't wear properly fitted bras. Bra bands are supposed to be level with the infra-mammary crease! For me, I have no bum, so my hip length is more about the widest part of my hips, which is actually above my bum. Some people's hip length is also BCL or TB length, but that happens! Don't worry too much about it, they're supposed to be a little ambiguous.

Except BSL. Go get fitted, I swear, I'm going to go all what not to wear and start harassing ladies on the street and dragging them into nice bra shops with fitting ladies who know what they're talking about!

[SpinDance]

Waist is usually considered the be the smallest part of the torso. If you tie a string or piece of elastic around your middle, waist is where it will naturally go. I consider hip to be where the bones stick out to the sides. Mostly I use sewing instructions to decide where 'hip' is. I don't use the widest part definition here, I use what is basically 'high hip', where my bones stick out.

BCL, the top of the vertical smile, is between the hip area and TB. Find TB by following your spine down until it curls under. If you find anything else, you've gone too far!!!

[ElusiveMuse]

Ooh I agree about bra straps! So many people wear bras that ride up in the back.

[torrilin]

Ooh I agree about bra straps! So many people wear bras that ride up in the back.

Or that are so big that the bra band is hanging around their waist in back.

[jojo]

If you put your hands in your middle and bend to the side the bit thats bent is your waist. Mine is 30" about 3-4" (differs in everyone) approx is the hips(mine is 34") and the Tailbone, is that knobbly bone where your spine ends and is situated at the crack of your bum (40" on me!)

[pepperminttea]

Depends on how you're proportioned - it's a little bit different for everyone. :) Generally though:

Waist - Narrowest part of the torso.
Hip - Widest part of the torso.
BCL - Top of your butt crack, to put it plainly.
Tailbone - The very end of your spine. Most people can feel it.

This might help too:
http://i56.tinypic.com/15d1kxc.jpg

[monsterna]

We all know waist is the smallest part, as in the diagram above. I define hip as where my pants sit. They aren't super low-rise, but they aren't "mom pants," either. Just where pants normally sit on women my age. That's hip. TBL or BCL is where the butt crack starts.

ETA: I also think that a lot of women have bras that ride WAY too high. I notice it on this site, too (no idea who, not calling anyone out or anything, just pictures I've seen). They'll have their bra hiked all the way up to where it's like 1-2" below APL and that's just NOT what BSL is, but they claim to be BSL. BSL is just a marker, to indicate that length of hair, that location on the back. Guys have to go by BSL too, but they don't have bras, so it's just a basic term I think for "right under the boobies." :D As someone mentioned before, the bra should sit level with the infra-mammary crease.

[Mesmerise]

To me, hips is the most ambiguous of the three! Waist is the narrowest part of the torso, so when the hair hits there, it's at waist. Tailbone is the end of the spinal column, so if you reach down your back and find the bony knob at the end (the coccyx) then you've found your tailbone.

Hips though, are sort of big :p so hair can be "hip length" for quite a long time! I would go by either the hip bone, or when it reaches the widest part of the hip. But yeah, I'd say there's a 3" or so area that qualifies as "hip".

One thing I have seen are pics of people here on LCH saying their hair is "nearly waist" and on the picture it looks as if the hair is a good inch or two past the waist, so I think many may be overestimating the length of their waist!

Hmm I do find that diagram interesting. BSL looks quite high to me (compared to where my bra strap is) and hip looks quite close to tailbone, whereas on my body hip is quite a distance from tailbone. Oh, and I don't think BCL and TBL are the same... on me there's a good 1.5" distance between the top of my butt crack and my tailbone! In some people it may be a lot closer though.

[Spring]

Hmm I do find that diagram interesting. BSL looks quite high to me (compared to where my bra strap is) and hip looks quite close to tailbone, whereas on my body hip is quite a distance from tailbone. Oh, and I don't think BCL and TBL are the same... on me there's a good 1.5" distance between the top of my butt crack and my tailbone! In some people it may be a lot closer though.

I thought the same thing till I realized that indicates the area that would be the top of the bra strap, and the bottom of the bra strap is where midback begins.

[wishywashy]

"BCL, the top of the vertical smile, is between the hip area and TB. Find TB by following your spine down until it curls under. If you find anything else, you've gone too far!!!"

too funny! :laugh:

[HairFanson]

Depends on how you're proportioned - it's a little bit different for everyone. :) Generally though:

Waist - Narrowest part of the torso.
Hip - Widest part of the torso.
BCL - Top of your butt crack, to put it plainly.
Tailbone - The very end of your spine. Most people can feel it.

This might help too:
https://i56.tinypic.com/15d1kxc.jpg

For me, (5 feet 10 inches tall) BCL and TBL are the same. But this may be different on some people. I apparently will not have a BCL milestone, as I can only go from hip to TBL....
Also, from my waist to hip is only about 2 inches. At the moment, this is a good thing because my goal is hip, and I'm only an inch from waist... so not too much longer to go!

If my goals were longer... I have 5 inches from tailbone to classic, and 12 inches from TBL to FTL... years and years basically. From Waist to Knee is 24 inches.... 6 years and a total of 54 inches, DOUBLE my current length. Impossible! LOL

My older sister is shorter than I am, with a short torso, but much longer legs, and has to grow even longer. She only has 4 inches from BSL to Hip, and always gets "long" faster than I do. My younger sister grew from chin to knee in 8 years (and is 6 feet tall at 13 years old!) Her waist to hip distance is 5 inches.

We have similar growth rates, but with our very different body configurations, we reach different milestones at different rates.

Its so crazy how some of us have 30 inch hair at classic, others have 29 inch hair at MBL, and so on.

[Dark40]

It depends on the height. For me since I'm 5ft 1" tall waist is 2 inches below MBL. I have a short middle area.
Hip is the lower part of your back.
Tailbone is at the top of your butt.

[Milady_DeWinter]

Waist - thinnest part of the body.
Hip - where you feel your hip bones in the front (NOT the widest part, that would be Classic for a lot of women!!)
BCL - Top of the butt, where the "crack" starts :p
TBL - Not where the butt starts, but more of less at mid butt. Where you can feel the end of your dorsal spine. Or where ut hurts if you sit on a flat hard floor for a while :) May be upper or lower depending on the person.
Classic - at the end of the butt.

[Corvana]

Waist - thinnest part of the body.
Hip - where you feel your hip bones in the front (NOT the widest part, that would be Classic for a lot of women!!)
BCL - Top of the butt, where the "crack" starts :p
TBL - Not where the butt starts, but more of less at mid butt. Where you can feel the end of your dorsal spine. Or where ut hurts if you sit on a flat hard floor for a while :) May be upper or lower depending on the person.
Classic - at the end of the butt.

This is about where I place them, as well. Although my widest bit of my hips is more about tailbone length on me! Give or take an inch, but not quite to classic. I do hip at "high hip" on sewing/measurement charts. About where pants often sit that aren't incredibly high or low rises.

[Milady_DeWinter]

This is about where I place them, as well. Although my widest bit of my hips is more about tailbone length on me! Give or take an inch, but not quite to classic. I do hip at "high hip" on sewing/measurement charts. About where pants often sit that aren't incredibly high or low rises.

Yep, that is hip lenght :) At the top of hipbones. Other ways to measure it have no sense, in my opinion :shrug:

[Texseaussie]

My hair is 23 inches long at it's at my waist (smaller part of me, where I bend when I bend sideways) I'm 5'3.

[shelleynyc]

Waist - thinnest part of the body.
Hip - where you feel your hip bones in the front (NOT the widest part, that would be Classic for a lot of women!!)
BCL - Top of the butt, where the "crack" starts :p
TBL - Not where the butt starts, but more of less at mid butt. Where you can feel the end of your dorsal spine. Or where ut hurts if you sit on a flat hard floor for a while :) May be upper or lower depending on the person.
Classic - at the end of the butt.

Wow, I've always thought TBL was where the butt crack starts. :eek: Because there is a bone that you can feel right above it, and I thought that was the tailbone. I just googled "tailbone" and I am mindblown now! I had no idea the spine went that far down.

[Groovy Granny]

I am 5'3" and shrinking (bone issues) and I also have a normally short torso as well, so my landmarks are very close to one another.
That is a blessing when it comes to hitting landmarks, but I am robbed of total length compared to others.

MBL is only an inch+ away from BSL ....and BSL is the same as WL on me.

WL is only 2" away from Hip..... and BCL is only 3.5" away from Hip.

TBL is less than an inch below BCL .....yeah I have a small/flat butt besides + only 35 inches in total length. :o

CL is just 6-8 months of growth away, but it is too much hair to manage/care for with my arthritis, so TBL is IT, and that is fine with me.

So yeah....I hit a big milestone being at TBL.... but it is peanuts compared to other normal/long torsos....however *I* am thrilled regardless, as it is the longest length in my lifetime :joy:

[daisy rei]

For me, (5 feet 10 inches tall) BCL and TBL are the same. But this may be different on some people. I apparently will not have a BCL milestone, as I can only go from hip to TBL....
Also, from my waist to hip is only about 2 inches. At the moment, this is a good thing because my goal is hip, and I'm only an inch from waist... so not too much longer to go!

If my goals were longer... I have 5 inches from tailbone to classic, and 12 inches from TBL to FTL... years and years basically. From Waist to Knee is 24 inches.... 6 years and a total of 54 inches, DOUBLE my current length. Impossible! LOL

My older sister is shorter than I am, with a short torso, but much longer legs, and has to grow even longer. She only has 4 inches from BSL to Hip, and always gets "long" faster than I do. My younger sister grew from chin to knee in 8 years (and is 6 feet tall at 13 years old!) Her waist to hip distance is 5 inches.

We have similar growth rates, but with our very different body configurations, we reach different milestones at different rates.

Its so crazy how some of us have 30 inch hair at classic, others have 29 inch hair at MBL, and so on.

Tall girls unite! :p I'm 6' now - at 13 would've been crazy! Maybe she'll grow even taller in high school....amazing! BCL and TBL is the same for me as well, so I don't even include BCL as a goal. I honestly imagine the difference can't be much more than an inch for shorter folks as well.

This diagram (https://images2.imgbox.com/09/2d/0nHNncod_o.jpg) and this diagram (https://images2.imgbox.com/5e/aa/Yfw4QaEz_o.png)were super useful to me, but of course every body is shaped differently and you just have to look at where your curves correspond with the diagram's curves. :wink:

[Dark40]

I am 5'3" and shrinking (bone issues) and I also have a normally short torso as well, so my landmarks are very close to one another.
That is a blessing when it comes to hitting landmarks, but I am robbed of total length compared to others.

MBL is only an inch+ away from BSL ....and BSL is the same as WL on me.

WL is only 2" away from Hip..... and BCL is only 3.5" away from Hip.

TBL is less than an inch below BCL .....yeah I have a small/flat butt besides + only 35 inches in total length. :o

CL is just 6-8 months of growth away, but it is too much hair to manage/care for with my arthritis, so TBL is IT, and that is fine with me.

So yeah....I hit a big milestone being at TBL.... but it is peanuts compared to other normal/long torsos....however *I* am thrilled regardless, as it is the longest length in my lifetime :joy:

Hey, I'm 5'3" too! I totally agree with the landmarks for the different lengths here too.

MBL on me is only an inch away from BSL, and BSL on me is the same as WL on me too.

[Groovy Granny]

Hey, I'm 5'3" too! I totally agree with the landmarks for the different lengths here too.

MBL on me is only an inch away from BSL, and BSL on me is the same as WL on me too.

Oh good..I am not alone LOL

[MusicalSpoons]

Tall girls unite! :p I'm 6' now - at 13 would've been crazy! Maybe she'll grow even taller in high school....amazing! BCL and TBL is the same for me as well, so I don't even include BCL as a goal. I honestly imagine the difference can't be much more than an inch for shorter folks as well.

This diagram (https://images2.imgbox.com/09/2d/0nHNncod_o.jpg) and this diagram (https://images2.imgbox.com/5e/aa/Yfw4QaEz_o.png)were super useful to me, but of course every body is shaped differently and you just have to look at where your curves correspond with the diagram's curves. :wink:

Those diagrams show TBL at what I would call BCL - certainly that's where it is on me, anyway.

I'm half a foot shorter than you and I have a distance of ~2" between BCL and TBL. I wonder if size/shape of derrière makes the difference? Mine is probably on the larger size of average (I think - I've never thought much about it!) and um, certainly not toned :lol: classic on me is ~2" past TBL, and actually there's ~2" between hip to BCL too.

Interesting thread.

[MusicalSpoons]

It depends on the height. For me since I'm 5ft 1" tall waist is 2 inches below MBL. I have a short middle area.
Hip is the lower part of your back.
Tailbone is at the top of your butt.


Hey, I'm 5'3" too! I totally agree with the landmarks for the different lengths here too.

MBL on me is only an inch away from BSL, and BSL on me is the same as WL on me too.

You ... grew 2 inches in a week? :confused:

[Ylva]

BCL, the top of the vertical smile, is between the hip area and TB. Find TB by following your spine down until it curls under. If you find anything else, you've gone too far!!!

This is the best measuring instruction I have seen. :)


You ... grew 2 inches in a week? :confused:

:rollin:

[Dark40]

You ... grew 2 inches in a week? :confused:

No.....it took me 4 months to grow 2 inches. Where did the 2 inches in a week come from? :confused:

[MusicalSpoons]

No.....it took me 4 months to grow 2 inches. Where did the 2 inches in a week come from? :confused:

You posted last week saying you were 5'1" then this week saying you're 5'3", which was confusing.

[Dark40]

You posted last week saying you were 5'1" then this week saying you're 5'3", which was confusing.

Yes I did I'm so sorry for that error. I'm confused about my height as well. I've learned that I'm 63" tall, and I've always thought that was equivalent to 5'1". :)

[MusicalSpoons]

Yes I did I'm so sorry for that error. I'm confused about my height as well. I've learned that I'm 63" tall, and I've always thought that was equivalent to 5'1". :)

Ah, fair enough! I think we've probably all been confused about some measurement conversion or personal statistic at some point in life :grin:

[Dark40]

Ah, fair enough! I think we've probably all been confused about some measurement conversion or personal statistic at some point in life :grin:

Ok, yes that's true! :grin:

[longmane]

Waist - thinnest part of the body.
Hip - where you feel your hip bones in the front (NOT the widest part, that would be Classic for a lot of women!!)
BCL - Top of the butt, where the "crack" starts :p
TBL - Not where the butt starts, but more of less at mid butt. Where you can feel the end of your dorsal spine. Or where ut hurts if you sit on a flat hard floor for a while :) May be upper or lower depending on the person.
Classic - at the end of the butt.

This makes sense

[SandyBottom]

But, but, BUTT...wait! What if BCL and TBL are the same place? Fortunately, I'm past this point, but they do fall in the same spot for me;)

[Ylva]

But, but, BUTT...wait! What if BCL and TBL are the same place? Fortunately, I'm past this point, but they do fall in the same spot for me;)

Then you must clench your butt to lift BCL ever so slightly higher when measuring.

[Wyldfae's Mane]

Then you must clench your butt to lift BCL ever so slightly higher when measuring.

This is the only correct answer

[LongLocke]

Then you must clench your butt to lift BCL ever so slightly higher when measuring.

franticly takes notes

[SandyBottom]

Oh thank you! I'm clenching hard as I can!

ETA: Sorry, feeling a bit cheeky today!

[cadaverinna]

For me, waist is the narrowest part of your torso, hip starts at where you can see/feel the top of your hip bones, and tailbone is the bottom of the tailbone -- you gotta feel it up in there, no other way.

BSL is the trickiest for me bc it is said most people wear unproperly fitted bras and I'm probably part of that crowd. I count it as BSL when it hits the back strap, but none of this is exact bc bodies are different.

[Nefcerka]

Oh thank you! I'm clenching hard as I can!

ETA: Sorry, feeling a bit cheeky today!

BCL is not what it´s cracked up to be.

[SandyBottom]

BCL is not what it´s cracked up to be.

It's kind of a PITA sometimes.