You will need:
1) A soft measuring tape (can also be called tailors' tape). I like the retractable version as it is easily stored and prevents the tape from forming kinks. You can find it in any crafts shop.
2) A pencil and paper (or the notepad app on your phone) to write her measurements down for future reference.
3) If you need to measure her shoe size you will actually need the aforementioned pencil and paper.
Measure the following while your doll is naked. Do try to resist the temptation of a naked beauty in front of you, this is for her after all. Ensure your tape measure is parallel to the floor. The measurements will differ depending on how tight you pull on the tape measure and may affect the sizes you get. I would recommend pulling the tape enough that it hugs her body but does not dig into the flesh. Round all measurements up to the nearest inch/cm.
Overbust: measure are the fullest part of the breast; this is most likely right across the nipple
Underbust: measure from about 1 inch below where the breast connects to the torso.
Waist: measure the smallest part of the waist
Hip: measure the widest part of the hip; it should not be right across her crotch but a bit above it.
Inseam: ankle to crotch
Neck: measure around the base where it meets the shoulder
Sleeve: this is a little tricky. You will need to bend her arm so her hand is on her hip and the elbow is at a 90 degree angle. Then measure from the "ball joint" in the shoulder around the outside of the arm to the wrist.
Check out this visual guide if you are not sure.
General Clothes Sizing
You will need her Over-bust, Waist and Hip for the two sites I've listed below. Sizecharter also asks for the inseam measurement with neck, sleeve, height and weight as extra options. If your girl is more realistically proportionate, the sites will be able to give you an accurate read on what her size will be. Those who have dolls with extremely large breasts, large hips, and/or tiny waists, the suggestions that are given to you may not be perfect.
Darkgreener shows all sizes in a chart form if you are interested in seeing the range of sizes across different brands (and marvel at the insanity). You should look for sizes that are slightly above the line that is formed from your measurements. The higher you go the looser the fit.
http://www.sizecharter.com/
https://sizes.darkgreener.com/
Shoe Sizing
Thankfully shoe sizing is more standard. If the site you bought her from didn't have her shoe size (or you'd rather check for yourself) you can easily find it in the link below. You don't need to have her standing when doing the measurements, sit her down on a chair and make sure her feet are flat on a non-carpeted floor or book.
http://www.sizecharter.com/clothing-fit ... hoe-sizing
Lingerie
Now for the fun stuff; sexy lingerie. Or just regular everyday lingerie. Thankfully, panties are also rather standard in sizing but you will need to know her lettered and numbered size for future reference. Take her waist and hip measurements (I hope you wrote it down) and compare it to the chart at the bottom of the page on the site below. If her measurements cover 2 different sizes take the larger of the two.
https://www.herroom.com/how-to-measure- ... 26,30.html
I hope you enjoyed the ease of shoe and panty sizes because if you have a large chested doll things may get complicated quick. The fastest way to get her bra size is to take her underbust and overbust measurements to the site below. Note: A lot of dolls have an underbust measurement of less than 26 inches (66cm). The calculator will only work with a band size of at least 28 as this is the smallest size you can reliability find.
https://www.calculator.net/bra-size-calculator.html
If her overbust and underbust differ more than 5 inches (12cm) I would suggest you use the calculator below. Use UK sizing and "Assigned female at birth" as your options. There are 6 measurements to do and you will need to fill in all of them for the calculator to work. This site will accept band sizes smaller than 28 and give you a bra size but, again, finding bras with 26 and smaller is extremely difficult. Go through the calculations as usual but we will need to do some quick adjustments to get an actual size you can find.
https://www.abrathatfits.org/calculator.php
Now take the bra size it gave you (it will look something like 28DD or 34G) and go to:
https://www.herroom.com/bra-size-conver ... 55,30.html
Go down the UK column until you find your letter(s). Then follow the row to the left to get a Universal Cup Size. So the 28DD is a D2 and the 34G is a D6. I love this site as I can just search for my UCS size of 34D6 and easily find all the sister sizes across all brands. They rotate their stock frequently and have major sales 3 or 4 times a year. A very good thing as bras (especially larger sizes) are expensive.
If her band size is less than 28 you will need her sister size
When the band size of a bra goes up, the cup size comes down. It is the same in reverse: band comes down, cup goes up. So 32GG, 34G and 36FF are all sister sizes.
If the brathatfits site gave you a 24 band; when looking at the size chart on herroom go up the chart by 2 cups. Example: 24FF becomes 28E which is a D3. So when searching the site you would search for 28D3.
If you have a 26 band; on the chart go up one. Example: 26FF becomes 28F. You would search for 28D4 on the site.
Side notes:
Bras, when fitted properly, are designed to be snug around the chest while on the loosest hook. After time, as the elastic stretches out, you move inwards to the next hook. The band is supposed to support 80% of the weight, the shoulder straps should not be digging in. However, a snug fitting band could leave impressions on the TPE or silicone on your doll. There's two ways you can alleviate this: buy a larger band (remember to go down a cup size too) or buy a set of bra extenders. I would recommend the 2nd choice as it gives you the best option for adjusting in smaller increments. Band sizes are sometimes "not true", a 34 band in one brand is a perfect (snug) fit while it is too tight in another brand and is too loose in a third. A bra extender can help with the first two while the third is dependent on the fit.
If you do not already have one, you should buy a set of mesh laundry bags. Bras, panties, stockings, clothes with loose ends or mesh/lace can all be damaged over time if washed loose. Bras in particular will get tangled with everything. Also try to avoid machine drying or hang drying bras; both can cause the elastic to weaken quicker. Best practice is to lay the bra on a soft dry towel with the cups reshaped and allow to dry.
That's all for now. I hope this helps the new owners be a little less scared of dressing up your new lover.
