For our project we have to create a corset and a bustle for a model which we have chosen someone from our course. I chose lovely Anna and I leave here blog linked here so you can check it and get her point of view.
Naturally, as the corset is made to measure and body shape are all different, we had to learn how to take measurements from a model professionally. The first thing, that shocked me the most, was the fact that you mustn't measure yourself in costume as all the measurements could go wrong because of the limited vision. Then our tutor gave us some useful tips to make the practice less awkward, like always inform the client what you are going to do before hand as they could feel uncomfortable and sometimes attacked as taking measurements could be quite intimate for some people. For the same reason you mustn't comment on them as it is not appropriate, you have to remember you are a professional. Another tip that our teacher gave us was that when approaching we shall turn our heads slightly to reach the back of the tape measure and make sure it is straight as it could vary the measurements and get them completely wrong and last but not least you mustn't touch the client. It could be quite hard so you can ask the client if they could hold the tape measure when it comes to awkward places like the bust height or the inner leg measurement. This makes the measuring quite fun and less uncomfortable, and as well as giving a conversation, it helps the client feeling more relaxed and hopefully enjoy the experience.
Here I leave a guide with some of the measurements that could be necessary. Depending what garment or piece of clothing you are going to make, the amount of measurements that you will have to use will vary.
Link photo here
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