Correction! Seems I misread the instructions and used top of kneecap...so correcting my previous measurements - I am now virtually identical from shoulder to hip and hip to lower knee cap. Which makes me regular/regular! Bizarre that I feel so long bodied! Perhaps certain clothing manufacturers skew one way or the other?

See how many short waisted people there are.

Merwoman, you do look long in the body. Have someone else measure you too. You could also be long from shoulder point to under bust.

Word Lilly, have someone else measure you, just to be sure. It's VERY possible to have a long rise. Suz is short in the waist and long in the rise. I have clients with those dimensions too.

E, that's very interesting. You hide your very long waist with skirts that define you at your natural waist, which shortens the torso.

I'm regular.

Short -- one and a half hands from bottom of bust to waist, and I have narrow hands. I think I'm also pretty short from shoulder to bust. All my height is in my legs.

Short, so very short. I have one hand-width's distance, and I have slender hands. It boggles the mind that I'm missing an entire extra hand of room!

It seems like a short waist almost always accompanies an average or larger bust, which makes it much too easy to lose all torso definition.

Definitely short - barely one hand. And Sheila above writes for me to with the low-slung description. Grr. Long legs - never have to hem pants either. Long rise too - which makes shopping for panties a nightmare. I take the largest size any brand will offer.

Short-waisted - 1.5 hands - plus a fairly long rise.
I'm amazed at the number of short waists on the forum.

Ok - final answer - regular waist/long torso/rise

I think the issue is where exactly to measure for hip. I was using the iliac crest (which I guess could be the high hip), but I'm not very curvaceous. So looking visually I think I should measure the hip a little lower down, which would skew me longer torso.

Regular, two hands...and measuring with help as you suggested gives me equal from shoulder to hip as hip to knee cap.

So why do I feel I have so much trouble with proportion? I feel like my torso is long, my rise is long and my legs are short...at least shin length is short. I have refused all tucking since the wise age of 8! Well, I'm sure there are very few "perfectly" proportioned people...and why would the rare exception be considered the template?

I"m short-waisted, one hand, though I have wide hands for sure. And as someone else described it, very low-slung breasts. My legs are also short. I think whatever height I have is thanks to my long head.

I don't know. I think I might be long waisted. I'm not sure about my rise. I'd like to know. I have a bubble butt. Would that combined with a long waist explain why I often get material gathering at the top of my bottom in coats and dresses?

Sweet Peri, you look well proportioned to my eye. And your outfits look proportioned! You're not battling like you think you are - trust me. And to answer your question, the world relies on a benchmark for things because it actually makes things easier (which I KNOW is a can of worms in fashion). Rest assured though that those so called benchmarks in fashion are relaxing - and more so each year. The short waisted tips I suggested are by no means rules - simply guidelines for those who want to lengthen their short torsos. If they don't - that's good too.

Merwoman, there you go. All sorted.

Lisap, the long rise can be tricky to dress, but you're doing fine.

Short -- one scant (tiny) hand here! I think I'm also short chested, as someone commented on the blog, but long necked and long in the rise and legs. To be honest, I've always rather *liked* my vertical proportions (I do have a small bust, and I can see where that makes a significant difference).

Just slightly long waisted (hands=4 fingers or 4 fingers + thumb?). Does it matter that I have big, man hands?

My measurement makes sense because although I can find shirts that fit me correct at the waist, a lot of times they taper in too soon for me.

Only one hand and exactly what Sheila said about the low-slung bust. Add in splayed breasts to the mix. I am definitely one of those folk who look better naked than clothed.

Sheila, we should swap notes on bras.

Slightly long waisted. My shoulder hip measurement is slightly bigger than hip knee cap. But exactly 2 hands from under bust to waistline.

Short for sure, with legs that are much too long.

Slightly on the long side --- I don't look as long as I used too, since my bust is visually taking up more space than it used to.

One hand, 3-4 fingers, but 17" from shoulder to hip and 22 from hip to bottom of knee. I've always thought I was also low-slung, but maybe it is just size and shape. Inseam is a bit short--people are amazed when they find out I have to have most of my jeans hemmed up.

Yep, high waisted skirts w a top tucked in are definitely the most figure balancing option for me!

Regular waisted with exactly 2 hands but just barely. Having a hard time measuring shoulder to hip bone and then from there to below the knee. Shoulder to hip is maybe an inch longer than hip to below knee, which makes sense b/c I feel I have a long torso.

Angie I know you've explained this before but can you refresh my memory on how to measure rise? I think I have a long rise.

I always thought I was short waisted, but I think now that may just be because I am large busted. I can fit both 2 hands from under my bust to my waist.. I have small hand So it looks like I am regular, but I use many of your 'tricks' due to my bust size. Does that sound right?

Regular to long--though I thought it'd be longer until I used the hand method, so, maybe just a little long, not 3 hands. And long in stride, so, looong torso.

Looong. I've always known this before I knew of any tests to prove it, simply because almost all peplums are too high, many tops are too short, and despite being short in stature, I can never wear petites.

By taking measurements, I am definitively long waisted, with a high rise and short legs. Gee, I sure won the genetic lottery!

Short - 1 1/2 hands. I also have short arms. I hardly ever have pants taken up (& many are a touch short) but I always have to have coat & jacket sleeves shortened.

One hand and maybe a pinky finger! Definitely short-waisted. Glad to see I'm in good company

Short waisted for me. Although I am about one and a half hands in, but there is more than 2 inches difference by the second measure. I do have relatively small hands relative to my frame. I suspect my rise, thighs and calves are also all longer.

I was dragging out some old school pics today and whilst I am one of the tall girls sitting in the front middle, I look out of sync due to being short waisted. I suspect class photographers would never have the time to measure our waists though to get a better looking photo.

Short-waisted-- just over a hand width and I have close to 8' difference between my torso and upper leg. I have long legs and a short upper body. Hence the fact that I generally don't do high waisted or belted at the waist and know the importance of a good bra.

I'm definitely short-waisted, with a long rise because my torso is noticeably longer than my legs (I've had people comment on how they thought I was several inches taller when they first met me while sitting and then I stood up). But I also have a small bust and very little waist definition to begin with, so I dress for my long torso and often end up faking a lower waist. I do have one skirt with an amazingly comfortable 3-inch waistband, which makes me look rather short-waisted... but it's short enough to also expose enough leg that I don't mind.

Slightly short waisted but pretty regular. Which might explain why I am a pretty easy fit.