Your underwear size comes from two measurements: your waist at its narrowest point and your hip at its widest. Take both with a soft tape, read the larger of the two against the chart below, and that is your size.
The chart is the easy half. Most wrong sizes are made at the tape rather than at the shelf, so start with the measuring.
How do I measure my panty size at home?
Waist first. Stand straight, breathe out normally, and find the narrowest part of your torso, usually a little above the navel and below the ribs. Run a soft measuring tape around it, flat against skin and parallel to the floor. Snug, never pressing: you should be able to slide one finger under the tape. Do not pull your stomach in. Underwear has to fit the waist you have all day, not the one you can hold for ten seconds.
Hip next, and the name misleads: you are measuring the widest part of your lower body, which is usually the fullest part of your seat rather than the hip bone, roughly seven to nine inches below your waist. Stand with feet together, run the tape around that widest point, and keep it level all the way round. Check the back in a mirror, because the usual error is a tape that rides up behind you and reads an inch small.
Either unit works. The chart carries both, and converting between units afterwards is where mistakes creep in, so note the number exactly as the tape shows it.
The general size chart in inches and cm
This chart is general guidance for the way most Indian brands size underwear from S to XXL. Every maker cuts differently, so where this table and a product page disagree, the product page wins.
| Size | Waist (inches) | Waist (cm) | Hip (inches) | Hip (cm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | 28 to 30 | 71 to 76 | 34 to 36 | 86 to 91 |
| M | 30 to 32 | 76 to 81 | 36 to 38 | 91 to 97 |
| L | 32 to 34 | 81 to 86 | 38 to 40 | 97 to 102 |
| XL | 34 to 36 | 86 to 91 | 40 to 42 | 102 to 107 |
| XXL | 36 to 38 | 91 to 97 | 42 to 44 | 107 to 112 |
Read your waist row and your hip row. If they agree, you are done. If they disagree, the larger measurement picks the size, and the next section explains why.
What size is M in women's underwear in India?
On most Indian charts, M fits a waist of about 30 to 32 inches (76 to 81 cm) and a hip of about 36 to 38 inches (91 to 97 cm).
But M is shorthand rather than a standard. One brand's M matches another brand's L often enough that the letter alone tells you very little, which is why measuring beats remembering what you bought last time. The measurements are the stable part; the letters drift between makers, between styles, and sometimes between batches of the same style.
Should I size up or down between sizes?
Up. If your waist reads M and your hip reads L, buy L. A waistband has elastic and can gather in a little ease, but a hip panel cut two inches short has nothing to give, so the garment folds and creeps instead of sitting flat. For briefs, the larger measurement wins every time.
And never size down expecting a smaller brief to shape you. It will not. An ordinary brief a size small just digs, and the dug edge prints through clothes more clearly than anything it covered. Shaping is a separate job done by separate construction, graded compression panels engineered to be worn at your measured size. That category is shapewear, and it has its own charts.
Do brief, hipster and boyshort sizes fit the same?
The size stays the same; where the garment sits does not. A classic brief sits at or near the natural waist and cuts high on the leg. A hipster sits lower, across the widest part of you, which is why hipsters feel snugger than briefs in the same size. A boyshort extends down the thigh, so its fit depends on the top of your leg as much as on your hip. If you wear more than one style, expect the same letter to feel different across them, and trust each product's own chart over the letter on the last pack you bought.
Fit matters most where the underwear has a job beyond coverage. Period underwear seals at the leg openings, so it needs a snug leg in your measured size. A tighter waist adds nothing to leak protection, and a loose leg opening takes most of it away. How the layers inside handle their share of the job is in how period panties work.
How is underwear sizing different from bra sizing?
Underwear sizing compresses two measurements into one letter and accepts the blur. Bra sizing keeps both numbers, which is why a bra size reads 34C rather than M: the number is your underbust, the letter is the difference between bust and band. The two systems do not translate, and there is no waist size that "is" a 34C.
If it is a bra you are sizing, the method and the full table are in the bra size chart for India, and the bra size calculator turns your two measurements into a size, sister sizes included.
The short version
Measure your waist at its narrowest and your hip at its widest, with the tape snug and no breath held. Read both against the chart and let the larger measurement decide; between sizes, go up. The letters are general guidance, so the chart on the product page is the final word. Bras run on a different system that keeps both measurements instead of compressing them into one letter. That method is in the bra size chart for India, and the bra size calculator does the working for you.
