measuring high rise

[tmal]

I have always known that I require a higher than normal rise. I have two questions. 1) How do I correctly measure the rise to my natural waist? 2) How do I correctly measure the rise to my hips (where unfortunately all modern pants sit). As a practical matter, i.e. no expensive custom pants, how do you guys with the same problem handle this? To illustrate what I mean, my job requires that I wear jeans or similar work pants. Thanks.

 

[casechopper]

Do you have a pair of pants that fit you the way that you want? If so then you can measure the rise on those pants and work from that.

 

[Rabbit]

I'm afraid there is no straight answer to #1 and 2 if it's the actual body measurement you're after.

When buying and selling vintage trousers, you're usually confronted with the following measurements:
Front rise, unless otherwise specified, is usually measured from the top of the waistband down to the crotch in one straight line, with the trousers laid flat, disregarding the position of any seams at the crotch.
The back rise, if provided at all, is then measured the same way.

A totally accurate measurement that could be used for replication by a tailor - I've never seen this in any eBay listing - would be to measure like this:
Front rise: From the top of the waistband to the crotch seam
Back rise: Likewise from the top of the waistband to the crotch seam
Sometimes there is a wedge-shaped piece sewn into the crotch area where the seams meet, which could be divided half and half to add to front and back rise, respectively.

Here is an illustration of the latter method.

Front rise:

Crotch reinforcement:

Back rise:

If you need trousers made of very casual fabrics like denim or, just one step up the ladder, cotton twill ("chinos") or corduroy, you could try Luxire. Yes, it's custom, but the casual fabrics are quite cheap. They make Jeans or denim trousers for $70 in any specification you want. That would be my recommendation.
If you need to figure out measurements, we can help.

Also, if you want to know the difference between a high rise and a low rise just by comparing the height of your hips against the height of your navel, this may not be very helpful. High-rise trousers don't have just a higher-positioned waist. They also have a much longer fly and more room around the crotch. The entire cut is totally different.

 

[Qirrel]

The rise, in tailoring terminology, is the difference between the inseam and the sideseam/outseam. The width of the waistband is sometimes included. The terms front rise and back rise can be informative, but are not really used in patternmaking.

Your natural waist is the place on your torso with the smallest circumference. To measure the rise, put on a pair of well fitting trousers and note the distance from your natural waist to where the sideseam intersects with the waistband seam. Take the trousers off, measure the sideseam from hem to where it intersects with the waistband and add the distance noted earlier. Take that amount and deduct the inseam measured from hem to crotch. This is the rise, or front rise, if you like, of a pair of trousers whose tops sit into you natural waist. Many vintage trousers cut for braces sit even higher than this, usually 1 1/2" to 2".

 

[tmal]

Thanks for the answers. I had a feeling that the cut would be different and it is not just a matter of length.

 

[vintage.vendeuse]

Rabbit, I must be one of the few eBay sellers to measure the rise correctly... even when there is a gusset present at the crotch.

 

[Guttersnipe]

Determining rise by subtracting the inseam length from the out seam length is a much more consistent method. A problem with measuring the rise from the crotch seam to the waistband is that it varies based on circumferential differences in waistband. In other words, a 12" length from the crotch seam to the waistband is completely different on a pair of trousers with a 40" waist as compared to a 30" waist.

EDIT: I'd should also add that, in my opinion, subtracting the inseam from the out seam is more accurate. For instance, when I lost weight and went from a 40" to a 34" waist, the difference between out seam and inseam that places the waistband at my navel never changed. This makes sense because my height stayed the same, and rise is effectively determined by height and torso length. However, the the distance from the crotch seam to the waistband on my pants did change dramatically.