What part of the body do you measure on a boy if you want his waist measurement?

[Freckle]

I've posted before about the difficulty of buying clothes for teenage boys between the ages of about 13-16. Most high street stores stop manufacturing stuff for them at age 13 and then expect you to buy from their small men's range. Problem with this is that waist sizes only start at 30-32".

Now DS1 is very slim and, according to my measuring, has a 25.5" waist. My sister says that because I'm measuring him in the wrong place and that I should be measuring his hips to get his waist measurement because "that's where men wear their trousers". At least all the men that she knows (she's a single parent with one son - so a lot of men to choose from .

So, should I be measuring his waist or his hips? And do all men wear their trousers on their hips?

[JackieNo]

I guess you need to know the 'rise' of the trousers (ie, crotch to waistband) - then you can measure up the appropriate amount, and measure there, iyswim. Not sure many places tell you what the rise is, though, so probably not v helpful.

[RTKangaMummy]

I would think it would be by tummy button but I agree about the rise thingy

but my DS who is 12 wears GAP trousers cos of their adjustable waist thingy also his school trousers do

He doesn't like trousers slouching iyswim he likes them on his waist

[AMumInScotland]

Even if the trousers are low-slung, the waist measurement on them should correspond to the actual waist, not the top of the trousers. I agree it's a total nightmare - DS(14) is tall and very slim so men's sizes would go round him twice!

I find Debenhams have a decent range of jeans and sometimes combats in his size (or at least close enough with a belt).