What does bustline mean?
Bustline is a noun used mainly in fashion and tailoring to describe the measurement or visual contour of the chest at its fullest point. In practical terms, it appears wherever garments are sized, fitted, or designed: a dressmaker may ask for your bustline measurement, or a pattern may note where seams should sit relative to it. The word also describes the shaped portion of a garment itself — the cut or seaming that defines how fabric falls across the chest — so designers speak of necklines, waistlines, and bustlines as parallel features of a silhouette. Its register is neutral and technical; it belongs to the vocabulary of ateliers, pattern-making guides, and fashion journalism rather than casual speech. Formed transparently from "bust," a term borrowed from French and ultimately Italian for a sculpted torso, combined with "line," it entered English as clothing manufacture became increasingly standardized and measurement-driven. For anyone interested in how bodies are translated into numbers and shapes by the garment industry, bustline is a small but precise piece of that vocabulary.
The measurement or contour of the chest at its fullest point, especially as taken for garment fitting.
"Her measurements listed a 34-inch bustline."
Used almost exclusively in fashion, sewing, and retail sizing contexts.
The part of a garment, or the seam shaping within it, that fits over and defines the chest.
"The bodice was darted neatly through the bustline."
Plural is uncommon but appears when comparing measurements or garment designs across people or styles.
"Vintage patterns often assumed smaller bustlines than modern ones do."
A single word born on the sewing table — 'bustline' stitches together an old sculptor's term for a torso with the humble drafting word 'line'.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bustline
Bustline is a straightforward English compound of "bust" and "line." The element "bust" came into English from French "buste," borrowed from Italian "busto," originally meaning a sculpted representation of the human torso — a sense still alive in museum busts. Combined with "line," a word descended from Latin "linea" (a linen thread, hence a straight stroke), it emerged as garment making became standardized, describing both the measured circumference of the chest and the visible contour a garment creates there.
How bustline is actually used
Chiefly used in fashion, tailoring, and sewing contexts rather than everyday conversation; it is neutral and technical in register, not intimate or slangy.
Easily confused with bustline
"Bust" refers to the chest itself or, as a verb, to something broken or an arrest, while "bustline" specifically denotes the measurement or outline of that part of the body in tailoring contexts.