Classic & Vintage - Measuring a frame

What is the most common way to measure a frame height? Center of bottom bracket to top of top tube by measuring vertically straight up from the bottom bracket or along the seatpost or am I all wrong? I have a 29 in inseam so standing in shoes, crotch is ~ 30 in. trying to figure out the best way to determine what bike size I would look for....

The English method is to measure from the centre of the bottom bracket to the top of the seat lug and is expressed in inches. The Italian method is from the centre of the bottom bracket to the centre of the seat lug, expressed in centimetres. You may want a frame no bigger than 21", but have a look here (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-sizing.html).

There are several ways to measure, with the most common for the seat tube being center to top (center of bottom bracket to top of seat tube), or center to center (center of bottom bracket to center of top tube). The top tube is usually measured center to center (center of seat tube to center of head tube). It can get confusing, because different manufacturers use different methods, etc. When considering frames, just be sure you ask the seller what dimension is being referred to in regard to the frame's stated size............As for standover height in relation to seat tube measurement, the standover height measurement is also affected by the bottom bracket height since the measurement of the seat tube starts at the center of the bottom bracket, so keep that in mind as well. As long as you can stand over a bike without injuring yourself, the more important measurement is actually the top tube, as it's the measurement that will most affect the cockpit length-

all the ways to measure but the bottum line is standover hight. If inseam is 32 stand over should be 31 or so, some people have other feelings about how close thay want the to bar to there uh stuff