A Cross-Cultural Study of Consumer Perceptions of Clothing Fit

Many studies and industry initiatives endeavor to provide well-fitted ready-to-wear products (RTW) to consumers. However, consumer perception of clothing fit has not been fully studied. We conducted a simulated fitting room study and a 3D virtual fitting study to investigate consumers\u27 understanding of fit through their fitting practices and their organic language. It was found that both Chinese and American women experienced difficulties in fit evaluation. They lacked knowledge and methods of fit evaluation as well as vocabulary to describe clothing misfit. Therefore, more research is needed in clothing fit evaluation by consumers

Sugar Coated

The design challenge addressed in this outfit was to: “express how you recognize and define truth.” This challenge was made in the context of the recent epidemic of fake news. I researched confirmation bias, selective exposure, and desirability bias, which are all concepts that explain how people only see the truth they want to see, and reject anything that does not conform to what they want to believe. The body is truth. The tightly laced corset that manipulates the body shape and the hoop skirt that creates an exaggerated shape both represent the manipulation of truth. The dress that sits on top of the corset and hoop skirt represents the desire to accept this version of the truth. The purchased fabric has beautiful floral embroidery and sits over the shape of the manipulated truth, creating a simplified, attractive form. The dress is sheer to show that if we choose, we can see into the manipulation and therefore understand its relationship to real truth

Fit Analyses of Bicycle Clothing in Active Body Poses

We present a project experimenting with new approaches for fit analyses in active body poses, using half scale fit models made from 3D body scans, and compression sensors. Participants chosen as fit models for size categories of bicycle apparel were body scanned in active and standing positions. Half scale dress forms were 3D printed of one of the participant\u27s scans, and both half scale and full scale bicycle shorts were made in two styles. Fit tests were conducted using compression sensors on the fit model with the full scale shorts and on the dress forms with the half scale shorts. Results are promising, with some correlations in the results from the two tests. Testing fit on half scale forms in active positions could contribute to the design process for activewear. Further research is needed to test results in each size in the range

Half-Scale Dress Form as a Design and Fit Tool for Young Designers

For a young designer creating a look for a runway show can be an exciting and challenging process. Working with a model and achieving good fit and balance is often a time consuming and frustrating endeavor for a student with limited experience. Working with seven freshman enrolled in a draping class who had only one previous studio design class, we offered them the opportunity to have a custom half-scale dress form made of their model, allowing them to drape on the actual body they would be fitting

Exploring the relationship between Lead Users and collaborative orientation in the design of a functional running garment

While some users have great potential to increase product novelty and customer benefit, some do not, making user collaborations risky as they can lead to loss of time and money for the apparel company. If apparel professionals can find the right users to involve in the design process, they can reduce the risks while obtaining the benefits of collaborating with users. Past research has shown that Lead Users (LUs) develop product ideas that represent the needs of traditional consumers and can generate commercially successful products. The study design used an entrance survey, design session, exit survey, and online evaluation where users (runners) developed and evaluated concepts for a base layer garment. Sixty-five runners were sorted into seven LU groups and ten NLU groups. The design sessions resulted in 17 base layer design concepts. In the online survey,183 evaluated each of the 17 design concepts between 108-114 times. The highest scoring base layer concept was produced by the highest scoring LU group. Three of the five top-rated concepts developed by LU groups. Garment scores were moderately positively correlated to the group\u27s usership score, further supporting previous research that LUs develop commercially attractive products and, therefore, should be considered as collaborators when designing new apparel concepts. From the literature, we expected there to be a significant relationship between higher levels of usership and CO, but no such relationship was found collaborative orientation was not correlated with any of the three LU traits, but rather, it was negatively correlated to technical expertise. Groups who ran more per week were more likely to develop a highly-rated garment. Industry professionals should seek people who score high on LU traits, especially TE, over people who are collaboratively oriented. People who are willing to collaborate and work well in a team may be less likely to produce a commercially attractive garment. This finding is critical to understand how to optimize user collaborations. Apparel professionals may accommodate LUs by working with LUs individually or allowing LUs to have time to work alone to find a solution to their needs. The next steps of this research are to test the output of LU in nominal groups of one

Half Scale, Full Engagement: Uniting Art, History and Technology to Teach Patternmaking

We present a project designed to engage freshman students in a beginning patternmaking class using art deco and pochoir fashion art of the late teens and early 1920s, from Gazette du Bon Ton and Vogue. Students used half scale forms to drape silhouettes depicted in these graphic images. Dress forms were custom-made for the project from a 3D body scan. Students learned about the period and patternmaking techniques by examining garments from the period, looking at patternmaking books and Sears catalogs from the period, and lecture/discussion about world history and fashion history. Students created patterns and display models, pinning to the form. Results were positive, with student improvement in judging proportions, understanding body/garment interactions, and learning alternate patternmaking techniques. Students also gained confidence in patternmaking. Use of the half scale forms was successful overall, though students generally found the increased precision needed when working in half scale more difficult

Future Practices and Technologies in Anthropometrics and Body Scanning

There have also been great strides in software development, to convert and manipulate 3D scan data, to make mannequins, lasts, patterns, tooling files, etc. The presenters invited to this special topic session are at the forefront of these research spaces, either through evaluating or utilizing these technologies for product design and developmen

Assessment of the intraday variability of anthropometric measurements in the work environment: a pilot study

Central Institute for Labour Protection & National Research Institute (CIOP-PIB) Sitting for long periods of time, both during work and leisure times, is the typical behavior of the modern society. Especially at work, where there is not much flexibility, adopting the sitting posture for the entire day can cause some short-term and long-term effects. As workers’ productivity and well-being relies on working conditions, evaluating the effects caused by work postures assumes a very important role. The purpose of this article was to evaluate the variation of some anthropometric measurements during one typical workday to understand whether the known long-term effects can also be seen and quantified in an 8-h period. Twenty participants were measured before and after work, using traditional anthropometry equipment. The data from the two repetitions were compared using statistical tests. The results showed a slight variation in the anthropometric measurements, some with a tendency to increase over time and others with a tendency to decrease.(undefined

Identification of preponderant factors for work-wear design

The work garments’ fit is one factor that highly impacts on workers’ productivity and on their feeling of comfort. Work-wear may have some limitation, e.g. mobility, protection, temperature, aesthetics, comfort and fit. Moreover, as the variation of the human size and shape is so large it is extremely difficult to design clothes that can accommodate a large variety of people. The purpose of this paper is to present some important aspects that should be taken in consideration when designing clothes to be used at work. All information was gathered using a questionnaire, to understand how the participants feel about the clothes they usually wear at work and to identify what changes should be made to make it more comfortable – e.g. increase in the leg length. The results obtained show that there is more dissatisfaction towards the lower part of the garment. There are some issues that prompt discomfort such as the excessive leg length or the tightness of the garment.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Female firefighters’ body weight and stature: a comparison between two Portuguese fire brigades

Anthropometric data are essential for applying ergonomic principles to the design of a wide range of products and are paramount when developing personal protective equipment. In the case of occupations that deal with extreme circumstances, as is the case of firefighting, a proper fit and sizing of personal protective equipment is related not only with work performance and comfort but also with protection level. The increase in the number of female firefighters have raised the discussion about the barriers and challenges faced by women in firefighting. Issues with the fit of personal protective equipment commonly appear among physical and psychological stressors encountered by female firefighters. The need to provide gender-specific protective equipment forsuch professionals is highlighted by many studies. Furthermore, significant anthropometric differences among specialized occupational groups have also been found. However, anthropometric databases on firefighters are still very limited. Aiming to fulfill this shortcoming as well as to understand if Portuguese firefighters’ protective equipment is adjusted to their anthropometrics, a study designated as Size FF Portugal – Anthropometric Study of Portuguese Firefighters is currently underway. This paper presents a preliminary comparison of anthropometric data of female firefighters from two different fire brigades located in the North of Portugal. Stature and body weight measurements of 30 participants were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Results show that there were not statistically significant differences on the average stature nor on the average body weight of female firefighters from both brigades. Moreover, significant differences were not found when comparing their types of commitment for both considered measurements. However, the comparison of stature data of female firefighters with two available anthropometric databases of the Portuguese population presented statistically significant differences. These results corroborate similar research and highlight the relevance of the on-going study. A discussion regarding the results is presented, taking into consideration the current stage of the study and its limitations.The authors would like to express appreciation for the support of the 2C2T – Centre for Textile Science and Technology of the University of Minho. This work is financed by FEDER funds through the Competitive Factors Operational Program (COMPETE) POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007136, by national funds through the FCT-Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the project UID/CTM/000264, by Fundo de Apoio às Vítimas dos Incêndios de Pedrógão, and by ICC/Lavoro