Page 224 - Anthropometry, Apparel Sizing and Design

218 Anthropometry, Apparel Sizing and Design

The boundaries between the two score terms of fit and balance are not very obvious
sometimes. They disappear when differences between the volume of the clothes and
the body indicated by air gaps become smaller or completely disappear. For loose
clothing designed by means of pattern blocks with positive ease allowances, the indi-
cators of fit and balance can be calculated without problems, but for tight-fitting
clothes, such as compression garments, which have negative ease allowances, the
numeric indicators of balance are never used (see Section 13.6 in Chapter 13).
By means of balance indicators, which can be calculated after pattern block mak-
ing, the fit of clothes can be predicted before production.
The main problems with ill-fitting clothes are hiding in the pattern block. For fit
prediction, the pattern block should be checked to find the basic indicators of balance.
The balanced pattern block is the combination of its parts (front, back, sleeve), in
which each part should be designed in accordance with the desirable level of clothes
fit in total. Bad-fitting clothing can be produced only by an imbalanced pattern block,
but properly fitting clothes need only a balanced pattern block.
So, the schedule of special indicators can help to evaluate the balance between the
body and clothes construction, on the one side, and predict the fit, on the other side.

9.2 Approaches to fit criteria

Clothing appearance is evaluated within the scope of aesthetic (harmonic) comfort
which is a complex perception contributing to overall image and well-being of the
wearer. This appearance is judged by front, profile, and back silhouettes, balance
between the shapes of body and clothes, proportion and position of pieces, distribution
of folds, etc. To achieve a satisfactory fit, it is inadequate to study only one aspect
without consideration of others. The synergy effects dependent on body morphology,
construction of pattern block, clothes type and style, and properties of textile materials
should be experimented with synchronously to observe the variation of fit and balance
and to establish the practical criteria of properly fitting clothes.
To observe fit objectively, numeric indicators were proposed to describe the fea-
tures of clothes evaluated in the system “body-clothes.” The clothing compression is
the most frequently used indicator to reveal the interactive force applied to the soft
tissue of the human body, which will influence the movement and comfort accord-
ingly (see Chapter 13). On the one hand, a good fit of clothes is determined only when
acceptable wearing comfort, satisfactory appearance, and appropriate clothing pres-
sure are obtained. On the other hand, a misfit of clothing is determined from uncom-
fortable feelings of the wearer, defective appearance, and clothing compression that is
too high. The reasons for misfit are mainly related to the absence of anthropometric
information, defective methods of pattern block making, and an ignorance of textile
material properties.
In fit investigations, the clothing itself and the wearer’s body are regarded as a con-
comitant system, because the wearing effects vary tremendously from one wearer to
another due to the diverse morphology of human bodies. To meet the demands of dif-
ferent body types, ready-to-wear mass production (RTW) clothes are produced