Page 297 - Anthropometry, Apparel Sizing and Design

290 Anthropometry, Apparel Sizing and Design

wearing and their weight exceeded human lifting capacity—if he fell off his horse, a
trooper could not stand up—their role in protecting against the enemy’s spears was
important.
As industrialization and safety concerns were growing more advanced, the PPE
also developed. The development of protective clothing respected the specificities
of employees’ routine work, traditions, and uniformity, particularly important for spe-
cial task performers such as armed forces, firefighters, rescuers, etc.
Although soldiers had always worn special clothing, including the armor already
mentioned, it has been only since the end of the 17th century that similarity with mod-
ern concepts of a uniform can be observed. Before that, only individual military units
such as bodyguards or guards of royal families wore unified garments. In the battle-
fields, most of the soldiers were dressed in a varicolored variety of plain clothes. Only
in the late 17th century, when regular armies emerged, were soldiers supplied with
uniform clothing. Perhaps it was more about thrift rather than how to distinguish fri-
ends from enemies at the time. In the 19th century, military uniforms became overly
ornate compared to men’s civil robes, and they became so pompous that military per-
sonnel were confident of the need for more functional types of clothing. First, army
uniforms had to be appended by so-called noncombatant working clothes, such as
overalls, overclothes, and service caps, so that the more expensive sets of formal uni-
forms could be saved for parades and other ceremonial activities. Since the 19th/20th
centuries, almost all armies introduced functionally safer combat outfits that began to
be made of more inconspicuous, even-looking, but more durable textile fabrics in fal-
low or khaki colors or green-gray “protective colors.” The experience of both world
wars and the demands of thrift put a point on the custom of wearing traditional parade
uniforms almost everywhere, except for some special-assignment departments. For
example, in the United States the parade uniform with a shako hat, worn since
1814, is preserved in the military academy cadet corps. Even more ancient past rem-
nants are observed in the Vatican Swiss Guard outfit, whose appearance has not chan-
ged since the 16th century.
In the aftermath of World War II, the development of military uniforms was
increasingly less impressed by the traditions, and the practical considerations and pro-
tective capabilities of the outfitting came into the foreground. There were specialized
uniforms for hostilities in jungle, desert, and arctic conditions. The customers began to
require the clothing to be more functionally thought-out, to be made of light but at the
same time durable materials, and to be constructed in such a way as to enable soldiers
to fulfill their service obligations without restrictions on movements. Special needs
also created special uniforms, such as antiflame uniforms for crews of tankers, tanks,
and helicopters, and protective clothing against chemical assault. The colors of gar-
ments, for masking or camouflage, were planned to be worn in an environment with a
similar coloristic background.
This highlights the different aspects of the use of the PPE: that is, the PPE must
ensure both human protection and the masking of visibility, or, on the contrary, ensure
highlighting (doctors, rescuers, transport road workers). Also, given that the wearing
of PPE is most often linked to a representation of a particular profession, the PPE must
ensure the functions of the uniform, i.e., uniformity and recognition.