Different clothes for different shapes

Itari

I read an interesting discussion. It's in Polish, which means that I have to explain it.

Basically, the reason was the frustration that came from standard clothes sizing. Clothes are sewn for "average" women, that are probably rectangles with small bust. Many, many women just can't find decent, fitting clothes in stores - either you have to buy something stretchy, or pay for an alteration. With my prominent curves, I have the problem myself. My waist and shoulders are about two-three sizes smaller than my bust and hips. There are some stores that sell clothes for curvy women, like Bravissimo, but they're in minority.

The general idea was a letter after the standard size. For example, you'd have a 36X dress for hourglassy gals, 36A for pears, 36V for inverted triangles, 36O for apples and 36H for rectangles. The major drawback is that there are more than 4 body shapes - and what should I look for with my small shoulders and big bust? Anyway, the idea itself is nice. Clothes for young women are usually sewn to fit a boyish shape, while clothes for mature women have more space for boobs (and tummy as well).

I talked to my mum about it. Being a totally different shape from me, she agreed that we both need different clothes, even if we wear the same size (she's a rectangle with pear tendencies and small bust, I guess).

What do you think?

15 years ago

General

12 replies

Latest reply was from Laura (rhubarbgirl)

Sihaya

Veteran

I think that's a great idea. I grew up in a place where almost all our clothes are custom made and cost less that way than "ready made" clothes. I find it a challenge to shop especially for DH who is very tall. They automatically assume that means he needs XL which he doesn't!

15 years ago

Itari

(website)

Active Member

Oh, yes. This is a problem too. My height is average, but with short torso and long legs, which makes buying pants and jeans very difficult.

15 years ago

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

Actually Magda, each company has a different fit model- which means that they design for a different body type (same goes for shoe companies). There are companies whose fit models are more straight, and curvier, top heavy, or bottom heavy- and if you find a company whose fit models are similar in shape then you will have an easier time. That being said- every body is different, and tailoring is the best way to get a perfect fit. There is so much differentiation between shapes that it would be impossible to cut for a certain shape and encompass all the varieties within that shape type. You have slight pears like yourself, and really extreme pears- pears who carry their weight high on the hips and those who carry it low on the thigh. It's a nice idea, but we actually have more variety of fits now (at least in America).

15 years ago

Itari

(website)

Active Member

Me? I'm an extreme pear, not a slight pear

I know that clothes are varied, but I had a different thing in mind - for example, one dress in different fits. I found many clothes that I loved, but they were clearly sewn for somebody less curvy than me. And on the other hand, I have NEVER found a garment designed for someone curvier than me (while I'm sure that such women exist) - and I don't mean "curvier" as bigger, but with smaller waist and bigger bust/hips. I agree that there are many body shapes, but three or four different fits would be much better than one.

15 years ago

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

I recently saw a woman whose top half was about a US size 10 (including her waist) and her bottom half was about a US size 22- THAT is an extreme pear. You are hardly pear shaped at all, and I wish you could see that.

15 years ago

Kate

Veteran

That is an interesting idea Magda, though I think the best would be for people to know their measurements and then for clothing companies to list the measurements for each garment - that would at least make it easier to rule things out.

Chewyspaghetti also makes a great point about different stores fitting different body types. I'm not sure if this is still the case, but as of 2000-2005 I couldn't find a single pair of pants at Old Navy that fit me right, but most Gap jeans fit me very well. Even though they're part of the same corporation, the stores used different models or templates to design their clothes.

15 years ago

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Kathleen Fasanella (she writes the Fashion-Incubator blog) writes about how fortunate it is that different lines and companies have different fit models. I know there are places I can't buy pants, or fitted clothes at all, that will fit, and I know there are places that I usually have good luck. I assume that those with opposite figures to mine have opposite success in those stores.

I like the idea of having label variations that will capture fit differences, but as someone who sews I know that it's really difficult to capture these things accurately. Let alone make them economically viable and capable of fitting a wide enough variety of people to make them worthwhile for a company to produce. Lane Bryant did a '3 fits' thing with their jeans a while ago, and BR and Eddie Bauer do something similar with pants, and I think that's probably as close as we'll get to that until mass customization becomes more widespread.

I remember it being pretty difficult to find clothes that fit when I lived in a small town in an economically depressed area, although that was before online shopping really took off. I am sure that it's 10x more difficult for people in smaller countries outside of North America and western Europe, especially when your budget is limited.

15 years ago

crazyone

Veteran

Laura: actually, in some ways the situation is better in countries that are very different from N. America/Western Europe. At least in India, the accessibility to well fitting clothes is quite high, because either clothing is made from scratch for you by a tailor, or can be cheaply (or sometimes in department stores, for free) altered to fit you like a glove. For example, as of about 3 years ago in the town my family is from, the labor cost to make a salwar suit (long tunic, scarf, and pants) from scratch was about 100 rupees (at that time, about 2 dollars). The cloth itself was extra, but that's probably another 200-400 rupees on top of that. The only challenge is to find a good tailor (which sadly, this tailor was not...but the prices are fairly standard, I think, though they've probably gone up since then, but so has the income of the middle class)--good tailors in India don't even need to take measurements--they can just size you up and come up with a good fitting garment! This is a crucial skill in making saree blouses, which are generally quite tight fitting, so they need to take into account shoulder size, arm circumference, bust size, and rib cage...but the skilled ones can do it easily. And of course, with tailoring like that you can also easily choose the necklines, sleeve styles, etc. that you like.

I wonder if the West will ever move back to a model a little bit more like that. It requires a fair amount of skilled but not too highly paid labor though...

15 years ago

Itari

(website)

Active Member

I don't really know if it's dependant on the country or world region. I mean, we have the same stores all across Europe and I doubt that they use different models in different countries. I had the same problem everywhere - but then again, I have never been in an non-EU country.

crazyone - I think I have to fly to India

However, this is a good point. I talked to my mum and my grandma about clothes; in 50's and 60's many clothes were tailored (and curvier shapes were more appreciated then, or so I heard). It was way cheaper than now and you could be sure that your item was properly fitting. But on the other hand, underwear was way worse than it is now

15 years ago

Lisa

Veteran

I love the idea of clothes marked to indicate which body type they are for. Then I could quickly say no to anything not labeled for a pretty pear. I do agree though, the best fitting clothes are those custom made. If only that wasn’t so costly in the US.

15 years ago

Carole

Veteran

Wouldn't that be helpful! After lots of research and experimenting, I am pretty good at discerning what will work and not work for my shape, but this would make the process so much quicker, and would be so helpful for those that haven't quite figured out the rules for their body type.

15 years ago

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

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Veteran

Crazyone, great point. When I wrote before, I was referencing only of store-bought, off the shelf clothing options. I know there is a lot of the world where custom tailoring is still common and affordable, and that people have a larger percentage of that kind of thing in their wardrobes. I have on my blog-reading-list a blog of a woman who is a custom dressmaker in, if I remember correctly, the Philippines, who makes all kinds of things for her customers, more casual to dressy - not just the fancy occasion dresses or bespoke suits that are what the few custom dressmakers/tailors here in the US do most of the time (excluding people who cater to immigrant/ethnic communities from the places we're talking about).

It's interesting - my impression is that the green and locally-sourced movements recently have lead to some more opportunity for a few indie designers who have their items made locally, but not much more work for people who make one-offs, whether you call them seamstresses, dressmakers, tailors or whatever. If I ever have an executive or high-paying job, I'm totally gonna find a person from the Professional Association of Custom Clothiers and have them make me some workwear. I have a feeling it'll be pricey but well worth it.

15 years ago

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