Apparel Sizing Has Changed
September 26, 2011
Have you noticed that you find yourself sizing down a lot when you try on clothing? I have. And I tell you, when I fit into a size 2, or once into a size 0, I’m so elated, I almost always buy it. For me, it’s like wearing a badge of honor!
Well, now my bubble has been burst. I learned recently that a size 0 today was a size 8 back in the 1970′s. As a child, I remember one of my babysitters telling me that she once waited on Jackie O for a bathing suit and sold her a size 10. So, for years, I thought as long as I stayed under a size 10, I was just fine. Well, now I’m finding that her size 10 of the 70′s is today’s size 2!
So, what’s going on? According to Ed Gribbin, President of Alvanon Inc – a clothing size and fit consultant to the fashion industry, the industry is playing with the sizing numbers so that more plus-size women can fit in sizes that sound more standard. Today’s size 14 has a bust measurement of 44 inches, a waist of 38 inches and hips of 46 inches. So, though 1/3 of the American population of women are plus-sized, only 15% of clothing sales go to clothing classified as plus-sized. In other words, they have shifted the sizing scale downward, created sizes like 0 and 00 at the bottom of the size scale so that traditionally average sizes like 10, 12 and 14 are actually fitting plus-sized women.
However, getting the right fit in these new sizes is a challenge. As I blogged about before, once a woman gets to a certain size, she starts to hold her weight in a variety of areas. In contrast, the smaller sizes tend to put on weight proportionally in the same areas and this allows the manufacturer to know how to grade a pattern for the different sizes. We’ve all heard about the fruit shape comparisons. The apple shape means you have a large tummy. The pear shape means you have large hips. These two silhouettes do not fit in clothing the same way – the weight distribution is diverse in these larger sizes.
Lane Bryant, a retailer of plus-sized clothing, has been making 3-D scans of many of their customers’ bodies since 2004. They now have more than 65,000 unique body measurements for comparison analysis. What they found is that 15% of women in the plus sized category had more than a 10 inch difference between their waist and hips. 70% of these women had a difference between waist and hips within an 8-10 inch variance, and another 15% only has a 4-6 inch variance between these two measurements. That’s a lot of variation! So, there is no one dress shape or pant style that will fit all plus-sized women.
The lesson in all of this is that plus-sized women need to know not only their size, but their body shape. The latest thinking is that there are 4 shapes – round, curvy, bottom-heavy and straight.
Since I sell underwear, once I learned this, I immediately thought of the challenges plus-sized women have with shapewear. Shapewear is really made with the assumption that you are for the most part pretty straight up and down. So by figuring out her body shape, a full-figure woman can make the right shapewear decisions If she has a fuller bottom, two pieces of shapewear – one for the top and one for the bottom – will give her the best results. If she’s more straight, a one-piece shapewear will probably work.
So, say goodbye to the fruit analogies, and figure out what body shape you have if you are plus-sized. This will go a long way in helping you find the best-fitting and figure-flattering clothing.
Find Shapewear that fits at HerRoom in these departments:
Shapewear
Plus-Size Lingerie
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Posted by Tomima at 9:12am
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Hosiery Will Be Getting New Sizing
August 04, 2011
Finding your hosiery size has always been a little bit of a game. I, for one, am always on the cusp, so I usually size up to the next size. Sometimes this works and sometimes not. Given a choice, I would rather my pantyhose be too big than not big enough and suffer the discomfort of a low-hanging crotch. But too big could mean baggy ankles or having to pull the excess over my toes and folding it under my foot before putting my shoes on.
The Hosiery Association (THA), a trade organization for US leg wear manufacturers has come up with a new sizing convention for women’s sheers and tights. The hope is to finally get accurate sizing across all hosiery brands.
This 4-year effort found that because hosiery has a variety of spandex content, and because certain knits and patterns can impact the elasticity, sizing accurately is quite a challenge. Specialized categories such as ultra sheers, patterned sheers, warm weather tights, body shaping tights and opaque tights can further complicate sizing.
US data collected through a 2001 survey calculated the actual body volume of a woman from her crotch to her toes, and then from her crotch to her waist. It found there are 3 forms – 2 for the leg sizing and one for the hips. They then sized by going up 1 inch in height and 5 lbs. for every size increment. The Hosiery Association feels this new standard should handle 95% of all women’s legwear products. The only exception would be the few styles like hip-huggers and others that have unique cuts.
This new standarization should go a long way in helping women get the right size. In fact, if we now get our correct size, we might follow in Princess Katherine’s shoes and actually start wearing pantyhose again.
Find pantyhose and tights in your size at HerRoom in these departments:
Hosiery
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Posted by Tomima at 7:17am
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Anatomy of a Bra – The Center Panel
November 04, 2010
That little triangle-shaped patch of fabric sitting between the cups of your bra is no afterthought. There’s a lot of engineering taking place between your breasts.
That center panel, also called a gore, helps to determine the shape and placement of your breasts. Traditionally, the top of this panel should be horizontal with the apex of your breasts (read nipples) for the best breast support. This is the primary reason I show the "measured" image on every bra we sell. The graph overlay shows you many things, but it specifically shows you where that center panel is going to land on you.
Over the last couple of years, decollete tops have sent women looking for bras with what is called a ‘plunging’ center design. In this case, the center panel is cut lower. Now, these bras fit fairly well for women in cup sizes up to a D. But, the larger cup sizes must be fit very precisely, or the woman falls out when she leans forward.
Officially, the center panel should rest directly on your sternum. If it does not, this usually means your cup size is too small and you need to size up. However, there are three exceptions to this rule. The first is a minimizer bra. Because their design objective it to reduce breast projection, minimizer bras create a kind of compression of the breasts. The center panel in some is therefore missing altogether, but if it is there, the proper fit does not mean the center panel must touch the sternum. The second exception is soft-cup or wire free bras. Without an underwire, it is almost impossible for the center panel to successfully rest on the sternum. The final exception would be larger breasts. With so much breast tissue, there is sometimes simply not enough room for the center panel to get to the sternum.
Finally, no conversation about the center panel can end without a discussion of front-closure bras. These are bras that have a clasp in the center front. It is extremely difficult to design a good front closure bra. The center panel is now a clasp which reduces the bra’s stability in the center. Not to mention that the bra now has no adjustability, so it must be an extremely accurate fit. Women in between band sizes will find the fit unacceptable. Front-closure bras have some of the highest return rates on the market. So, if you are a lover of them, this is why you don’t see very many – the manufacturers and retailers shy away from them for this very reason.
The next time you are shopping for a bra, give some thought to its center panel. The more that’s there, the better the support.
Find bras in all styles at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
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Posted by Tomima at 12:56pm
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