SIZING

A sizing system is the artificial division of the population into size groups according to a
predetermined size interval (the major girth differences between each size).

Apart from convenience, the size of an interval is basically influenced by the magnitude of
the garment measurement tolerances. Consequently, it would be pointless to use an interval
smaller than the limits of measuring error for a major girth measurement .For example, a size
interval of 1 cm would be capable of being measured on a pattern but in practical terms, it
would be very difficult to measure it with the same degree of accuracy on a finished garment.
Therefore if we assume that the range f size variations is in order of plus or minus 2 cm, then
the logical size interval would be4 cm .In the practice intervals smaller than 4 cm would only
result in the use of more sizes for the same range.

Size Ranges
This term refers to the differences in the major girth measurements between the smallest and
largest size in the size chart.

Measurements
The measurements given for a size represent the average measurements of a woman having a
particular bust or hip girth, and this combination is denoted by size symbol .These
measurements usually refer to main girths, girths divisions and length but do not always
provide the detail necessary for accurate grading. Therefore, a grading system
mustautomatically provide efficient and accurate answers not only for the given
measurements but also for those which are not given.

A’ short –cut ‘ grading system which is dedicated to producing patterns in the shortest time
possible will never provide a comparable level of fitting quality as that of a system which
incorporates the relevant major and minor anthroprometric detail in all of its application.
 CASE STUDIES OF SIZING

O’Brien and Shelton Study

Two National Bureau of Home Economics specialists, O‟Brien and Shelton, collected the
first accurate anthropometric data on women’s sizing between 1939 and 1941. The National
Bureau of Home Economics of the U.S. Department of Agriculture conducted the first
widespread national sizing survey. Technicians manually measured 15,000 U.S. women in 8
states to obtain 59 body measurements. Although the sample of women used in the study was
large, it did not yield data representative of the population at the time because it failed to
include women of different ethnicities as well as varied ages (LaBat, 2007). The results of the
scientific study were published in 1941 in USDA Miscellaneous Publication 454, Women’s
Measurements for Garment and Pattern Construction (National Institute of Standards and
Technology, 2002).

CS 215-58 Sizing Standard

The National Bureau of Standards (NBS) received a request from the Mail Order Association
of America (MOAA) to develop a commercial standard using the data collected in the
O‟Brien and Shelton study. In 1958, CS 215-58 Body Measurements for the Sizing of
Women’s Patterns and Apparel was endorsed and published (LaBat, 2007).

PS 42-70 Sizing Standard

The MOAA was dissatisfied that the new standard did not result in a significant decline in the
amount of returns due to poor fit and petitioned the NBS for a revision. Ten years later, the
standard was revised, purportedly “to more accurately reflect the current population of
women” (National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2002, p.14). Released in 1971, this
new edition was designated Voluntary Product Standard PS 42-70 Body Measurements for
the Sizing of Women’s Patterns and Apparel.

Although the revised standard contained slight changes, clothing manufacturers could choose
to ignore them, since adherence to sizing standards in the U.S. is voluntary (MacDonald,
2010). The revised standard was not based on any new anthropometric study, but instead was
a result of manipulated data from the initial 1940 (O‟Brien and Shelton) study combined with
data from a few health surveys conducted from 1960-1962. According to LaBat (2007), “the
revision was not a major change, but a shift in size designations as bust girth was increased
by one grade interval per size code for all figure types, based on the information that women
had become larger”. In 1983, the Product Standards (PS) on the body measurements of
apparel sizing for women sizing standards, previously administered by the NBS government
entity were withdrawn, and for the first time, sponsorship of sizing standards was acquired by
the private sector (LaBat, 2007; National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2002).
ASTM D 5585

The American Society for Testing and Materials International (ASTM), founded in 1898, is a
non-profit organization that creates voluntary performance standards for a variety of products
that are used by manufacturers. This governing standards organization is responsible for the
establishment and revision of voluntary apparel sizing standards that pattern companies and
clothing manufacturers may utilize in product development (LaBat, 2007).

In 1995, 15 years after its initial publication, ASTM D 5585 Standard Table of Body
Measurements for Adult Female Misses Figure Type, Sizes 2–20 superseded PS 42-70. The
new standard, which was not based on any new anthropometric studies, was essentially a
revised version of PS 42-70. Although several anthropometric studies had been conducted
between 1971 and 1995 by such entities as the National Center for Health Statistics, NASA,
the U.S. Army, and U.S. Navy, ASTM neglected to utilize the data (Newcomb, 2006). The D
5585 standard was devised using the same 55 year old data from PS 42-70, along with
evaluations of conventional industry practices of numerous apparel manufacturers and some
data from military anthropometric studies (LaBat, 2007).

Today, the ASTM continues to review and develop the eight clothing sizing standards they
are responsible for administering (American Society for Testing and Materials Intl., 2011).
Although no concrete evidence exists, it is surmised that the majority of U.S. apparel firms
use the ASTM D 5585 standard as the basis for producing women‟s clothing in the misses
size range of 2 through 20 (LaBat, 2007).

The D 5585-95 (2001) standard was withdrawn in January 2010, in accordance with section
[Link] of the Regulations Governing ASTM Technical Committees. The standard was last
approved in 2001, and in accordance with the regulations, standards must be updated by the
end of the eighth year since they were last approved (American Society for Testing and
Materials Intl., 2011). The standard will be reissued in the near future and, according to C.
Istook, PhD, Professor at NC State University and ASTM technical committee member, for
the first time will contain sizing data based on two main body shapes: straight and curvy
(personal communication, June 30, 2011). This will be a significant departure from the
singular hourglass body shape, upon which the previous standard was based.

Size USA

Conducted in 2002-2003, SizeUSA was the most recent and comprehensive nationwide
anthropometric study of its kind. The study was funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce
and multiple industry partners at a cost of $1 million. Body scanning equipment and size
extraction software developed by Textile Clothing Technology Corporation [TC]2 was used
to obtain 200 accurate body measurements from over 10,000 volunteers in 12 cities across the
country ([TC]2, 2004). The population surveyed was comprised of mostly women (65%).
Body measurement data was collected from four different ethnicities and six age groups. The
results of the survey showed that the U.S. population has grown taller and heavier and are
changing shape (Joseph-Armstrong, 2010; Newcomb, 2006; [TC]², 2004).
 PRINCIPLE OF SIZING
Anthropometry, a word coined by the French naturalist George Cuvier (1769-1832) means the
measurement of man and is derived from the Greek roots for ‘man’ and ‘measurement’. This
discipline has long been used by physical anthropologists for the comparison of man to other
primates and for the comparison of different racial groups. Apart from its use for the sizing of
clothing, anthropometric data is also used to design car seats and the cockpits of aeroplanes
and space vehicles, etc.

During the past century, there have been many small scale surveys designed to determine the
sizes and measurements of specific groups within a given population. In the main, however,
these surveys were of limited value because of same samples taken and their lack of scientific
method. Therefore, the four large scale surveys carried out between1956 to 1968 are of major
importance because, to a very large extend, they still provide the only authoritative basis for
women’s measurement and sizes. The surveys are:

 USA: This survey, with various additions, was carried out between 1948 and 1959
and covered a sample of 10,000 women from each of whom 49 measurements were
taken. The USA survey is a definitive example of an anthropometric survey specially
designed for the clothing industry.
 England: During 1951, about 50,000 women were measured and 37 measurements
were taken on each subject. The report published in 1956 contains a detail analysis of
the measurements and size groupings of the entire female population between the ages
of 16 to 65.
 West Germany: A large scale survey was carried out by the Hohensteiner Institute in
1970 at the request of German Association of Clothing Manufacturers. The sample
consisted of 10,000 women and 21 measurements were taken from each one. The
report which was published in 1973, also contained proposals for a new system of
sizing nomenclature which has since been adopted throughout West Germany. The
Hohensteiner Institute carried out a repeat survey of the same size in 1981/82 and the
report was issued in 1983. The finding of the second survey regarding measurements
and proportions were very similar to those contained in the first report, and the results
of both of these surveys were used in the development of this system.
 France: The French survey was carried out by the Technical Centre for Clothing
(CEITH) in 1968 for the Federation of Clothing Manufacturers. During the survey, 26
measurements were taken from each of the 8000 subjects.

All of the surveys used the same basic procedures to take the measurements and apart from
the standard tape measures, various calibrated instruments were also used. The measurements
themselves were taken from specific anatomical landmarks marked on the body with a skin
pencil and the subjects wore a specially designed measuring costume. Measurement were
taken over the clothed areas of the body were adjusted to bring them into line with those
taken over nude areas of the body.
Each survey used the same four groupings of measurements:

 Girth: Measurements taken around the body or limbs such as bust girth, neck girth,
etc.
 Arc: These are measurements which are specific parts of girth measurements. For
example, the bust arc anterior is part of the bust girth.
 Vertical: The majority of these measurements relate to the height of various girth
lines from the soles of the feet, such as knee height, waist height and cervical height,
etc.
 Width and length: This group contains the primary and secondary measurements of
width and length, such as across back neck to waist, across chest, etc.

These four surveys were in their own way, landmarks in the history of the clothing
industry. Up until the publication of the studies, the sizing systems in current use were
the results of many years development by trial and error methods and it is now became
possible for the first time to use scientific methods for determining the average
measurements for a size based on the bust or hip girth.

It is generally accepted by the clothing manufacturers that the female population is

 Infants (age 0-3yrs): The body form has very little definition and is characterised
by a protuberant abdomen and stomach.
 Girls (age 3-9yrs): The body form in this group still lacks definition but tends
towards a taller and slimmer development.
 Juvenile (age 9-13yrs): In this group, the waistline has more definition and the
larger sizes show the beginnings of the bust development.
 Teenage (age 13-18yrs): The smaller sizes in this group cover body forms which
are beginning to take shape but are not yet fully developed. The larger sizes cater
to a more well proportioned and developed figure.
 Women (age 18-65yrs): This is the group covered by all of the surveys and is
characterised by a well proportioned and fully developed figure.
(a) Women’s – Outsizes ( age 18-65yrs): A maturely developed figure where
the waist and the hip girths are larger in proportion to the bust girth than
those in Group 5.

Where there is a viable demand from the market, these five main size groups can each be
broken down into sub groups which cater for specific body forms.
According to all the surveys, the sizes in ‘Women’ group can be categorised according to two
parameters:

 STATURE : This refers to the main height groups within a given population and all of
the surveys use the same three divisions of short, medium and tall. In countries which
have sophisticated sizing systems, the three height group division is generally used.
 BUST AND HIP GIRTH RELATIONSHIP: All of the surveys discovered that for a
given hip girth, there can be a number of different bust girths irrerespective of the
height groups, the main relationships were established as being:

1. Very small bust: Bust girth 15cm smaller than the hip girth.
2. Small bust: Bust girth is 10cm smaller than the hip girth.
3. Medium bust: Bust girth is 5cm smaller than the hip girth.
4. Full bust: Bust girth is equal to hip girth.
5. Large bust: Bust girth is 5cm larger than the hip girth.
6. Extra large bust: Bust girth is 10cm larger than the hip girth.

The most practical sizing systems which would suit the largest proportion of the population is
that where:

 Three stature groups are used.