Ministry of Education of the Republic of Moldova

Tehnical University of Moldova

Faculty of Light Industry

Modern Languages Department

PortfolioTheme: Does one size really fit all?

Performed by: Bezman Eliza gr.DVI-131

Checked by Lecturer: L.Ciumac

Chisinau 2014

What should pattern makers take into consideration when grading a line for sizes?

Pattern grading is the process of creating a range of sizes for a single style. Pattern grading is fairly complex. It's best to avoid it unless it's necessary. Even if you are making a group of garments in a variety of sizes, unless the group of people wearing them are of very similar proportions, it may be easier to fit and pattern each one separately.However, it's worth learning if you are planning on designing and creating your own clothing line to sell.

Since the clothing is designed with a range of body types in mind, it may fit a large number of people, but it may not always be flattering. Smaller people may find the clothing baggy in places, while larger people may experience tighter or uncomfortable sections.

Should there be one international sizing code?

Vanity sizing, also known as size inflation refers to the phenomenon of ready-to-wear clothing of the same nominal size becoming bigger in physical size over time. This has been documented primarily in the United States and the United Kingdom. Vanity sizing tends to occur where clothing sizes are not standardized, such as the U.S. market. In the United States, although clothing size standards exist , most companies do not use them any longer. Size inconsistency has existed since at least 1937. In Sears's 1937 catalog, a size 14 dress had a bust size of 32 inches (81 cm). In 1967, the same bust size was a size 8. In 2011, it was a size 0. Some argue that vanity sizing is designed to satisfy wearers' wishes to appear thin and feel better about themselves. Designer Nicole Miller introduced size 0 because of its strong California presence and to satisfy the request of many Asian customers. It introduced subzero sizes for naturally petite women. However, the increasing size of clothing with the same nominal size caused Nicole Miller to introduce size 0, 00, or subzero sizes.

In 2003, a study that measured over 1,000 pairs of women's pants found that pants from more expensive brands tended to be smaller than those from cheaper brands with the same nominal size.

Should the sizing systems currently used remain in place?

The National Eating Disorder Association found that about 20 million women suffer from some sort of eating disorder in their lifetime. Eating disorders are no longer just anorexia and bulimia but extreme dieting with a “drive for thinness.” 35 to 57 percent of adolescent girls engage in a form of crash dieting.

Before the creation of clothing sizes in the early 1800s, all clothing was made to fit individuals by either makers of clothing in homes or tailors. Then garment makers noticed that the range of human body dimensions was somewhat small. Therefore sizes were made-up as a crucial step in the mass production of clothing.

EN 13402 is a European standard for labelling clothes sizes. It is based on body dimensions, measured in centimetres. It replaces many older national dress-size systems in popular use before the year 2007. Acceptance of this form of standardization varies from country to country. For example, the Spanish Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs has commissioned a study to categorise female body types with a view to harmonising Spanish clothing sizes with EN-13402. Few other countries are known to have followed suit.

US standard clothing sizes were developed from statistical data in the 1940s-1950s. They were similar in concept to theEN 13402 European clothing size standard.However, as a result of various cultural pressures, most notably vanity sizing, North American clothing sizes have drifted substantially away from this standard over time, and now have very little connection to it. Instead, they now follow the more loosely defined standards known as US catalog sizes.

Vocabulary

1. Fairly-just2. Flattering-magulitor3. Baggy-larg4. To occur-a se petrece.

Bibliography

en.wikipedia.org www.wisegeek.com thelantern.com www.thegloss.com simple.wikipedia.org