Looking
Back At Garment Construction And Sizing
The first clothes available to man were made
of animal skins, roughly sewn together and tied around the body. These
garments were made from a flat skin, establishing the concept that
from the start patterns are developed from a flat sheet of material.
Once spinning and weaving was discovered we
were able to produce lengths of fabric, usually these were linen,
silk and wool. Once woven these fabrics would be taken off the loom
and without being cut would be draped over the body and held in position
with either a girdle or ornamental brooches. The first garments to
be cut to fit the form of the body were in the Minoan Civilisation
(3000-1400BC). The garments were cut to allow for sleeves and legs
to be added for coverage.
The earliest patterns are from the 12th century
and were the habits that Italian monks would wear. The patterns were
made from slate, and consisted of a back, front, and sleeve. Around
this time the cutting and making of clothes took on a basic structure,
which lasted for many centuries.
By the 16th century clothing and tailoring
had really taken off. Men's tailors were widely available making bespoke
clothing and uniforms. With the amount of measurements the tailors
of the time would take they grew very knowledgeable on proportions
of the body and how to draft first patterns. Journals about pattern
cutting and sewing started to appear around this time and by 1671
the first book on pattern making for men was published.
Women's garments on the other hand were produced
within the home or by a seamstress who would visit. Patterns were
produced by draping fabric (toile) onto the body and adjusting style
lines and fitting by use of pins and tack stitching.
When the style of the garment was achieved
the toile would be taken off and a pattern would be taken from this.
Actual body measurements would hardly be used when making a pattern,
as women were more willing to stand for hours while a toile was being
fitted. Until the middle of the 19th century women's clothes carried
on being made by this method. During this century dressmaking salons
became popular, making 'made to measure'clothes for clients on a one
to one basis. The first sewing machine was also developed at this
time by Singer, this made the whole manufacturing process easier.
Dress stands made from willow cane and woven in a basket fashion were
also seen in the workrooms. During the 1860's a French company started
developing a range of workroom stands, standardizing their many thousands
of measurements taken from years of producing papier mache stands
for individual customers. They adopted size intervals which became
the basis of European sizing today.
The first ready-to-wear clothes for women
started in the late 19th century, the garments were cheap imitations
of the current fashion and were often simplified. Only the upper classes
still had made to measure hand made clothing, which were elaborately
designed to avoid copying and to retain the exclusivity of the garment.
Pattern construction at the time was still relatively new for women's
clothing, so women were quite aware of the fact that an off the peg
garment would still need considerable alterations to get the garment
to fit as it should.
Until the 1st World War class status still
prejudiced many women into not wearing ready-to-wear clothing.
During the war women of all classes were called upon to serve their
country in the auxiliary services, and for this they needed to wear
a uniform. Consequently it became important to mass-produce women's
ready-to wear clothing over all ranges. As the war came to a close
there was more call for mass produced clothing. Manufacturers realised
that there needed to be a rational solution to the pattern construction
of garments and their size ranges. It wasn't until 1947 and 'The New
Look' created by Christian Dior that the clothing industry developed
realistic and accurate sizing data on which to base pattern construction
and grade rules. The conclusion was that pattern construction should
be based on accurate sizing and precise grading. These were the pre-requisites
for mass production and hassle free volume sales. As a result of these
findings there became a rapid growth in the development of pattern
construction and grading, these systems contributed highly to the
sizing quality of women's clothing today.
The major problem with what had preceded 'The
New Look' was there was almost no data relating to the size of women.
During the years 1956-1968 this was to be rectified by producing the
most in-depth and accurate study of women's measurements that had
ever been done before. The measurements were taken in four different
countries around the world and the data was collated to produce a
comprehensive size chart for women. Even today we still argue over
the sizing of mass produced clothing. It is hard to find two high
street clothing outlets that have the same sizing policy. A size 12
in one high street chain may not fit the same as another size 12 in
a different store. There are many reasons to why different stores
have different sizing policies. A lot depends on the target market
and how expensive a garment is. Often stores which are on the upper
scale of the high street will grade and size bigger compared with
a cheaper store whose fabric is less expensive and sales targets are
different.
There will always be a wrangle over the sizing
of women's clothing especially as women's body shapes are changing
and getting bigger. Unless manufacturers can keep on top of these
changes it will be inevitably the consumer who suffers, unable to
find clothing, which fits properly and at a price that they can afford.
The following book was used as reference Pattern Grading for Womens
Clothing The Technology of Sizing Gerry Cooklin ISBN 0-632-02295-7
Also visit website- www.linst.ac.uk/learning/garment
for an introduction to basic blocks, pattern cutting and garment
construction, created and developed by the London Institute, well
worth a look!
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