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Submitted by: Raisa Gupta (15) Dipali Modi (07) Ziaul Hoda (11) Renu Ranjita Lugun (19) Rashmi Kumari (18)
TIME PERIOD PRIOR TO THE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT : Prior to industrial developments in Italy, which occurred only after the war, 90% of Italians were rurally employed. The elite acquired their luxury products from France, and Italian goods were considered poor during that phase. Most higher fashion was reserved for men, as women did not have as many black tie events to dress for. At the time, the mass fashion industry in Italy was largely nonexistent. With the high-end consumers buying their fashions from Paris, or having copies made by local tailors, some industrialists noticed a gap in the market supply, which called for functional, durable, high quality garments. This was a major reason for an Italian company Gruppo Finaziario Tessile (GFT) to take the first initiative to measure a wide sample of the Italian population to create national sizing system.
A NEED FOR STANDARDISATION OWING TO THE WAR : The industrial basis of the business began in World War I and continued into the 1970s. Initially, the pressure of war demands led to clothing production becoming more standardized. The military factories that produced fabrics increasingly coordinated their operations with the activities of the women temporarily engaged in sewing uniforms and knitting soldiers underwear in their own homes. The arrival of fascism and its imposition of autarchic policies during the interwar years accelerated the production of artificial and synthetic materials and spurred attempts to manufacture ready-made clothing. During the 1950s and 1960s, large firms that specialized in the production and distribution of mens clothingwomen still preferred custom-made garmentsemerged and Italy became transformed into an industrialized country. In order to accomplish the task of modernizing production and acquiring technological knowledge, Italy looked to the United States as a model. However, Italian firms adopted their own system of sizing to accommodate their distinctive physical features, which were different from those of Americans. Gruppo Finanziario Tessile (GFT) : The morphological structure of the Italian population differed from the American population. Thus, in the early 1950s GFT literally measured more than 25,000 Italians. This allowed FACIS ( Fabbrica Abiti Confezionati in Serie) to effectivel construct a size chart able to dress the whole nation for the first time with non- tailored garments. There were 37 such charts made initially.
These standards have been followed ever since with regards to mass production. Though now doubts and questions are being raised in the context of this system. THE NEED OF THE HOUR : In 1951, an Italian importer for American goods, named Gian Battista Giorgini, realized the US market was also ready for something new and different from that offered by France. They had mass-produced garments, the elite could buy haute couture from Paris, and yet there was nothing in between. Giorgini used his US contacts for market research and development, and began to organize Italian designers, whom he encouraged to abandon their French knock-offs and pursue an affordable Italian style. With new production technologies from the States being imported into Italy as part of the recovery plan, and a large skilled workforce of women to operate the machinery, GFT and other Italian manufacturing firms such as Marzotto and Lebole developed the production end of the industry. As many of top producers had a background in mens tailoring, there was still a strong industrial concentration in menswear, but the massproduction capabilities in the States found their way into Italian womens wear production soon enough. PROBLEMS DUE TO THE TRADITIONAL APPROACH : Mail-order purchasing requires accurate methods for predicting the best-fitting size. For many types of garments, size cannot be described adequately by just a single number, because two independent body dimensions have to match for a good fit, sometimes even three. (This is a problem in sizing jeans.) Scalar ad-hoc sizes based on 1950s anthropometric studies are no longer adequate, as changes in nutrition and life styles have shifted the distribution of body dimensions.
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Nation Italy XS 44
XXL 54
56
58
39
40
Size 41
42
43
44
Men Clothing: Country Italy Trousers Waist (cm) Italy Neck for Shirt (cm) XXS XS S M L XL XXL XXXL 44 39 46 48 50 52 54 40 41 42 43 44 56 45 58 46
Clothing size converter In view of the widespread globalization, including the garment industry there is a need to find a relationship between different systems of garment sizes, used in various countries around the world. Only a properly defined and the corresponding correlation makes possibly to commercial transactions.
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. There are three approaches for size-labelling of clothes: body dimensions- The product label states for which range of body dimensions the product was designed. (Example: bike helmet labelled "head girth: 5660 cm", shoe labelled "foot length: 28 cm") product dimensions - The label states characteristic measures of the product. (Example: jeans labelled with their inner-leg length in centimetres or inches: i.e., not theseveral centimetres longerinner leg length of the intended wearer). ad-hoc size- The label provides a size number or code with no obvious relationship to any measurement. (Example: Size 12, XL) Traditionally, clothes have been labelled using many different ad-hoc size systems. This approach has led to a number of problems:
Country-specific or even vendor-specific labels create additional costs. Ad-hoc sizes have changed with time, often due to "vanity labelling", an inflation in body dimensions associated with a size, to avoid confronting aging customers with uncomfortable anthropometric truths. Mail-order purchasing requires accurate methods for predicting the best-fitting size. For many types of garments, size cannot be described adequately by just a single number, because two independent body dimensions have to match for a good fit, sometimes even three. (This is a problem in sizing jeans.) Scalar ad-hoc sizes based on 1950s anthropometric studies are no longer adequate, as changes in nutrition and life styles have shifted the distribution of body dimensions.
Therefore, the European standards committee CEN/TC 248/WG 10 started in 1996 the process of designing a new modern system of labelling clothes sizes, resulting in the standard EN 13402 "Size designation of clothes".
It is based on:
body-dimensions the metric system (SI) data from new anthropometric studies of the European population performed in the late 1990s similar existing international standards (ISO 3635, etc.)
measured in a straight line from the crown of the head to the soles of the feet) inside leg length - distance between the crotch and the soles of the feet, measured in a straight vertical line with the subject erect, feet slightly apart, and the weight of the body equally distributed on both legs arm length -distance, measured using the tape-measure, from the armscye/shoulder line intersection (acromion), over the elbow, to the far end of the prominent wrist bone (ulna), with the subject's right fist clenched and placed on the hip, and with the arm bent at 90 hand girth -maximum girth measured over the knuckles (metacarpals) of the open right hand, fingers together and thumb excluded foot length- horizontal distance between perpendiculars in contact with the end of the most prominent toe and the most prominent part of the heel, measured with the subject standing barefoot and the weight of the body equally distributed on both feet
body mass - measured with a suitable balance in kilograms These dimensions are meant to be measured preferably without or as few as possible clothes. All body dimensions are measured in centimeters, except for the body mass. The standard also defines a pictogram that can be used in language-neutral labels to indicate one or several of the above body dimensions.
chest girth bust girth (height, waist (height, hip girth) girth) chest girth, bust girth waist girth (height, hip (height, inside girth) leg length) chest girth (height) bust girth (height)
Suits
Overcoats
waist girth waist girth (height, hip Trousers/shorts (height, inside girth, inside leg length) leg length) Skirts waist girth (height, hip girth) bust girth (height, hip girth, waist girth) bust girth
Dresses
Knits:
chest girth
height
cardigans, (height) sweaters, Tshirts Shirts neck girth (height, arm length) waist girth (height) chest girth (height)
(height)
(chest girth)
(bust girth)
bust girth (height) waist girth (height, hip girth) bust girth (height)
height (bust girth) height (waist girth) height (bust girth) height (bust girth)
Blouses
Underpants
Vest
bust girth Pyjamas chest girth (height, waist height Ladies' (height, waist girth, hip (chest girth) nightdresses girth) girth) bust girth Swimwaist girth (height, hip suits/wear and (height, chest girth, bodies girth) underbust girth) underbust girth, bust girth (cup size) underbust girth, bust girth (height, hip girth, waist girth) waist girth, height (chest girth, waist girth)
height (underbust girth, bust girth) underbust girth, bust girth (cup size)
Bras
Corsetry/lower
body
hip girth (height) height (waist girth, weight) foot length foot length hand girth head girth height
Range 156164 164172 172180 180188 188196 196204 For trousers, the recommended step size for height is 4 cm: Height 156 160 164 168 172 176 180 184 188 192 196 200 Range 154 158 162 166 170 174 178 182 186 190 194 198 158 162 166 170 174 178 182 186 190 194 198 202
The standard defines similar tables for other dimensions and garments, only some of which are shown here. Men: The standard sizes and ranges for chest and waist girth are defined in steps of 4 cm: Mens standard sizes for drop = 12 cm Chest 84 88 92 96 100 104 108 112 116 120 126 132 138 144 girth Range 82 86 90 94 98 102 106 110 114 118 123 129 135 141 86 90 94 98 102 106 110 114 118 123 129 135 141 147 92 96 100 104 108 114 120 126 132
70 74 78 82 86 90 94 98 102 106 111 117 123 129 74 78 82 86 90 94 98 102 106 111 117 123 129 135
drop = waist girth chest girth. Example: While manufacturers will typically design clothes for chest girth = 100 cm such that it fits waist girth = 88 cm, they may also want to combine that chest girth with neighboring waist girth step sizes 84 cm or 92 cm, to cover these drop types (16 cm and 8 cm) as well. The standard also suggests that neck girth can be associated with chest girth: Association of neck and chest girth Neck 37 girth Rang e 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46.5 48 49.5 51
36.5 37.5 38.5 39.5 40.5 41.5 42.5 43.5 44.5 45.8 47.3 48.8 50.3 51.1 37.5 38.5 39.5 40.5 41.5 42.5 43.5 44.5 45.8 47.3 48.8 50.3 92 96 100 104 108 112 116 120 126 132 138 144
Chest 88
girth The standard further suggests that arm length can be associated with height: Association of arm length and body height Height Arm length Range 156 160 164 168 172 60 61 62 63 64 176 180 184 188 192 65 66 67 68 69 196 200 70 71
59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71
Women: Dress sizes: The standard sizes and ranges for bust, waist and hip girth are mostly based on a step of 4 cm, for larger sizes 5 cm:
Bust 76 80 84 88 92 96 100 104 110 116 122 128 134 140 146 152 girth 74 78 82 86 90 102 119 131 137 143 149 Rang 94 98 107 113 125 e 98 102 113 119 131 78 82 86 90 94 107 125 137 143 149 155 Waist 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 94 100 106 112 118 124 130 136
girth 58 62 66 70 74 103 127 133 Rang 78 82 86 91 97 109 115 121 e 82 86 91 97 103 115 121 127 62 66 70 74 78 109 133 139 Hip 84 88 92 96 100 104 108 112 117 122 127 132 137 142 147 152 girth 82 86 90 94 98 102 120 125 130 135 140 145 150 Rang 106 110 115 e 110 115 120 86 90 94 98 102 106 125 130 135 140 145 150 155 Bra sizes: The European standard EN 13402 also defines bra sizes based on the "bust girth" and the "underbust girth". Bras are labeled with the under bust girth (rounded to the nearest multiple of 5 cm), followed by a letter code that indicates the "cup size" defined below, according to this table defined by the standard.
EN 134021 pictogram for bra size 70B The standard sizes for brassiere are based on a step of 5 cm: Underbust 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 girth Range 58 63 68 73 78 83 88 93 98 103 108 113 118 123
62 67 72 77 82 88 92 98 102 108 112 118 122 128 The secondary dimension cup size can be expressed in terms of the difference cup size = bust girth underbust girth and can be labelled compactly using a letter code appended to the underbust girth: Code Cup size range AA A B C D E F G 24 26 H 26 28 J 28 30 K 30 32
10 12 14 16 18 12 14 16 18 20
20 22 22 24
Example 1: Bra size 70B is suitable for women with underbust girth 6872 cm and bust girth 8486 cm. Example 2: A woman with under bust girth 89 cm and bust girth 108 cm has cup size 19 cm (= 108 cm 89 cm) or "D". Her underbust girth rounded to the nearest multiple of 5 cm is 90 cm. Therefore, her bra size according to the new standard is 90D. Letter codes: For clothes where a larger step size is sufficient, the standard also defines a letter code. This code represents the bust girth for women and the chest girth for men. The standard does not define such a code for children. Each range combines two adjacent size steps. The ranges could be extended below XXS or above 3XL if necessary. Meaning extra extra small extra small small medium Code Chest girth (men) Bust girth (women) XXS XS S M 7078 7886 8694 94102 6674 7482 8290 9098
L XL XXL
bust girth: 100 cm (100) hip girth: 104 cm (B) height: 176 cm (G)
would bear (in addition to the explanatory pictogram) the compact size code "100BG". This proposal was agreed upon in a March 2006 meeting in Florence and a final draft was produced by AEDT on 6 June 2006.
Latest Development :
Leading Italian apparel companies met to discuss the new size designation of clothes that will be soon into force. TREVISO (ITALY) - Feb 2011. The UNI, Italian organization for standardization, CAD Modelling Ergonomics and the leading Italian clothing companies discussed on the new labeling system of clothing (prEN 13402-4) to define the structure. With the support of the leading apparel and industrial units, the Italian standardization body, is setting up the Italian position on the new scheme that will harmonize the different codes available today in the European countries. Pressure is being put by the ISO TC 133, the international standardization body for the identification of a unique European code. In the absence of an agreed system, ISO will impose a U.S. & China one, thus forcing Europe to accept it passively. The next meeting of CEN in April will create an additional table discussion for the final decision.