Category: clothing size

Re-visiting some links on my website

On By vikkihaffendenIn clothing, clothing sizeLeave a comment

Its been quite a few years since I visited the page on this website which is about , ‘things I have been interviewed for’. It made me realise how time flies, and that I have not grown any younger! Things have moved on since then, but I see that the same issues are still out there. To name one, its clothing sizing. I see that AI might be the solution, excuse my guffaws.

A company called, ‘Fit Collective’ mentioned in this article on the BBC website sound like they might be working towards some solutions, but the trouble is, we are all different. Not just in our physical dimensions, but in the way we want our clothing to fit. That is a style issue, not a cutting and sewing issue.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjekg1pd9j4o

I see so many women wearing the incorrect size for their waist circumference, squashing themselves into ‘muffin tops’ because they want to wear the size they aspire to, but the manufacturer/designer/buyer whatever, deems that their waist should be a particular circumference in comparison to that of their hips, (or even bust!). I feel for them, because I can’t fit into a size 14 with a non-elastic waist, but am a size 14 in most other places, not that that is a true designation anyway.

A pair of main-store M&S trousers I tried a few months ago had a totally different waist to hip ratio to a similar pair in Per Una, so what does that make me? If I went a size up in either, the bum area hung loose, the hips looked weird and a bit ‘jodhpury’, and the Per Una ones were still too tight on the waist. So I left them on the rail and went home and got my sewing machine out.

Ah, ‘mummy jeans’, might be the answer, but once again the waist to hip ratio is nearly always wrong for me. I have always had a big waist compared to hips and bust, and that is not uncommon. Others might have a smaller than average waist to hip ratio ,but not many women are the ‘perfect’ shape.

Have a read of the article linked to below and see if we have progressed much since 2017. I also ask you to consider the vast amounts of irreplaceable resources being gobbled up by AI. Is the application of AI really going to make us happier with our clothing fit? Isn’t more about how we see ourselves, and how we feel comfortable, something that is not quantifiable en masse, and is so, so subjective.

So I thought I’d link back to the page here in a somewhat circular fashion. https://vikkihaffenden.com/media/

Media

‘Single and Double Bed Machine Knitting; the Designer’s Guide’

On By vikkihaffendenIn books, clothing size, craft, Creative machine knitting, educational, Flechage, Knitted textiles, knitting, knitting machine, knitting machine maitenance, Machine knitting, Machine knitting; knitmaster;silver reed; knitting, making, Passap, Short-row shaping, Short-rows, Textiles, UncategorizedLeave a comment

The advance copy of my new book arrived today, and you can see some pages from the book here.

Meanwhile here is a quick look at the book.

I have made a more in depth video introduction to the book, and if you would like to watch this, please keep on scrolling down the page.

BBC online interview

On By vikkihaffendenIn body size, clothing, clothing sizeLeave a comment

More consideration seems to be being given to the problem of sizing in clothing; a subject of my own research that is close to my heart.

The BBC reported that H&M have announced they will be changing their sizing in the UK. I was asked by teh BBC to add some background to the story about the history of clothing sizing systems and how these have been implemented.

Read the article here:

BBC news H&M female clothes sizes bigger

Victory_tapemeasure150px

According to the article, H&M offered the follwoing as an example of what they plan to do, ‘…the previous measurements and fit of a size 12 would now be the measurements of a size 10’.  I am trying to get my head around that. So does that mean they will in effect re-label a size 12 as a size 10? Does that actually address the issue that has been brought to light?

One of the major changes in women’s size found by the 2002 national sizing survey Size UK was that of relative proportions. Women’s waists are much larger in proportion to their bust and hips than they were 50 years ago. The historically desirable female ‘hour-glass’ figure, achieved largely through the constriction of corsetry (latterly those ghastly panty girdles), is no longer a realistic shape for the average woman. So shouldn’t this be reflected by making waists larger rather than than just up-size all over?

If you want to read more about the social history of corsetry I recommend ‘Bound to Please, A History of the Victorian Corset‘, by Leigh Summers. Its easy to read and very informative.

Bloomsbury publishing link to Bound to Please