Selective Fitting

RTW requires "selective" fitting so that the resulting garments can be worn by more than one person. I once had a sample maker for a garment manufacturing company ask me "How can I approve the fit of my patterns?" I thought about it but ultimately said "Once a design is finalized, there is not much you can do to correct the fit. It is up to the designer to understand how body shapes and sizes vary when they are creating their designs." I illustrate that on my RTW Fitting Issue page where the video shows that the fitted skirt with a 3" contoured waistband designed by Dona Karan for Vogue is more appropriate for a Bespoke garment than RTW.

The image below shows how Vogue patterns adjusts for the "selective" fit for their design of the V9029 shirt pattern. The black lines are for their Fitting Shell V1004. The red lines are their shirt pattern V9029.

Vogue lists the minimal fitting ease at the bust as 3" to 4" but this shirt has triple that amount. The shoulder width has been increased by over 5" which means the sleeve will not be at the top of the arm. And the armscye has been dropped by 2".

The Sleeve Cap of the Fitting Shell is 6" whereas the Sleeve Cap of my models is consistently 5". The Sleeve Cap for the shirt is dropped to compensate for the Armscye being moved off the shoulder. For this type of design the Sleeve Cap and Armscye should not be eased in as the sleeve is not designed to fit on the top of the shoulder.

In the Size Charts I show how the range of measurements can help determine the appropriateness for a given design. For example, the Center Back measurement indicates the length of the Upper Torso. Given the 4" range if the design uses a horizontal seam at the waist, it is going to be too high on some women and too low on others. The modified range indicates that by ignoring women who are tall or short, designs for a seam at the waist are more likely to work. I don't know how they got away with the waist seams in the 1950s other than the fact women wore girdles that gave some control over the shape of the body.

While the length of the Center Back varies by 4" the Sleeve Cap in my experience does not. That means any adjustment for the length of the body needs to be done below the arm.

In the chart below the Shoulder Width varies less than the Full Bust measurement and the Bust to Bust varies even less. The Shoulder Width indicates the width of the body whereas the Full Bust indicates the size. And this is where Ease is added to allow for movement.

From a design perspective this reinforces the idea that varying the design of the front and/or back of the body is more effective than varying the design at the side of the body. The side of the body is usually under the arm as well.