Changing The Measurements with Sizes

Changing the size of an article is simply a matter of adding or subtracting the number of stitches per inch to the number of stitches specified in the directions. In a pattern stitch, add or subtract the number of stitches given for one or more repeats (or multiples) of the pattern. Or add or subtract one or more stitches to each repeat of the pattern. Use whichever method is best suited to the item you are working on.
To Change the Size of Men’s or Women’s Garments to Another Size:
Add (or subtract) the number of stitches equal to 1 inch to both the back and front of the garment for each size larger or smaller that the size given in the instructions. For Cardigans or jackets, add or subtract ½ inch to each front.
The width across the back at shoulders varies ½ inch for each women’s size and 1 inch for each men’s size.
Decrease more {or less} stitches in shaping the armholes, if necessary to obtain the desired width at the shoulders. Sleeve width varies ½ inch around the upper arm and ¼ inch at the wrist for each size.
Women’s armholes vary ¼ inch in depth. Men’s armholes sometimes vary from ¼ to ½ inch in depth. Any change in the desired length of the body or sleeves of an article should be made by adding (or subtracting) to the length between the lower edge and underarm of the item (below the waistline on fitted garments for women).
Women’s skirts vary 2 inches around in width for each size. A skirt can be worked in any length but any changes in the space between decrease rounds must be made below the hipline. The required hip measurement must be placed 7 inches below the waistline.
Changing the measurement for infants and children’s garments follows the same
rules as for women’s and men’s garments but according to the measurements.

Polish Sizes

The vehicle for cooperation between clothing manufacturers and representatives of the
scientific community is a forum in which the Polish Federation of Apparel and Textiles, the Polish Committee for Standardisation (PCS), the Polish Chamber of Fashion and industry chambers, local government and business associations all participate. It is a place where crucial subjects and current issues are discussed. An example of this cooperation is the adjustment of Polish standards to the EU system by the PCS. Before accession, the EU laws applied only to Polish exporters bringing their products onto the EU’s single market. Following accession, Community standards have become compulsory for all Polish manufacturers. Non-compliance with standards makes it impossible to compete in the EU market.
The above illustrates only one case of cooperation, and new opportunities should be sought to
make joint efforts. This article discusses the necessary scopes of action.
Anthropometric studies
European countries repeat anthropometric studies every ten years. In Poland, however, the
most recent survey took place in the late 1970s, that is, well over 20 years ago. This was a joint
project undertaken by the Research and Development Centres for the Clothing Industry, Knitwear Industry and Footwear Industry and the Polish Academy of Sciences in Wroclaw. Ten years later, scarce financial resources made it possible to survey children only, because more reliable studies require several thousand persons making up a randomly selected sample to be measured. Even though the measurement method was sufficiently precise, it was very time-consuming; it took around 30 minutes to measure one person. Many research teams were appointed, usually assigned to examine populations in different age groups. The entire population was broken down into five groups combining age intervals from 0-18 years, and additionally into four body types for females and males

• Age groups: 0 - 2 years (infants)
2 - 6 years (children)
6 - 11 years (girls and boys)
11 - 15 years (girls and boys)
15 - 18 years (girls and boys)
• Female body types identified in relation to the difference between the chest girth and hip girth:

- type A –difference of 4 cm
- type B –difference of 8 cm
- type C –difference of 12 cm
- type D –difference of 14 cm
• Male body types followed from the difference between the chest girth and waist girth:
- type A –difference of 14 cm
- type B –difference of 10 cm
- type C –difference of 6 cm
- type D –difference of 2 cm
The results were published in the early 1980s in the form of tables providing information about
the body dimensions and build of the Polish population. In each age group, between 33 and 37
numerical characteristics were used to describe the body type. This data was used to prepare the basic constructions of garments and knitwear products (e.g. size 164/96 for females), and the size increments allow the grading of patterns to produce other sizes.
The anthropometric tables that took so much effort to be assembled, and that have been used
to date by the clothing and knitwear industries, are outdated. It is commonly known that new generations are taller than their predecessors, and that the ‘statistical Pole’ is increasingly stout.
Growing height and weight parameters affect other dimensions, such as the length of arms and legs, the girth of the neck, chest, waist, etc.
New anthropometric studies are therefore a must. These could be conducted using 3D body
scanners, i.e. devices enabling the transfer of three-dimensional shapes to computer memory Such devices are already available on the European market. Scientists at the Warsaw Technical
University have developed a computer-aided body measurement method. The Institute of Knitting Techniques and Technologies in Łódź has declared its readiness to carry out measurements applied to the Scientific Research Committee (SCR) for a grant to construct a device and to conduct the survey. If they fail to obtain the necessary funding, then the equipment will have to be purchased from the UK company Qinetiq. In August 2003, the organisation announced that it had an available and tested prototype of a camera capable of taking precise measurements of the human body. Although such equipment is costly, so much measurement time can be saved that the final balance of costs of the undertaking should be acceptable to the SCR. That the survey is needed is quite obvious. With current anthropometric data, the manufacturers will be able to construct products fitting contemporary body types. In addition, anthropometric studies will allow the correct labelling of clothes sizes, so that customers can find garments suiting their needs, because all size labelling systems operated across Europe are based on body sizes, and not on the size of a garment. Polish enterprises determined to compete with expanding clothing imports must use contemporary anthropometric data prepared in other countries, or trust the intuition of their constructors.
The European Union requested an anthropometric survey of 20,000 persons of all ages and
both sexes, conducted in line with international standard ISO 8559 ’Garment construction and
anthropometric surveys’, complying with the basic scientific assumptions and emphasising the data’s practicality. The goal was to make a compilation of clothes labelling systems operated in the EU single market. To prepare the compilation, a group of CEN (Commité Européen de Normalisation) specialists was appointed several years ago, which has been cooperating with many companies that either produce or sell clothes. The expected outcome is a European System of Labelling Clothes Sizes. It is proposed that the system as envisaged will have four elements :
a) prEN 13402-1 – labelling of clothes sizes (with conditions, definitions and procedures for pictogram-based size labelling).
b) prEN 13402-2 - labelling of clothes sizes (with definitions of primary dimensions (PD) and
secondary dimensions (SD) that have been approved by the entire CEN).
c) prEN 13402-3 - labelling of clothes sizes (with tables specifying body dimensions and
intervals/increments necessary to grade the patterns).
d) prEN 13402-4 – labelling of clothes sizes (with a three-digit coding system).
Part one (amendment of standard ISO 3635) has been prepared for submission. The standard will promote the use of pictograms as visualisations of body dimensions applied by clothing
manufacturers. The pictogram is meant to serve the customer, and it will contain primary and
secondary body dimensions stated in centimetres and a three-digit code.
Part two is a proposal for the primary and secondary dimensions. This issue is still under discussion.
An example of a preferred primary dimension is the chest girth, and of the secondary dimension, for instance, the height and hip girth (females). The extent of coding enables five combinations of each primary dimension with secondary dimensions.

Part three consists of tables providing specific dimensions (15 characteristics) for males, females, boys and girls. Their mutual combinations mentioned in the second part allow around 800 codes to be generated. This is not a closed-end system, so new dimensions can be added.
Part four is a coding system using only three digits (correlated with the pictogram) for size
identification. The decision to try a three-digit coding was made during one of the CEN’s plenary
sessions in Brussels. A larger number of digits would generate a system that would be too wasteful in electronic data exchange. The existing pictograms, if they were underpinned, for instance, by four primary and secondary dimensions, would in the extreme case require as many as twelve digits. The three-digit coding system was developed by Dr. Rien van Osch. Its capabilities and rules of operation still need to be examined, but it is already known today that it is necessary for logistical purposes.
The basic advantage of the system presented is its ease of implementation. The prerequisite
for making it operational is the availability of a set of current anthropometric data which will be updated on a regular basis. The updates should be provided by appointed R+D units, because clothing manufacturers are unable to produce them on their own. Because customer relations are the paramount value for all firms, the activities ultimately tend to make garments to fit customers, as well as avoiding the following negative phenomena:
- sales downturn, making customers take advantage of competitor’s products,
- customers returning 50% of items selected from mail-order catalogues due to ill-fitting clothing,
- road blocks to the expansion of online commerce.
Changes to the EU size labelling system have already been decreed. There is a serious concern,
however, of whether the new member states will be capable of implementing the system. The barrier is their lack of current information about the anthropomorphic dimensions of their populations. No company or member state is obliged to implement all four parts of the system. For instance, they can use only the pictograms without the coding system, but such a decision excludes a country from the European logistical system, thus contributing to a lower volume of clothing being sold in the EU market. All the arguments support the opinion that it is very urgent for R+D units to conduct anthropometric studies in Poland.

Retail Behaviour of 2006

As economic figures suggest that consumers are slowing returning to the high street and big flagship stores such as M&S report an increase in sales, is the high street back in business? Andrea Geeson investigates retail behaviour by conducting qualitative video research on the shopping habits of the general public over the last six months.

The world of retail has the customary high and lows of a theme park roller coaster and as one big high street name makes an attempt at a comeback another sinks into despair and is deserted by its previously loyal following. Marks and Spencers seems to have made inroads on its rather disastrous past couple of years but in a high street saturated with stores, consumers are presented with an increasing amount of choice and competition, we wanted to discover how retail behaviour changed in 2005 and the implications and consumer trends for 2006.
Consumers, who are as news aware as marketers, were conscious of the much-reported down turn in consumer spending. News shows and newspapers were not shy in telling us about the slump in high street spending and the drop in profits at major retailers across Britain. And it did not go unnoticed, either through personal experience or the media, that Britain is a nation in a growing amount of debt, factors that have unarguably shaped retail spending in 2005. While the boom might not be back, there is increase in consumer spending this quarter. Why is this and how are consumers behaving in the light of increased technological usage and more sophisticated in store media and trendy environments?
The shift from one designated retail location, to the popularisation of out of town retail centres and the move by supermarkets into non- food markets has significantly altered our ideas of retail experiences. Time poor young professionals and those working traditional working hours are able to purchase many items at the supermarket rather than visiting the high street at weekends. The internet has also led to a collapse in static shopping hours and predictable times for certain sales. Consumers wants are no longer restricted by opening hours or store location and as such we are becoming much more fussy about where we spend our money, making marketing increasing difficult as consumer spending patterns become more erratic and are less dependent on what’s on offer and instead becoming increasingly customer led. The range and number of sales of random products on Ebay is testament to this. So while marketers might seem to know what consumers want, it seems that want we want needs no marketing at all. What consumers want is, in large numbers, items that just aren’t available on the high street at bargain prices. Ebay offers consumers the convenience to browse and compare a large number of products from the comfort of their own homes and the ability to determine or influence the selling price themselves, an experience that they do not have on the high street and one which perhaps explains the popularity of going to markets for the over 50s we interviewed as part of our research. So taking part and feeling like they have some sway in the purchasing process is one of the key elements we picked up on in our study and something that is clearly lacking in the monotonous retail experiences we are now presented with on the high street.
Online shopping of course offers considerable savings, which has played a big part in its success and price deflation and the exponential growth of discount stores are other factors that have shaped retail spending and behaviour in 2005.

Though we may have become wealthier, we have also become more watchful of the purse strings as the ability to shop around for a bargain becomes easier. Price runner and 99p stores offer an avenue for acquiring goods at the best value and brand loyalty has been eroded by the saturation of similar goods for less money. Why pay more indeed. Purchasing an item for considerably less than someone else became a new form of pulling social rank, inverting the traditional ‘Keeping up with the Jones’ spending agenda Primark is enjoying its heyday, as consumers rush to snap up the latest fashion bargains for next to nothing.
Brands themselves are becoming less important and more diluted by the international competition and the increased volume of competition meaning mediocre brands are finding it increasing difficult to stay afloat. We would rather buy on brand at a cheaper price than a half decent branded version that costs more.
In order to compete with financial savings stores have turned to making their in store environment an superior experience, with interiors that are more exciting and inviting with the increased use of in-store media and technology. Deploying the latest gadgetry has been successful in luring back customers, especially when it echoes internet capabilities. Consumers told us that in store entertainment and machines no only makes a shop seem more trendy, it can make they stay longer too. This is because they can act as a source of distraction for bored boyfriends and partners and also because they allow consumers to view more of the stores products without having to trawl the store. Product finders are popular because they ease the customer experience.
In store media must never impose on store design though and layout is the single biggest determining factor after price for high street store preferences. Consumers want bright open spaces that are easy to navigate and have products that are well-presented, especially older consumers that find over stocked stores particularly annoying. Consumers are prepared to sacrifice space and order, but only for significant reductions and value. Improving in store environment seems essential for continual success and our respondents demand air conditioning, better seating and displays and more access to refreshments, suggesting an attraction towards stores that provide food and drink dispensing.
Staffing is also an area that can make or break consumers’ retail experiences. Obtaining the right balance between being overbearing and non-existent staff is difficult but vital to creating a good store image and something that consumers believe is still not being got right. Personal service and not being held in a queue is something that we have gotten used to on the internet. Selfservice options, which are becoming standard in many of the major supermarkets, go somewhere towards achieving this.
Further initiatives for improvement suggested by our responses however, hint that more interactive devices would be welcomed, including machines that display information on stock in clothes and electrical shops. These again point towards shopping experience that is almost completely dictated and carried out by the customers themselves, not the staff.
Consumers with increasing amounts of disposable income are the over 50s and tweens and we investigated their spending habits. The over 50s are family orientated and much of their money is spent on family and friends while the tweens spend their money on ensuring and impressing friends. And while the two demographics have very different attitudes towards money, brand awareness and desirability can be tracked in these age groups. We discovered that from the age of eight strong brand associations have been formed that can last into adulthood. Many of the over 50s we interviewed admitted that the brands they still buy today are a hangover from their childhood, the brands they were brought up on. Brands can be trusted friends or representations of emotional stages and family ties.

Top stores for over 50s are Marks & Spencers, John Lewis and Next but catalogue shopping is still a popular option of acquiring goods and as afore mentioned shopping at markets or car boots sales are still a big part of this demographics shopping experience, suggesting that value for money and involvement in the sales process are requirement that are missing from high street shopping. Our research showed that today’s savvy consumers demand increasingly creative and more importantly interactive strategies, to entice them into stores. Discovering what makes consumers tick and buy from certain stores can perhaps be achieved by returning to more traditional retail methods that allow the consumer to participate or interactive with the seller on a more personal level or implement new technology that streamlines the purchasing process as smooth and painless as possible.

Slimming Plus Sizes

Slimming plus size evening dresses are very easy to find online. One of the most popular
slimming styles are empire waist plus size evening dresses. This unique plus size dress style
hides the natural waist by raising the waistline part of the dress to the bottom of the chest area.
Basically, the natural waistline is hidden. It actually gives the illusion of a smaller waist.
The bottom of these plus size evening dresses can come in many styles. One of the variations is
a pleated pattern immediately under the raised waistline. The more flare the dress has at the
bottom, the slimmer the waistline appears. This is why A-Line plus size evening dresses with an
empire waist is so appealing.
Slimming plus size evening dresses with an empire waist combined with an asymmetrical cut at
the bottom are also popular. Asymmetrical cut plus size evening dresses can have an irregular
asymmetrical cut or a more regular cut. The more tailored regular asymmetrical cut is normally
considered a handkerchief hem evening dress.
Car wash plus size evening dresses took everyone by surprised. A slimming empire waist dress
also looks great with this cut. Plus sizes can have the illusion of a smaller waist with a very stylish
cut. This style gives the appearance of long panels at the bottom of these evening dresses. The
long strips of material flows while walking with these dresses. These dresses are normally short
or mini style dresses with the panels extending past the short part of the dress.
Plus size empire waist evening dresses with a slit are daring and sexy. A full figured woman may
chose not to wear a mini or short dress yet can have sex appeal with a dress that has one or two
slits. Plus dresses with slits combined with the empire waist can be slimming and elegant. These
evening dresses can have a slit in the front or back, one slit on the side, or a slit on both sides of
the dress.
There are many more styles plus size empire waist dresses can be combined with. This is just
small collection of ideas for a plus size woman to purchase slimming plus size fashions. Plus size
evening dresses have came a long way. Women no longer have to settle for matronly plus size
evening dresses.
Helpful Tip:
If ordering these plus size evening dresses online, check the size chart of the fashion web site
prior to ordering. Order plus size evening dresses online can be very easy and fast. Just have a
tape measure and locate the web site’s size chart in the top, bottom, or middle margin.

Sleepwear

For women, their sleepwears are better termed as nightdress, nightwear, or nightclothes. However, whatever the term used is, these sleep wear pairs are designed practically for sleeping purposes. Women use sleep wears simply because they find comfort in them rather than to enter into deep slumber half-naked or wearing only their underwear. The sleepwear to be used mainly depends on the type of season. There are sleepwears suited for winter, summer, fall, and spring.
However, these days, women have taken a great leap into using the sleepwears to brag about what they call as fashion statement! The Types of Women Sleepwear There are specifically several kinds of women sleepwear and each of them possesses their most specific distinguishable features. These features primarily cover various preferences, needs, and styles desired by every woman. You as a woman must therefore educate yourself regarding your own preferred choices when it comes to the style, designer, needs and wants. Take note that your fashion statement is all about making your own choice with the sleepwear you have inside your closet!
The baby doll which is otherwise popularly called the short nightgown or negligee is one of the most sought-after sleepwears by the women of today. The garment appears to have ruffle trimmings, appliqués, laces, bows, ribbons, and Marabou fur are typically designed having the spaghetti straps. The materials employed are the translucent fabrics such as the chiffon, silk, nylon, or the sheer. The baby doll sleepwear appears to be provocative since its length is only six inches right above the knees and the neckline contains very hollow designs.
The nightie or the nightgown is a loosely designed nightwear adhered to by many women. The material for the nightie is either the cotton, satin, silk, or nylon. The length varies. Most nightgowns are decorated with lace and embroidery on the cups and hemlines. The negligee is a sleepwear intended for bedroom use. It first came out in France in the eighteenth century and appeared to be the imitations of the dresses of that time. The employments in the design include the use of bows, laces, and the provocative translucent bodices. The more contemporary designs of the negligee include fabrics contained in multiple layers which therefore give out a very revealing emphasis on the bedjackets and bed-capes of the women wearing them on. The chemise, smock, or shift is the very plain garment used by most women to protect their clothing against the body sweat and oils.
Lingerie is the sleepwear that is mostly associated with being an undergarment. The nightshirt is the fabulous design of shirt utilized for sleeping. The nightshirt is the bedtime garment that roots from European designs in the nineteenth century. The peignoir is a long type of nightgown made out of chiffon and contains a sheer design. It comes with an attached panty so the women need not wear their panties inside. The onset of the varying women's sleepwear continues to dominate the fashion scene. Their choices of sleepwears are always influenced by their own fashion statement. If the women give much attention to their femininity then they are likely to go for the sleepwear that will provide a touch of their tastes. These days, liberated women have experimented on the use of the sleepwears together with their own jeans, blazers, denim shirts, and sweaters. Indeed, a new horizon of the women has been crafted with the exposure of the sleepwear versatility. Today, the sleepwears are no longer solely confined in the bedrooms but are likewise taken for public use.

Clothing Fashions Are Regressing

Many people currently agree that the current trends in clothing are quite appalling. The reason for this is not, of course, that there's anything inherently wrong with the clothes, but rather the fact that the clothing fashions of the 80s went out of style for a good reason. Now the 80s fashions are considered, by most who remember the 80s, to have been downright hideous and indeed, current fashions are too reminiscent of the 1980s for most people's comfort.
What exactly is meant by 80s-style fashions? Well, there are lots of different angles from which to look at this question. If you look at hair, you will remember that hair had infinitely more body to it in the 80s than it does now. Current hair trends seem to be less artificial, letting the hair fall more or less the way it naturally falls and calling it good. In the 80s, hair was not only cut in layers, but also permed into waves, and, most notably, the bangs of the 80s. Perhaps not everyone remembers the bangs of the 80s, when the top layer was turned upwards and sprayed (with a great amount of hairspray) into an upward turned wave. As odd as it sounds, and as unnatural as it sounds, the hair actually stayed like this virtually all day because of the vast quantities of hairspray put on for this specific purpose. After curling up and spraying the top layer, the bottom layer was curled into a downward-turned wave, and again sprayed with hairspray. In short, hair had a lot of body in the 80s; the clothing, unfortunately, did too.
For example, a skirt in the 80s had its own body; it did not accent the body of the person inside it, instead, it had its own body, flouncing outward from the body in varying spots. Similar to the hairstyles, 80s clothing had a lot of body. Sleek A-line skirts were unheard of and socks were not
socks unless they were slouched and worn at least two pairs at a time. Frighteningly enough, these fashions are coming back in current clothing trends.
A good definition for this current fashion is that it ignores the principle of economy of materials meaning that extra fabric is used in addition to the fabric needed to cover the body. For example, skirts have multiple vertical folds that are asymmetrical and essentially formless. Belts are 3 inches thick and do not go through belt loops - they are essential necklaces for the waist. Sweater collars do not simply turn down; they turn down, and cover half of the sweater with a doubled layer of sweater. In addition to affecting clothing so deeply, handbags have suffered the same 80s revival; they consist of more metallics than material.
In short, the reason why is unknown, but the 80s are almost back, as seen in trends of clothing
and accessories across the US and Europe.

Men’s Business Fashion

Apart from TECHNICALITIES Let's dress up for the office. This is what I think and I think quite...........
A few months ago I wrote an article on women’s business fashion from a man’s perspective. The
responses I got to that article were…well, let’s just say they were interesting. While the men who responded tended to agree with me, there were a few women who felt that I was way off base when I commented that women need to dress professionally in the workplace so as not to call attention to themselves in a negative manner. I find it strange that the vast majority of
psychologists will agree with my comments about men being hard-wired to appreciate the female form, but I’m sure that the opinions of the few count much more than the facts of the many. So the next time you’re ogled at the office in a manner that offends you, don’t call your lawyer to file a lawsuit. Just chalk it up to the coffee or the weather or some other good excuse and feel safe and secure in the knowledge that your opinion counts so much more than the facts.
But I digress. I’ve decided it’s only fair that I do a follow-up article and evaluate the way men dress in the workplace. After all, not every man who walks through the door at the office is wearing clothing appropriate for a business environment. In the process, I’ll try to compare the
differences in the way males and females are perceived at work.

Blame The Spouse
Somebody’s going to ask the obvious question: So why don’t we dog men for the way they dress
at work? Well, let me answer that one by quoting from my previous article:
“…By the way, I’m not saying that we men have our act together when it comes to getting
dressed. Most of us have our clothing picked out by our wives or girlfriends…." Ladies, admit it. You have much more fashion sense than your husband. So if he looks good at work, you can probably pat yourself on the back for it. On the other hand, if he looks like something the cat dragged in, he’s probably been rooting through his closets again without your assistance. So gain some small comfort in the knowledge that behind every good looking man is a fashion-savvy woman.
Whether a man picks out his clothing choices himself or has his significant other do it for him, he
can still get it wrong. In most cases, it has to do with the way men want themselves to be viewed
by other men in the organization (strong, virile, productive) as well as by women (strong, virile, reproductive).
Again, this is something that’s built into a man. The problem is what an individual
views as projecting these traits society may view as the antithesis to those traits. The problem is compounded as society changes and the standard for what is considered strong and virile changes. Some guys get left behind simply because they don’t know any better.
Having clarified that, let’s talk about the things that men still get wrong when dressing for work.
Mid-Life Crisis
Quick! What was the image that went through your mind when you read the phrase above? If
you thought of a middle-aged man wearing a shirt open to his navel and wearing several hundred pounds of gaudy jewelry on his hands and around his neck, give yourself a gold star for going with the look the majority of people select. Thank you, Hollywood!

We know why men do it (see comments above). And if a guy wants to feel younger on his own
time, that’s his business. But wearing that type of outfit on the job is about as unprofessional as
you can get. When people joke about men’s clothing faux pas, this is one of the two that gets the
most air time. If you’re being laughed at because of your clothing choices, it’s time to buy
different clothes.
By the way, this isn’t limited to just clothing styles. The balding co-worker who refuses to
acknowledge his thinning hair and resorts to doing the combover falls into this category (and puts himself into the second group that people joke about), as does the fellow who suddenly starts wearing his hair in the style of a teenager from the TV series “That 70s Show". The guys in the first group need to get the buzz cut (balding is in – ask Patrick Stewart!). The guys in the second group need to check with their barber to find out what contemporary styles look good, rather than dorky, on a middle-aged man. And if you absolutely can’t stand the new look, take heart! It DOES grow back! (For most of us, that is…!)
The Hangover
No, I’m not talking the alcohol-induced kind. There are actually two different types of hangovers
here. The first is sported by the man who has an average-sized lower torso supporting a much
larger upper-frontal torso (translation: gut). You know, the employee who wears a 38-waist pant but whose stomach measures more like 50 inches. The second is the infamous “plumber’s
crack", where a man wears pants that are too tight and ride wa-ay too low on his backside.
Gentlemen, please. In both cases, the pants you’re wearing are too small for you. Go to a
reputable clothing store, get a salesperson to help you find the right pair of pants that fit properly, and then get them tailored for the parts of your body that need it. You’ll look so much more professional and will save your co-workers thousands of dollars in unneeded psychotherapy.
Rumpled-stiltskin
The grunge look was popular back in the 90s, I think. (I’m not positive, as I was too old to
grunge, but that’s what my younger friends tell me, so I’m taking their word on it.) It’s not now,
but has been replaced by something much more sinister – the “natural" look. No, I’m not saying
nudity is in on the job (thank God!). It’s the casual clothing that supposedly you can pull right out of the dryer, flap in the breeze a few times to remove the few wrinkles that might be there, and put on. No ironing required. Yeah, right. These clothing items have more creases in them than an accordion. Will people think that your work habits are as sloppy as your clothing style?
Possibly. Go for the all-cotton clothing and be comfortable. Just use the iron.
And Then There’s Casual Friday
Many businesses these days allow workers to “dress down" on the last business day of the week.
Unfortunately, too many men go a little too far down. I honestly think that if the company’s dress code allowed it, some men would wear tattered shorts, holey t-shirts, and flip-flops to the office on that day. I am a firm believer in being casual and comfortable, but guys, use some common sense. Try nice jeans and a polo shirt. Save the beach bum and urban looks for the weekends

What’s Good for the Goose…
In the business world, men want to project a youthful image that shows they have what it takes to compete. While it’s not always necessary (or appropriate) to wear the dark suit and power tie, it doesn’t hurt to think a little bit about what you look like to your co-workers, and especially to those higher up the career advancement ladder. Wearing inappropriate work clothing projects an image that can hurt your chances of going places in your company. What does your choice of
work attire say about you to your teammates, to your boss, and to your boss’s boss’s boss? If
you don’t like the statement you’re making, reevaluate your clothing choices and be prepared to
spend a little money on some more appropriate items for work. It may pay off for you in the long
run.

Skirts

Introduction
Skirts are an integral part of every girl’s wardrobe. It comes in various shapes, sizes and styles. Skirts is attire which could be worn in almost all occasions- casual, formal, informal, etc. It is considered as women’s attire, but in some countries it is even worn by men, example - Scotland where it is known as kilts. Skirts cover the entire legs or part of it and are worn on the waist. They are paired with t-shirts, tops and shirts. Skirts comes in printed as well as plain form, it is eithe cone shaped or tube shaped.

Some of the main types of skirts are as follows :-

1. Pencil skirts Pencil skirts suits nearly all body shapes. It comes in shorter and longer lengths. Dark colored pencil skirt coupled with dark tone top which ends at the hips gives a slimmer look. They are straight in length just like a pencil. It could be worn for both formal and casual occasions. When matched with a simple blouse or skirt, formal sandals or boots becomes perfect attire for office. If paired with fancy and glitter tops or sweater, boots/ sandals, it transforms into casual or partywear dress.

2. Miniskirts

One of the most popular types of skirts is miniskirts and micro miniskirts. They are of very short length and end at the thigh region. It is the most sensuous skirt style. It is for the bold and daring girls. Slim and well toned legs are required to wear these skirts as there is lots of body exposure in it.
The fabrics used for miniskirts are generally stretchable, but it is not mandatory. Leather, wool, lace, velvet, denim, crochet, etc are some of the materials used to make miniskirts. Many variations in fabric usage are done in miniskirts. They can be either straight or pleated. The most popular materials used to make them are spandex and nylon. 1950’s and 60’s saw the rising popularity of miniskirts especially in United Kingdom. It’s fashion spreaded to other European countries and America like wild forest-fire. However the designer who invented these skirts is not known. Miniskirts paired with tall boots look very sexy and fashionable. Micro miniskirts are much shorter than normal miniskirt. A slight slip could reveal the groin area therefore it is worn with tights or stockings.

2. Denim skirts Denim skirts are made up of denim fabric, it is also known as jeans skirt. This skirt never goes out of fashion just like jeans pants. It is mostly worn by young and middle aged women. Jeans skirts come in various lengths and styles. The most common one is the tight fitting 5 pocket jeans skirt. Mini & micromini jeans skirts, rugged look jeans skirt, pencil denim skirt, etc are some styles of denim skirts. Denim miniskirts paired with tall boots is favorite among teenagers.

3. Prairie skirt Prairie skirts are slim from upper part but have slight flare at the bottom area. These skirts have multiple tiers or ruffles on them. They are worn along with matching petticoats. The style in which they are sewn is very comfortable to wear, therefore its simpler type was worn on daily basis by housewives of Europe around 19th century. The most preferred design in prairie skirts are floral printed fabrics. It is the daily attire of women in western countries. Another type of prairie skirt that are popular are denim prairie skirts. Earlier the average length of these skirts were used to be mid-calf, but now it has shortened with increased tiers.

4. Poodle skirt
Poodle skirts were a rage during 1950’s. It had a very unique style and look. It has umbrella style flare and looks very elegant. It was mostly used by young girls and women. Ladies used to wear with many coats of petticoats under the skirt. But now prairie skirt fashion is decreased, very few girls/women wear it.

5. Broomstick skirtBroomstick skirts maybe be long or short in length. They have crumpled/wrinkled look. These skirts are not iron pressed, in order to maintain the crumpled look. Therefore while drying them the skirts are twisted like a broom that’s helps in restoring the wrinkles of the skirt. It is worn by both young and middle aged women. Different types of fabrics especially which are thin in texture are used to make broomstick skirts. Chiffon, silk, polyester, linen, etc are some of the fabrics used. It comes in printed as well as plain form, and in various bright colours.

6. Dirndl Dirndl is a straight skirt with gatherings around the waist region. It is the traditional dress of Austria and Bavaria. They are worn on daily basis by the women. This style of skirt is confined to these two countries only. The skirts are paired with close fitting bodice, blouse with lace & very low neck, apron and boots. During the mid 90’s this style became popular in Austria, it was a matter of making fashion statement for upper class women.

7. SarongSarongs are skirts made up of plain elongated piece of fabric. It is very different from the usual skirts. It is wrapped around the body and tied at the waist area by a knot or else a pin. They are mostly worn by men and women of south Asian countries. Sarongs are made up of fabrics with bright colors and bold prints. Tie and dye sarongs are also very popular. It is even used as beachwear

Conclusion
Thus from the above description of some styles of skirts, it is become evident that skirt is a garment which comes in various forms- short, long, body hugging, flowing, loose, etc. A lot of variations could be added to the women’s wardrobe by skirts. However the selection of the style
of skirts depends upon the region, climate, occasion and personal preference.

Clothing Fashions Are Regressing

Many people currently agree that the current trends in clothing are quite appalling. The reason for this is not, of course, that there's anything inherently wrong with the clothes, but rather the fact that the clothing fashions of the 80s went out of style for a good reason. Now the 80s fashions are considered, by most who remember the 80s, to have been downright hideous and indeed, current fashions are too reminiscent of the 1980s for most people's comfort.
What exactly is meant by 80s-style fashions? Well, there are lots of different angles from which to look at this question. If you look at hair, you will remember that hair had infinitely more body to it in the 80s than it does now. Current hair trends seem to be less artificial, letting the hair fall more or less the way it naturally falls and calling it good. In the 80s, hair was not only cut in layers, but also permed into waves, and, most notably, the bangs of the 80s. Perhaps not everyone remembers the bangs of the 80s, when the top layer was turned upwards and sprayed (with a great amount of hairspray) into an upward turned wave. As odd as it sounds, and as unnatural as it sounds, the hair actually stayed like this virtually all day because of the vast quantities of hairspray put on for this specific purpose. After curling up and spraying the top layer, the bottom layer was curled into a downward-turned wave, and again sprayed with hairspray. In short, hair had a lot of body in the 80s; the clothing, unfortunately, did too.
For example, a skirt in the 80s had its own body; it did not accent the body of the person inside it, instead, it had its own body, flouncing outward from the body in varying spots. Similar to the
hairstyles, 80s clothing had a lot of body. Sleek A-line skirts were unheard of and socks were not
socks unless they were slouched and worn at least two pairs at a time. Frighteningly enough,
these fashions are coming back in current clothing trends.
A good definition for this current fashion is that it ignores the principle of economy of materials
meaning that extra fabric is used in addition to the fabric needed to cover the body. For example, skirts have multiple vertical folds that are asymmetrical and essentially formless. Belts are 3 inches thick and do not go through belt loops - they are essential necklaces for the waist. Sweater collars do not simply turn down; they turn down, and cover half of the sweater with a doubled layer of sweater. In addition to affecting clothing so deeply, handbags have suffered the same 80s revival; they consist of more metallics than material.
In short, the reason why is unknown, but the 80s are almost back, as seen in trends of clothing
and accessories across the US and Europe.

3d Body Scanning ! An Introduction

Mass customization is a new manufacturing trend in which mass-market products (e.g. apparel) are quickly modified one at a time based on customers’ needs. It is an effective competing strategy for maximizing customers’ satisfaction and minimizing inventory costs. An automatic body measurement system is essential for apparel mass customization. This paper introduces the development of a body-scanning system, and body size extraction methods and body modeling algorithms. The scanning system utilizes the multi-line triangulation technique to rapidly acquire the surface data of a body, and provides accurate body measurements, many of which are not measurable with conventional methods. Cubic B-spline curves are used to connect and smooth body curves. From the scanned data, a body form can be constructed using linear Coons surfaces. The body form can be used as a digital model of the body for 3D garment design and for virtual try-on of a designed garment. This body scanning system and its application software enable apparel manufacturers to provide custom design services to the consumers seeking personal-fit garments.

In 1910, the apparel industry started using size designations to produce and sell ready-to-wear clothing. A size designation represents one set of garment sizes in a sizing system designed to reflect the body sizes of most individuals in a population. Because the anthropometric data on which the ready-to-wear sizing system was based was outdated, off-the-rack clothing does not properly fit the current population. Many surveys showed that about 50% of the women surveyed cannot find well fitting clothes in the current sizing system [2, 6]. Designing garments

that fit customers requires information about the individuals’ body size and shape. Technology used to quickly modify mass-market products (e.g. apparel) one at a time is known as mass customization and agile manufacturing, which maximize customer satisfaction and minimize inventory costs. Mass customization becomes an effective way for the U.S. apparel industry to compete in the global market.

Apparel mass customization requires automation in at least three processes: body measurement, pattern design, and fabric cutting. In recent years, body-scanning technology became an interesting research and development field around the world [4,8,11], and a few systems are already commercially available. However, there are two major barriers that prevent those systems from being widely accepted by the apparel industry. Firstly, the prices of the body-scanning systems are often prohibitively high to the apparel industry. Secondly, the systems neither are well integrated with apparel CAD systems, nor provide designing functions that allow a customer to design or choose a garment that fits his/her body. The customer will have to rely on a professional designer to utilize the body data for alternating pattern pieces to produce a personalized garment. The apparel CAD systems currently used by designers are 2D based pattern design systems that do not include ways to visualize garments in 3D graphics. The design effects can be examined only after the garment is actually made. This non-interactive approach restrains designers' creativity. Therefore, there is still a need for an affordable system that can do body scanning, body modeling and design of virtual garments in an integrated manner to expedite the process of apparel customization.
We developed the new body scanning and 3D garment design technology targeted for small apparel business. The system now can provide rapid, non-contact scanning of a whole or partial body to obtain size information necessary for garments; create customized body forms on the computer screen as models for apparel design. A body form represents the scanned body by having a number of key measurements of the body, and can be used for evaluating the style and fit of a garment being designed.

2. BODY SCANNING
The system consists of a PC computer, a control circuit box, and a 5x8x8 (W*L*H) ft3 dark booth (Figure 1), in which two linear stages are mounted on the front and back sides of a person. Each stage carries a multiple laser line projector (eye-safe) and a CCD camera to scan the entire body when the stage moves upward. This scanning unit is connected to the control box governed by the computer to perform triangulation measurements. All scanning and measuring commands are sent from the PC through the parallel port to the control box, which drives the scanning units to proper positions, turns on the laser projectors, and then triggers the cameras to grab images. The scanning units may stop 5-6 times to ensure the whole body to be scanned.

The depth calculation is based on a triangulation algorithm [3]. A simple geometry for an active laser triangulation is shown in Figure 2. The CCD camera is aligned along the Z-axis with the center of the lens located at (0, 0, 0). At a baseline distance b to the left of the camera (along the negative x-axis) is a multi-line laser generator projecting a beam of laser lines at an angle θ relative to the x-axis baseline. The point (x, y, z) is then mapped into the digitized image at the pixel (u, v) so uz = xf and vz = yf by similar triangles where f is the focal length of the camera in pixels. The measured quantities (u, v, θ) are used to compute the (x, y, z) coordinates:

To calculate the coordinates (x, y, z) of body, the laser lines in the originate image must be traced and the projection angle for each line must be determined. Figure 3a shows one of the grabbed images that contains 19 laser lines with different projection angles. With a given setup, the projection angle of the midst laser line and the inter-beam angle are both known. After a line is traced, the coordinate of all the pixels on the line (u, v) and the projection angle θ can be determined. Therefore, their corresponding 3D (x, y, z) coordinated can be calculated using the above equation. However, the projected laser lines on the body are not uniform in brightness.
At abrupt changes, laser lines appear blurry and even broken. To correct this problem, various image-processing techniques, such as adaptive thresholding and curve fitting [10], must be applied to deal with complex situations of broken lines. Figures 3a and 3b show the original lines and the traced lines of an upper body.
When the traced lines of all the captured images are converted into the (x, y, z) space and superimposed in a new image based on their relative scanning positions, the lines covering a whole body can be obtained (Figure 4a). Much denser points in the regions of breast, waist, crotch, and knees, are seen in the figure, resulting from the overlapping of laser lines in two consecutive images. The purpose of overlapping is to acquire more information from body areas that have more complex shapes. With the interpolation and fitting procedures, the regions between two lines are smoothly added so that the body surface can be recovered (Figure 4b). In Figure 4b, the range information is represented by the brightness of each pixel on the body.

3. BODY MEASUREMENT
After both front and back body surfaces are scanned, the two images can be combined and body dimensions can be measured on the 3D data. There are many pre-defined key measurements that are used for apparel design [1,5]. These key measurements are associated with certain landmarks of the body. They type of a body measurement can be the distance or angle between two landmarks (e.g., yoke and should slope), the length of a surface curve (e.g., crotch), and the circumference of the body at a landmark (e.g., bust). The measurements can be used to generate a body-form or directly be sent to a 2D CAD system for pattern alteration. It takes three major steps to extract body dimensions from the 3D body data.
(1) Locate body landmarks, such as waist, chest and neck. Based on basic features of body, most

landmarks can be automatically detected. Since human body shapes vary dramatically, manual intervention may also be needed to adjust landmarks for correct measurements.
(2) Process the data using fitting techniques, such as B-spline curves, to smooth and connect points of a cross-section at one landmark or a space curve between two landmarks.
(3) Compute the measurements such as circumference, distance, angle, etc.
Calculating body circumferences at landmarks is a major task in body size extraction from a scanned body image. B-spline curve approximation provides an effective way of representing body cross sections. Given a set of defining polygon vertices (control points), {Pi 0≤i≤n}, a B-spline curve C(u) is given by [7,9]

4. BODY MODELING
3D body modeling is a procedure to generate a body form on the computer screen using a set of key measurements from a scanned body. A body form, also called dress form, serves as a
personalized model for style manipulation and fit adjustment. A computer generated body form allows a designer to freely rotate and zoom the form for viewing and measuring the body shape.
A human body represents a fairly complex surface. To construct a body form, a body needs to be divided into a number of relatively simple sub-surfaces that can be approximated by surface functions. For example, an upper torso can be divided into seven sections: neck, shoulder, chest above waist, abdomen (Figure 8). Each section has four of edges whose reference parameters u and v are between 0 and 1, i.e., u,v ∈[0,1].

5. VIRTUAL GARMENT
A virtual garment can be directly created on the body form by following the shape of the 3D body form and taking a desirable ease to ensure the personal fit. The software provides a tool that allows the user to cut through the garment and body form horizontally and vertically to check and change the ease at any position by specifying a gap distance (Figure 10a). The structure lines including seam lines, outlines, and grain lines can be also added. After the design is finished, the garment can be taken off from the body form and flattened into 2D pattern pieces for further modification in an apparel CAD system (Figure 10b).



CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, we presented a newly developed human body scanner for apparel mass customization. Based on the multi-line triangulation and computational geometry technique
the scanner can quickly acquire the 3D images of the front and back sides of a body, automatically extract key dimensions that are important for apparel design, create customized body forms, and generate virtual garments that fit on the body forms. This body scanning system and its application software would enable apparel manufacturers to provide custom design services to the consumers seeking personal fit garments.


REFERENCES
1. H. Armstang, PatternMaking for Fashion Design, HarperCollins College Publishers, New York (1995).
2. S. Ashdown, "Introduction to Sizing and Fit Research", Symposium of Fit 2000, http://car.clemson.edu/fit2000/ (2000).
3. P.J. Besl, Surfaces in Range Image Understanding. Springer-Verlag, New York, (1990).
4. T. Furukawa, J. Gu, W. Lee and N. Magnenat-Thalmann, 3D Clothes Modeling from Photo Cloned Human Body, in Virtual Worlds, Springer-Verlag, pp159-170 (2000).
5. C.Y. Jongsuk and C. Jasper, "Key Dimensions of Women’s Ready-to-Wear Apparel: Developing a Consumer Size-labeling System". Clothing and Textile Research Journal, 14, 89-95 (1996).
6. J. Holusha, "Producing Custom-Made Clothes for the Masses". New York Times, (1996).
7. P. Les and T. Wayne, The NURBS Book (2nd Edition), Springer (1997).
8. R.P. Pargas, N.J. Staples and J. S. Davis, "Automatic Measurement Extraction for Apparel from a Three-Dimensional Body Scan", Optics and Lasers in Engineering, 28, 157-172 (1997).
9. D.F. Rogers, and J.A. Adams, Mathematical Elements for Computer Graphics. McGraw-Hill (1990).
10. A. Rosenfeld and A. Kak, Digital Picture Processing, vols. 1 and 2. Academic Press, New York (1982).
11. B. Xu and S.V. Svinivasan, "3D Body Imaging and Measurement for Apparel Customization", J. of Textile Institute, 90, 104-120 (1999).

Intro

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