That size 8 dress may soon be a 12
After years of frustration in the dressing room, Americans may finally have a shot at better-fitting clothes. A survey released this week challenges current standards for sizing - evolved from measurements that date back to at least World War II - and opens the door for designers to make products that look good on more than just a hanger.
The survey reveals what anyone can see by walking down the street: People are getting wider and slightly heavier, especially as they age. Women in particular are moving from hourglass to pear shape.
That might not be cause for celebration, but the availability for the first time in recent years of exact measurements - across multiple ethnic groups - is prompting optimism about the prospects for happier shoppers.
"That the data exists is absolutely a momentous occasion," says Cindy Istook, a professor of apparel design and technology at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. "Now somebody has to use it."
Already, at least one of the survey's sponsors is figuring out how to incorporate the information into its clothing lines. "This is probably going to take us a year or more to do correctly," says Andy Van, manager of quality assurance at JCPenney Co., based in Plano, Texas. He foresees a phase-in of new sizing. Manufacturing details - such as altering patterns - and customer-relations issues will have to be sorted out. Changes might mean a company would pick up some disgruntled shoppers, but lose those who formerly fitted into the clothes just fine.
Then there's the ego factor: "Suppose you think you're an 8 but you're really a 12? Pretty tough for me to tell you [that]," he says.
Frustration over fit has reached a significant level in the United States in recent years. A 2003 survey of consumers by Kurt Salmon Associates found that 60 percent of consumers say they have difficulty finding clothes that fit well.
"The average size for any person ... seems to be a little bigger, but the ready-to-wear hasn't kept pace with that," says Shelley Gibson, of Fort Worth, Texas, while shopping in Manhattan this week. "It takes me a long time to find what I'm looking for."
The fit problems date back to the middle of the 20th century, says Susan Ashdown, an associate professor of textiles and apparel at Cornell University. That was about the time department stores stopped offering alteration services, she points out.
Today, practices in the industry for determining size are complicated. Some companies use "vanity sizing," labeling a size 10 a size 8, to flatter customers. And often designers and retailers develop their own measurements for sizes based on the fit of their customers.
Professor Ashdown says the variety of fit across companies is good because it means more options for consumers. Even with better information about the shape of Americans, it's unlikely that measurements will ever match from one brand to the next, say those in the industry.
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