Garment sewing is undergoing a resurgence in participation, with a growing number of women choosing to sew their clothing instead of buying readily available fast fashion. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the current motivations of an ethnically diverse sample of women who sew garments for themselves. The in-depth interview data from 15 interviews revealed personal fulfillment to be the overarching reason for participation. Personal fulfillment was achieved through main emergent themes of investment, control, and empowerment with 10 subthemes. Theoretical perspectives of prosumerism, craft and do-it-yourself consumption, and uses and gratification theory were applied to the emergent themes to interpret the motivations of these women to sew garments for themselves. A model of sewing motivations for female garment sewing was developed to illustrate the connection between the emergent themes’ contribution to the women’s personal fulfillment and recurring cycle that takes place each time the women create a new garment for themselves.

A wardrobe is the sum of clothing, both worn and unworn, that women consider each day to construct their visual self. While there is little practical reason to keep clothes that are physically impossible to wear, there may be other connections that prevent their discard. This study investigated reasons for keeping clothes that do not fit the current body and women's feelings about these clothes. Responses from forty-six women, 35 to 65 years in age, were collected using a web-based questionnaire. The women were clients of image consultants and contacted because of their interest in clothing and appearance. Participants described up to four garments in their closets that no longer fit, the reasons they did not fit, and their reasons for keeping them. Open coding was used to examine the responses, and generated four themes for keeping clothing that do not fit: Weight Management, Investment Value, Sentimental Value, and Aesthetic Object. The results suggest a process for separating the self from the ...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a “good fit” for garments for customer satisfaction, comfort, and functionality as well as a manufacturer's success and reputation. Design/methodology/approach – This paper reviews and evaluates garments on a live fit model and makes recommendations for the acceptance or modification of the garment for production. As more manufacturing, product development, and designing responsibilities continue to take place globally, alternatives to the traditional fit analysis are under consideration. Findings – Fit analysis using live and three-dimensional scan models as an alternative to the traditional fit analysis are under consideration. Originality/value – This paper evaluates garments on a live fit model and makes recommendations for the acceptance or modification of the garment for production.

The authors of this study explored (a) body-to-pattern measurement and shape relationships in trouser patterns drafted by two methods; (b) the consistency of these body-to-pattern relationships between methods and between differently shaped bodies within methods; (c) the patternmaking procedures that cause these outcomes; and (d) how these findings impact garment fit, particularly for mass customization. Body-to-pattern measurement and shape relationships were inconsistent between and within methods, making them unsuitable for use in computer-aided custom patternmaking. Most strikingly, pattern crotch shapes were similar within each method, despite the fact that form crotch shapes were different. Patternmaking procedures causing these inconsistencies include (a) use of proportion of noncorresponding body measurements; (b) use of standard, rather than body, measurements; (c) variations in ease as proportions or standard amounts; (d) trueing, blending, and connecting steps; (e) variation between methods of measurements used, in use of proportions or standard measurements, and in steps; and (h) disregard of body shape.

To develop an understanding of consumers’ evaluations of their Rent the Runway (RTR) experiences, their online reviews were systematically sampled and saved as screen shots. Content analysis was conducted in two stages: (a) analysis of 201 reviews to develop the coding scheme and (b) data collection and analysis from an additional 600 reviews. Insights into RTR’s strategies for overcoming the challenges associated with online apparel sales were yielded. These may provide direction for other apparel companies. When planning their product offerings, online apparel rental companies should consider the most important apparel evaluative criteria found for RTR reviewers: (a) fit, (b) garment style and design elements, (c) social feedback, and (d) appropriateness. Companies may (a) adopt RTR’s unique e-service, shipping two sizes of the same dress; and (b) encourage reviewers to include more self-descriptive and dress-descriptive information in their reviews, both of which seemed to alleviate online shopping fit concerns.

Garment development is an iterative process centred on patternmaking to resolve fit and production problems. Each time a sample garment is revised adds time and expense to garment development. Understanding the relationships among garment fit variables is essential to advancing the process of garment development especially with respect to programming computer-aided patternmaking systems accurately. Fit experts utilise their practical knowledge, but it is generally unrecorded, while patternmaking texts provide information on body-to-pattern variable relationships that is not well documented. Building patternmaking theory can ground the practice and lead to a better understanding of body-to-pattern relationships. This study compared published patternmaking specifications for ease, shaping devices and crotch curve shape against pants’ patterns custom-fit by experts for seven female participants of similar body size and age representing purposefully selected body shapes. In contrast to the singular directive specifications in the patternmaking texts, variation was required for all cases to achieve acceptable fit, with some variations related to body shape.