A British Standard (BS 3666) was introduced in 1982 It designates a set of sizes from 8 to 32 but there is no legal requirement for any manufacturer or retailer to use the system. More recently, however, a new standard has been produced (BS EN and described as 'size designation of clothes-definitions and body measurement procedures') which uses actual measurements. It certainly is not yet in common use.
It is thought that 'vanity' sizing is one of the main reasons why a universal sizing system has not, to date, been formally introduced. That is understandable when few of us would pass up the opportunity to get into a size smaller than, in truth, we know we are. We even remain loyal to stores and brands that we believe size well because they fit, and that despite the fact that out usual size 16 has been labelled consistently as a 12! Nonetheless, whilst this may be a regular practice for some, it is much more likely that the lack of a common sizing system is rooted in the fact that it would be well nigh impossible to obtain accurate measurements across the range of bodies to be clothed!
Sizing to a common formula was perhaps rather less important before buying direct from web sites and catalogues became so popular. The handling of 'returns' because they do not fit is a headache for 'direct' companies and it is they who have pushed hardest to secure a universal system. However, sizing does remain a problem. Why?
Over the last 50 years we have become taller, larger and heavier. That may not surprise you but, imagine the challenge it poses for a designer or manufacturer when height, bust and hips have increased by 4cms (1.5 inches), waists have expanded by as much as 14cms (6 inches) and figures are much 'straighter' than they were in the 1950s. 4.5 milion British women, or 19% of the total adult female population, are now size 16 with 10% size 18 and 7.6% size 20 or larger. The positive is that we all live longer!
How do we know that women have changed their body shape quite so much? Between 1999 and 2004, the London College of Fashion worked with a company called Sizemic to measure the size and shape of the British population. They interviewed and measured (scanned) more than 5000 women and 5000 men between the ages of 16 and 90 using a similar 3D white light body scanner to that Trinny and Susannah used during their TV programme.
Interestingly, the study of body shape was a serious and commercially motivated piece of work, a collaboration between government, various technology companies and academics. It has resulted in the development of an accurate database of size and shape statistics which can be used to size garments correctly. A similar study is made of children in the UK and study techniques exported for work to be carried out in the United States, France, Mexico, Sweden and Thailand.
There has been a further spin-off....a number of retailers have installed mini scanners in store. Levi jeans, for example, offer a free body scanning service at their flagship store in central London. Your body is scanned to enable a personal dresser to find the style and size of jeans that would suit you best. Selfridges use a similar system to make customised jeans... but at a price!
In a way, Scan UK automates the traditional skills of the tailor and dressmaker whose stock in trade was to accommodate every conceivable body shape. It will be a long time before either scanning becomes the norm or sizing is entirely consistent. However, perhaps we can now begin to look forward to enjoying the 'fashion' experience and know that the size we seek is correctly sized and designed to fit wherever we may choose to find it.
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