Changing Pattern Practices and Sizing System for the Development of Womenswear in Pakistan

This doctoral research in the field of apparel anthropometrics is conducted for the development of womenswear sizing system in Pakistan. The study is the first of its kind with an aim to discuss and develop a sizing system by reviewing the practices of the women's apparel industry related to sizing and through the collection of anthropometric data, exclusively of Pakistani women between the ages of 20 to 30 years, in order to create apparel sizes with better fit and to address the problem with sizing faced by the local apparel industry. The growth of women's ready-to-wear industry, in the West, is attributed to the development of a proper sizing system, achieved through continuous anthropometric surveys conducted since the middle of the last century, which helped in resolving the huge issues of fit. The Pakistani female ready-to-wear garment industry has also grown exponentially in the last two decades, however, there has been a parallel increase in ill-fitted clothes since no anthropometric surveys have ever been conducted for the development of a proper sizing system. The local women's apparel companies have developed and modified sizes from the earlier data of international brands, which do not fit well as the body structures of South Asian Women are very different from the West. The absence of anthropometric data and a proper sizing system has thus, led to a disparity in sizing. This empirical research is divided into two phases. Four Pakistani womenswear brands are taken on board for this study. The first phase incorporates both the qualitative and the quantitative methods for retrieving data, as very limited literature is available on the subject. Qualitative interviews of the four brands participating in the case study are used to investigate the reasons related to the fit issues and garment sizing faced by the brands and the industry at large. The size charts developed by each brand are also reviewed and analyzed in detail in the first phase of the research. The findings from Phase 1 reiterate the fact, that no proper study or survey has ever been conducted to collect women's body measurement data of the local female population, and the sizes thus developed by the industry are mostly derived from the sizes of international companies which do not fit well on the body of local women population due to different body structures. A lot of issues related to fit and size measurements, especially at the bust, armhole, shoulders, hip, and thigh have been reported, however, there is no data available for comparative reference. Hence, the collection of anthropometric data is considered essential by the brands as well, as it would not only resolve most of the issues of size and fit but will hugely benefit the women's apparel industry of Pakistan. The Phase 2 of the research adopts the quantitative method. The body measurements of 151 Pakistani female walk-in customers and students, between the age of 20 to 30 years were collected manually for size data analysis. This part of the research was also conducted in collaboration with the brands along with one of the institutions. The anthropometric data were analyzed using the statistical method. From the data, it was found that the women's body measurements varied a lot from the ones followed by the brands. Therefore, size charts based on anthropometric data were proposed by the researcher as a first step toward sizing. However, as the data showed a lot of variation of body shapes within the group, taking anyone's shape and making it a standard will not resolve the issues of fit, therefore, it is suggested to develop a sizing system that accommodates variation of shapes within a size range