Designing close-fitting garments is a measurement problem before it is a design problem. Researchers in Japan built a computerized three-dimensional model to extract body shape and classify female trunk shapes, with the aim of producing better fitting, more comfortable close-fitting products.
Why conventional measurement is not enough
The premise of the work is that the standard methods fall short. Conventional body measurements, photographic images and silhouettes all fail to capture accurate and complete three-dimensional data.
This is a real limitation rather than a theoretical one. A tape measure records circumference at a point but says nothing about how that circumference is distributed, and two people with identical measurements can need entirely different garments.
Kensuke Nakamura of the Kyoto Institute of Technology and Takao Kurokawa of Osaka University identified body shape components as the most critical and complex step in designing close-fitting products such as underwear and safety garments.
The method
- Sample. Around 560 Japanese women, aged 19 to 63.
- Measurement. Laser metrology used to map control points at specific positions on the trunk.
- Modeling. The control point data fitted to a three-dimensional trunk model.
- Analysis. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis applied to the results.
- Classification. Trunk characteristics reduced to five body shapes representing the majority of Japanese women.
What defines each shape
The five classifications depend on four variables:
- Slimness
- Breast size and angle
- Neck type
- Shoulder slope
Breast angle is the variable most often missing from conventional sizing, and it is one of the main reasons two people with the same bra size can find that the same bra fits one and not the other.
What it could improve
The researchers expected the analysis to help produce clothes that fit better across the majority of trunk sizes and shapes, and to improve functional garments used for body adjustment and posture correction.
The study also noted a possible further application in research on body image and related disorders, where accurate three-dimensional shape data is relevant.
Frequently asked questions
How many women were scanned?
Around 560, aged between 19 and 63.
Why is 3D scanning better than tape measurement?
A tape gives a circumference at a point but not how that volume is distributed. Two identical measurements can require different garments.
What are the five shapes based on?
Slimness, breast size and angle, neck type and shoulder slope.
This report dates from 2009. See also determining your bra size and body types.
