The ratio of clothing surface area to body surface area, namely, clothing area factor may play an important role in analyses of heat exchange between the clothed body and surrounding environment. It has been commonly defined as a function of clothing insulation for the practical use although clothing fit becomes a determinant factor in estimation of clothing surface area. In this study, clothing area factors (fcl) were derived from the photographic method using 180° OP fish - eye lens camera while a subject was standing or sitting. Subjects wore the relatively tight - fitting clothing or loose - fitting clothing for each posture. In addition, clothing microenvironment volumes were measured with different methods including a shadow projection method. The fcl values were varied in the range of 1.05 to 1.22 and not concomitant with clothing insulation of which values were consistent (the mean = 0.52clo). Clothing microenvironment volumes also varied with clothing fit and posture. These results demonstrated that clothing area factor was strongly related to clothing fit, I.e., clothing microenvironment volume, for a given clothing insulation.
