Influence of Mechanical Properties of Fabrics with Different Stiffness on the Appearance of Clothes

Abstract

This study aimed to clarify the relationship between the appearance of clothes and its mechanical properties. Five fabric types with different stiffness, i.e., georgette crepe, crepe de chine, two tropical suiting types, and taffeta were made into gathered tunics with a high waist line. A paired comparison test was performed for female university students how the visually-assessed size is different on a dress dummy wearing each type of the clothes. The test results showed that the clothes made of taffeta looked the biggest, while those made of georgette crepe looked the smallest. The other investigation examining beautifulness and preference of the clothes showed that the georgette crepe type was considered to be the most beautiful, having the best preference. Moreover, the measurement of the quality of the drape coefficient and tensile and shearing stiffness showed a statistically significant relationship with the appearance of the clothes. It was demonstrated that the sense of beautifulness is brought by flexible fabric with low stiffness.