An experiment has been made to make clear the difference in comfort between well-and ill-fitted business suits.The well-fitted sample F was made on the basis of the subject's own basic bodice pattern, considering the subject's physical type characteristics.The ill-fitted sample D was made by the basic drafting method, applied to the regular type.We examined the conditions of samples, sensory evaluation and clothing pressure at standing position at rest and with limb motion.The results were as follows:
1) Many poorly-fitted regions of sample D at standing position at rest were observed.Specifically crease in the neck piece, touching exactly at the shoulder blades, and a raised bottom line at the front were indicated on many subjects. Samples which had many poorly-fitted regions at standing position at rest showed slippage, pressure and tugging with limb motion, and became worse after moving.
2) The subject felt more discomfort with sample D than with sample F.Clothing pressure of sample D was higher than sample F except for the sway back type.Variation in clothing pressure of regular type between sample D and F was less than with other physical types.
3) It is necessary to introduce the clothing pattern, taking into account of physical type characteristics of the upper half body of Japanese adult males to design comfortable business suits.

View full abstract

Flat pattern developed from the back trunk surface were made from the trunk replicas of fifty female subjects in a normal posture. The patterns were divided into nine blocks by standard lines. The lines among blocks are referred“sides”. The vertical gaps extended into the most horizontal sides, and became smaller around the back chest lines. The horizontal gaps on the sides of the back center lines and the upper back arm scye lines disappeared on the scapular lines. The average gap lengths ranged from 0.3cm to 3cm, and the number of the gaps differed from individual to individual. On the flat patterns of the same clothing pattern, the gap lengths expressed the features of the back trunk curved surface, and were regarded as factor for translating their curved surface onto a flat plane. However, as a gap length cannot be measured directly from their surface, we estimated them using the plane geometrical equations which were set up by the body side lengths. It was necessary to have many body side lengths to set up the equations to estimate gap lengths on the back neckbase line and the back shoulder line. Most of the other gap lengths were the difference among the opposite body side lengths on the blocks.

View full abstract