ABSTRACT
Clothing fit is important to wearers on an everyday level and is frequently covered in clothing texts (Brown and Rice, 2001; Le Pechoux and Ghosh, 2002; Fan, Yu and Hunter, 2004), often with reference to the variables identified by Erwin, Kinchen and Peters (1979). Whilst these highlight important attributes of fit aesthetics, the fit of sportswear clothing can have a direct bearing on performance and potentially the outcome of the sports event. Fit can be considered in terms of function and comfort perception, but from a product development perspective fit can and should be engineered with consideration of how each variable interacts. Importantly, developments of 3D product development reinforce the geometry and numeric nature of product development and support the assertion for numerically understanding the garment and its fit (Gill, 2011). We would propose that wearer perception plays only a small part in engineering fit and that the following variables require careful and integrated consideration: fabric, function,
CONTENTS
10.1 Factors Affecting Fit .................................................................................. 245 10.1.1 Garment Fit and the Pattern ......................................................... 246 10.1.2 Fabrics .............................................................................................. 246 10.1.3 Function........................................................................................... 247
10.2 Sensorial Comfort ...................................................................................... 249 10.2.1 Psychological Considerations of Wearer Perceptions ............... 249 10.2.2 Pressure Comfort ...........................................................................250 10.2.3 Pressure Comfort and Gender ..................................................... 251
10.3 Performance Expectations ........................................................................ 252 10.4 Ease Levels within the Garment ..............................................................254 10.5 Summary .....................................................................................................254 10.6 Future Developments ................................................................................ 257 References ............................................................................................................. 257
sensorial comfort, performance expectations and ease determination, especially regarding their numeric application in terms of the pattern.
