The Standards Australia sizing system: quantifying the mismatch

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to compare the three‐dimensional (3D) shapes of a sample of 18‐30 year old Australian women, to the 3D shapes assumed by the Standards Australia (SA) garment sizing system, using the newly developed L‐statistic, to suggest methods of improving current garment sizing systems.

Design/methodology/approach

The L‐statistic is a new method for quantifying the lack of fit between two sets of dimensions defining 3D shapes. Using the L‐value, 28 measurements were calculated from 3D scans on 294 18‐30 year old Australian women and compared to the SA sizing system. Each participant was assigned to a best‐fit size, which was the size yielding the lowest L‐value.

Findings

The results showed that there is a significant mismatch between the real 3D shapes of young Australian women and the shapes assumed by the SA sizing system, and that there is a difference of more than two sizes when comparing reported dress sizes and best‐fit clothing sizes.

Practical implications

Results suggest a need for revision of the current system, or development of a new system. Revision of current clothing sizes, or development of new sizes would be optimised by using 3D body scanning technology.

Originality/value

This paper outlines the use of the L‐statistic, a new method of comparing the shape of Australian women to the SA sizing system. The L‐statistic can also be used to compare any individual to any sizing system and to assess the lack‐of‐fit between any sizing system and a sample of scanned bodies.

Citation

Honey, F. and Olds, T. (2007), "The Standards Australia sizing system: quantifying the mismatch", Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Vol. 11 No. 3, pp. 320-331. https://doi.org/10.1108/13612020710763083