Design and Product Development

Fit Analysis of ASTM Size Standards for Overweight and Obese Women in the United States Based on Body Shapes

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Abstract

To meet overweight and obese (OWOB) female consumers’ needs for proper fit and sizes, it is important to identify their body shapes (BS) and whether the current sizing system reflects them correctly. The purpose of this study is to categorize the whole BS among OWOB women in the United States and examine the effectiveness of the current ASTM sizing systems for each whole BS. The SizeUSA data were used in this study for women with BMI of 25 or over. Five whole BS were identified among OWOB women: Rectangle-curvy shape; parallelogram-moderately curvy shape; parallelogram-hip tilt shape; inverted trapezoid-moderately curvy shape, and inverted trapezoid-hip tilt shape. For each BS group, approximately four fifths or more of OWOB female adults in the United States would find it difficult to obtain a good fit for both tops and bottoms in the current ASTM sizing systems for both misses and plus sizes.

Keywords: body shape, overweight and obese, sizing, apparel fit

How to Cite:

Shin, E. & Saeidi, E., (2020) “Fit Analysis of ASTM Size Standards for Overweight and Obese Women in the United States Based on Body Shapes”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 77(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.12179