Developing size charts for petite South African women from 3D body scanned E-tape measurements

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop upper and lower body dimensions’ size charts for a sample of 200 petite South African women aged 20-54 years residing in Gauteng and with a height of 163 cm or below as determined from their e-tape anthropometric measurements obtained using a 3D full body scanner. The most prevalent body shape was found to be pear shaped (n=180). The size charts were evaluated by comparing the body measurements for a size 10/34 with a correspondingly sized commercial petite mannequin and the respective fit of shirt and trouser garments manufactured to fit a sample of nine size 10/34 women.
The findings show that the 3D e-tape generated measurements from the size charts for the size 10/34 petite women produced an overall better quality of fit than the garments made using the e-tape measurements of the size 10/34 petite tailoring mannequin. The study highlights the current limitations of the petite women sizing charts in use in the South African apparel industry.