Oregon professor helps to re-define women's clothing sizes

(OCTOBER 15, 2021) Changing attitudes around body image is leading Old Navy to change its products. The company is getting help from Susan Sokolowski. She is a professor and researcher at the University of Oregon in Eugene. She teaches sports product design.

Bodies come in all shapes and sizes. In fact, 68% of all U.S. shoppers are women over size 14. However, they do not feel represented in fashion. The industry often focuses on smaller sizes instead. That means they offer fewer choices.

Sokolowski is an expert in product design. She and her students worked closely with Old Navy to define new body shapes and measurements for women's fashion. They used 3D body scans, and they learned something very interesting: body shape changes across sizes. Part of the problem, according to Sokolowski, is that manufacturers use a standard hourglass-shaped mannequin. They ignore the fact that as the body gets larger in size, it changes into different shapes. Research says that very few women over size 14 are hourglass shape.

“As the body increases in size, there is more variability where soft tissue deposits around the body,” she said. “This matters when you’re designing apparel because you need to think about where materials are located and their percentage of stretch. You also need to think about how the waistband is constructed, the size and placement of zippers, buttons and pockets and achieving the appropriate sleeve and leg lengths.”

She added, “Most companies linearly grade sizes and women often have issues with their apparel being too long because the manufacturer kept growing the leg or sleeve length with each size increase.”

She shared her research with Old Navy. They made clothing with new measurements and tested them with women. The biggest takeaway from the fit clinics for Sokolowski was the reaction when women tried on the modified sizes. Women said the new sizes felt more comfortable. Sokolowski said that increases confidence, too.