Susan P. Ashdown

Cornell University | CU · Department of Fiber Science and Apparel Design

Purpose The circular design process in contemporary fashion design, from two-dimensional (2D) sketching and pattern making to three-dimensional (3D) prototypes, can be facilitated by virtual prototyping. Virtual pressure representations on avatars provide visual and quantitative information regarding garment fit and comfort, which are particularly...

Sampling is a critical step in the concept-to-style workflow for digitally created products. Virtual environments allow sampling without the costs associated with physical prototyping However, current practice often still requires physical prototyping. Here we consider how landmarking contributes to the need for iterative sampling, thereby inhibiti...

Anthropometric data are essential for applying ergonomic principles to the design of a wide range of products and are paramount when developing personal protective equipment. In the case of occupations that deal with extreme circumstances, as is the case of firefighting, a proper fit and sizing of personal protective equipment is related not only w...

Women’s upper body changes with age are categorized and analyzed. The researchers validated shape-related measurement variables, extracted principal components, and classified the shapes of 423 women ages 40–69 using 3 D body scans from the CAESAR database. Shape and posture differences were quantified according to four age groups based on 47 measu...

In firefighting, fit and sizing of personal protective equipment are directly related with the protection level, work performance, and comfort of firefighters. Furthermore, proper fit and sizing depend on appropriate sizing systems and the validity of the data from which they were constructed. Thus, anthropometric data are paramount for personal pr...

Personal Protective Equipment protects firefighters against multiple hazards. The fit and comfort of such equipment are directly related to proper sizing systems which in turn depend on accurate anthropometric data. To present design solutions to the equipment used by Portuguese firefighters, a study designated as Size FF Portugal – Anthropometric...

Physical activity can lead to the displacement of the female breasts causing psychological and physical discomfort or even breast pain. It is suggested for all exercising females to protect the breasts with additional support and restriction against displacement. The purpose of this research was to introduce the use of 4D scanning technology to und...

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the shape change of breast during movement to inform product development of bras and other female wearable products. Design/methodology/approach Using the latest 4D body scanning technology, the authors monitored the change of seven non-circumferential breast measurements, including four linear m...

An analysis was conducted of the differences between expert and novice apparel practitioner’s areas of attention and criteria when assessing the fit of a shirt, using goggle type eye-trackers and a questionnaire. The areas of interest (AOIs) which the expert group viewed longer than the novice group during fit assessment were at the collar, waist,...

Personal protective equipment is of paramount importance in aiding and protecting firefighters against hazardous conditions. Personal protective equipment should be compatible to firefighters’ body dimensions. However, the lack of updated anthropometric data for this specific occupational group can lead to ill-fitting equipment, compromising work p...

Firefighting is considered one of the most challenging professions. Personal protective equipment plays a crucial role in protecting firefighters against numerous occupational hazards. Despite the advances in materials technology, current firefighting personal protective clothing is considered heavy, bulk, stiff, and thick. Many studies evaluated f...

Anthropometric measurements such as breast volume are directly associated with the product development for bras. However, a non-contact method that accurately detects the upper boundary of breasts has not been reported. By taking advantage of the time delay in the vertical displacement between the breasts and the chest wall during physical activity...

Over the years, the nature of firefighting and the role of firefighters has evolved including a demographic change, with an increasing number of women in this profession. Recent studies have specifically addressed the particular needs of female firefighters. Ill-fitting turnout gear, protective gloves, and other personal protective equipment make f...

Ready-to-wear clothing is typically based on the body-shape of human fit models that an apparel company hires. The body-shape difference between a consumer and the fit model of their size results in fit-loss of a certain degree. Aggregate-fit-loss is a concept attempting to quantify and estimate the accumulative fit-loss that a population may encou...

Firefighter’s job tasks require intensive physical work and involve a range of movements in a wide variety of hazardous environments and thermal conditions. It is thus critical that personal protective equipment allows firefighters to perform their duties with minimal limitations and maximum safety. However, many studies have shown concerns regardi...

Sport is highly competitive, and there is a continual search for ways to improve performance. A good fit and comfort provided by activewear will be factors in performance, but providing good fit for the active position is challenging. This exploratory research is focused on creating half scale forms in active poses to facilitate activewear design,...

To investigate the effect of structured bras and soft bras on breast shape, 46 female participants (Caucasian, BMI < 30, aged 18–45) were recruited for three-dimensional (3D) scanning. Participants were scanned in three conditions: wearing a provided structured bra, a provided soft bra, and nude. The impact of the bras on breast asymmetry was quant...

Inspired by topography, a new way of systematically extracting breast measurements is proposed and used in analyzing breast shape. Furthermore, we propose an asymmetry index to quantify the degree of asymmetry between left and right breasts. The nude breasts of 46 Caucasian females (BMI below 30, age range: 18-45) were 3D scanned and studied. Conto...

The performance apparel industry has a long history of engaging consumers , or users, in the apparel product development process to enhance existing products and inspire innovations. New design knowledge, in the form of user insights, can drive innovation and meet the exacting needs of the user. However, the methods that apparel product developers...

The performance apparel industry has a long history of engaging consumers, or users, in the apparel product development process to enhance existing products and inspire innovations. New design knowledge, in the form of user insights, can drive innovation and meet the exacting needs of the user. However, the methods that apparel product developers u...

Background: Collecting anthropometric data for real-life applications demands a high degree of precision and reliability. It is important to test new equipment that will be used for data collectionOBJECTIVE:Compare two anthropometric data gathering techniques - manual methods and a Kinect-based 3D body scanner - to understand which of them gives m...

When designing performance apparel, product developers often engage with users to ensure product appropriateness. The key problem is knowing which users have the potential to make valuable contributions in the apparel product development process. In this study, the authors explore lead users (LUs) as a subset of end users who have potential to deve...

In this study we explore the variation in female breast shape across the younger (age: 18–45), non-obese (BMI < 30) North American Caucasian population, a population that has not previously been well-represented in studies of breast shape. A method of classifying breast shape was developed based on multiple data-mining techniques. Forty-one relativ...

Bloomsbury Childhood Studies

Purpose The design and testing of clothing for activewear requires complex assessments of the suitability of the clothing when the body is in motion. The purpose of this paper is to investigate full body 3D scanning of active body poses in order to develop “watertight” digital models and half-scale dress forms to facilitate design, pattern making a...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify common issues among commercial body size charts, and to propose a sizing improvement methodology without changing the number of sizes in the range. One goal is to equalize the number of people accommodated by each size within the range, and to propose a way to evaluate the effectiveness of the improv...

Purpose This paper presents an analysis of several issues that are preponderant for the work-wear design. The purpose of this was to create a prototype of a women’s base upper body garment, based on the information gathered. Design/methodology/approach All the necessary information was collected through questionnaires, anthropometric measurement...

Background: Understanding the reliability and precision of the data obtained using three-dimensional body scanners is very important if it is intended to replace the traditional data collection methods. If the collection of anthropometric data with three-dimensional body scanners is a fast and reliable process that produces precise data at a low p...

Sitting for long periods of time, both during work and leisure times, is the typical behavior of the modern society. Especially at work, where there is not much flexibility, adopting the sitting posture for the entire day can cause some short- and long-term effects. As workers’ productivity and well-being relies on working conditions, evaluating th...

Purpose Understanding costumer requirements is a precondition for clothing design and manufacturing. A good shapewear designer should know women’s preferences for their buttock shapes before making patterns. The purpose of this paper is to figure out factors affecting the beauty of women’s buttock shapes and the effect of ethnic background to butt...

The shape and size of the human body is affected by the posture adopted in order to perform various activities. The human body is constantly changing and adapting to the movements executed in everyday life. As such, knowledge about the body changes that occur with the adoption of different postures is essential. Besides the obvious adverse health e...

The study of human body size and shape has been a topic of research for a very long time. In the past, anthropometry used traditional measuring techniques to record the dimensions of the human body and reported variance in body dimensions as a function of mean and standard deviation. Nowadays, the study of human body dimensions can be carried out m...

Most work and leisure activities imply the adoption of many dynamic postures, such as stretching the arms foreword or upwards. Some of these postures can be restricted or obstructed by the clothes people wear, as they may be too tight or too loose, limiting/obstructing the range of movements. In this paper, it will be presented a preliminary study...

The work garments’ fit is one factor that highly impacts on workers’ productivity and on their feeling of comfort. Work-wear may have some limitation, e.g. mobility, protection, temperature, aesthetics, comfort and fit. Moreover, as the variation of the human size and shape is so large it is extremely difficult to design clothes that can accommodat...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze petite women’s body size and figure and investigate whether current petite sizing charts accurately reflect actual petit size women’s bodies. This study also categorizes petite women’s body shapes and suggests primary body measurements as a base size for each shape. The ultimate goal is to suggest f...

The effectiveness of 3D virtual fitting technology when visualizing the fit and silhouette of pants by analyzing the similarities between real and virtual fit using 20 fit locations, 3 lower body shapes, and fit status was investigated. We produced 61 custom pants for the participants and virtually tried each on a personalized 3D body scan avatar....

In this exploratory study, three-dimensional (3D) virtual design and try-on technologies were investigated using 3D body-scan avatars (virtual human bodies). Such technology offers the possibility of allowing consumers to become involved as co-designers in the design process, with possible sustainability implications on how the clothing is valued a...

Appropriate sizing systems are a key component in production of the ready-made garments that comprise the majority of the clothing we wear. However, the creation of appropriate sizing systems is a complex task given the challenge of variation in body shape and size, the inadequacy of current size codes for communicating size information, and the va...

The bra is one of the most essential pieces of women's underwear which gives support for the breasts and holds them in position to make better outer appearance of upper body. Despite being worn by most women of all ages, brassiere manufacturers often use brassiere sizes and shapes that are close to the body measurements of women in their 20s, which...

To replace the traditional anthropometric data collection processes with the 3D acquiring system it is important that the validity of the data is not compromised. To do this, a validation study, based on the guideline of ISO 20685, can be performed. This paper presents the results of a comparison between traditional measurements and measurements ta...

The standards used by clothing manufacturers are defined for younger age group, disabling older people to be accommodated by the apparel industry. These misfit garment problems are generally due to the different body configurations brought by the aging process, causing dissatisfaction and frustration. There are very few garments available that were...

The future of innovation in clothing lies within wearable technologies, advanced design development processes and advanced construction techniques. The integration of functional apparel design and engineering has attracted a lot of attention in the last decade. The objective of our work is to explore new avenues that connect design and technology,...

The shift from seasonal fashion cycles to continuously changing styles has amplified the textile and clothing industry's impact on economies, societies, and the environment over the last two decades. The short life-span of the commodities of contemporary fast-fashion culture contributes to the unsustainable practices in the textile and clothing ind...

As woven garments are cut from flat pieces of cloth, pattern cutting methods must create flat 2D shapes that are constructed to form 3D garments that fit a particular body shape. The placement of side seams represents a key division of the pattern where the front and back portions of a garment relating to a particular body measurement are distribut...

Students in apparel programmes today are denizens of a world of computers, social media, and popular culture manifestations such as Project Runway. They have a different focus and different expectations and skills than students from previous generations. Current textbooks and teaching methods for apparel patternmaking were developed by and for thes...

This study assessed the reliability of the self-perceived lower-body size and shape using 3D body-scanning technology. Comparison of each participant's measurements on the relevant variables to categorized Size USA data provided a method of identifying where an individual is placed in relation to the population. Comparing perceptions (survey result...

Firefighters serve as first responders and encounter a wide variety of hazards while performing their job tasks. They also perform an array of movements when responding to emergencies. It is thus critical that their personal protective equipment allow firefighters to perform their duties with minimal limitations and maximum safety. This research ex...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate user perceptions of firefighter personal protective equipment (PPE) to determine ways to improve PPE design and function for both male and female firefighters. No previous studies have included both male and female firefighters in identifying user needs. It is critical to consider the entire PPE that a fire...

Mass customization and automated custom clothing have been regarded as promising methods for the apparel industry to create well-fitting clothing for customers. However, current off-the-shelf automated custom patternmaking software cannot generate custom clothing with perfect fit since alteration starts from a single graded base pattern regardless...

Reflecting two ways of impacting a garment sizing system-by modifying the body sizing table, and by modifying the ease amounts added (at bust and hip only), 4 garment sizing systems presenting the combinations of a standard (ASTM D5585-95R01) or a modified body sizing table, each with constant or size-dependent ease amounts across sizes, were compa...

Description Twenty-two peer-reviewed papers cover the latest information on the performance of protective clothing for government and industrial workers, first responders, and civilians. Topics cover

The use of body scanning technology in sizing and fit research in developing countries is in many cases not practical considering its cost and technologies involved. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the distinctive body shapes of Kenyan women without the use of body scanners. The units of analysis were urban women between the...

Providing comfort in clothing for the moving body is a complex task. Interactions among body sizes and shapes, physiological variations, material properties, design choices, environmental challenges, and activities are exponential in their number. In this chapter we will explore some of the problems, solutions, and research methods used to decipher...

This research tested the effectiveness of using 3D scans of clothed participants in the fit analysis process. A panel of three expert judges viewed scans of 155 Misses size participants in the best fitting size of a test pant style. They rated 13 fit locations as Acceptable, Marginal or Unacceptable and then gave overall ratings for both front and...

Purpose- The purpose of this study was to compare the fit of two prototype liquid cooled vests using a 3D body scanner and accompanying software. The objectives of this study were to obtain quantitative measurements of ease values, and to use these data to evaluate the fit of two cooling vests in active positions and to develop methodological proto...

Body shapes are generally identified by subjective comparisons of body silhouettes or by calculating ratios of girths. In this study, we developed a reliable and objective categorization method for the lower body shapes of women using principal component (PC) analysis and cluster analysis. A total of 2,488 women aged 18—35 within the 90th percentil...

In this study we use 3D scans to measure and analyze lower body measurement change for various active body positions, comparing a standing posture, a 120° knee bend posture, a one pace stepping posture, and a sitting posture with 90° knee bend. Small hemispherical markers identified body landmarks for reliable measurement of the 3D scans. Study par...

We use a conceptual framework of sizing and fit issues to describe an extended paradigm for sizing and fit, which we call mass-customized target market sizing: that is, a sizing system based on and derived from measurement data exclusively from the people who represent an apparel firm's target market. The use of the conceptual framework provides he...

3D scans are considered to be potentially useful visual analysis tool, but there have been few studies regarding the validity of 3D scans as a tool for visual analysis. We investigated this by comparing results from fit analyses using live models with those using 3D scans of the same models. Professionals from the apparel industry provided feedback...

Three-dimensional body data has been used in many industry fields including the apparel industry. This research used data from a study of the changes in lower body girth measurements from a 3D scan study of 25 female subjects aged 18 to 24 in four postures; a standing posture, a 120^{\circ} knee bend posture, a one pace stepping posture, and a sitt...

The growth of online reatiling of apparel is limited by lack of information on clothing fit. The development of fit visualization and size selection technologies can help provide this information, and can contribute to making the online shopping experience an easy and fun experience for the consumer. Three technologies were studied in this pilot te...

By definition, smart clothing describes a garment whose functionality is enhanced by technological advancements in order to ease one’'s lifestyle. To know user’'s understanding and needs, the research had consisted of brainstorming sessions, personal interviews, focus group meeting, and a series of content analyses. Ten of the interview subjects an...

Protective clothing is an important line of defense for workers in hazardous occupations. Even though workers generally recognize the need for protective clothing, they often experience problems with the sizing, design, and function of the clothing as well as experiencing discomfort. As noted by Eiser (1988) among others, objections can be sufficie...

The growth of online retailing of apparel is limited by lack of information on clothing fit. The development of fit visualization and size selection technologies can help provide this information, and can contribute to making the online shopping experience an easy and fun experience for the consumer. Three technologies were studied in this pilot te...

Purpose The three‐dimensional (3D) body scanner is an important new technology that will impact the design and production of apparel, but use of this tool is at an early stage of development. Appropriate measurement extractions from the complex 3D scans that will address the needs of apparel patternmakers are an essential part of the development pr...

Abstract A study was conducted in the Nairobi, Eldoret and Kisumu regions of Kenya with the objective to determine and describe the role that Kenyan female consumers' sizing and fit knowledge play in the problems that they experience when selecting apparel. The study was cross-sectional and 201 female teachers between the ages 25 and 55 years were...

As women age, changes occur in their posture and bilateral symmetry that affect the fit of clothing. These changes have been documented in many studies. Anthropometric measures made in previous studies, however, were limited to linear measurements (circumferences or lengths) and included only one angle, the shoulder slope. In this study, the author...

This article is an analysis of how digital technology and the Internet are changing how we engage in practices of dress and appearance in the 21st century. An exploration of the technologically-assisted ways we see and interact with images of self and the clothing we wear is presented. Applications of body scan images for individuals and businesses...

Three-dimensional body scanning technology was used to analyze fit of women's pants and to measure garment ease at various locations. Special test pants constructed with adjustable Velcro sections were used to provide custom fit for each study participant. Twenty-four subjects, ages 35 to 55, represented three body shape groups (straight, medium, c...

The basic concepts behind sizing systems currently used in the manufacture of ready-to-wear garments were originally developed in the 19th century. These systems are frequently based on outdated anthropometric data, they lack standard labelling, and they generally do not accommodate the wide variations of body sizes and proportions that exist in th...

This article presents a framework for considering the relevance of the physical environment to obesity. The authors adopt the notion that the “environment” constitutes the space outside the person and therefore broaden the common conceptualization of the “environment” to encompass a full spectrum from small-scale design elements to large-scale comm...

Dress Sense explores the importance of the senses and emotions in the way people dress, and how they attach value and significance to clothing. Inspired by the work of Joanne B. Eicher, contributors offer different multi-disciplinary perspectives on this key and unexplored topic in dress and sensory anthropology. The essays present historical, cont...

Three-dimensional (3-D) body scans of golfers in active positions were used to generate a simulation of UV exposure by projecting a cone from the brims of a selection of five hat styles with different brim designs onto the body from two sun angles. From these scans, researchers measured the total body area that would be protected from UV exposure b...

Creating custom clothing manually is a labor-intensive process. 7hree-dimensional (3D) body scanning technology can provide the means to automatically create custom-fitted patterns, but methods are needed. A process for developing a basic block skirt pattern from body scans was developed. A mathematical concept for describing the human body in two...

Sophisticated new technologies are available to the apparel industry to create automated custom-fitted clothing; research and development of necessary data and proceduresfor implementing these programs must be within reach of apparel companies to successfully implement custom.fit. This study explores issues in setting up a custom apparel patternmak...

The purpose of this study was to compare reliability and validity of trained paraprofessional judges' responses and expert judges' responses in a garmentfit test. The study addressed the relationships amongparticipants' body and garment measurements, participants'perceptions of garmentfit, and fit assessments of the trained and expert judges. Parap...

Relationships of sizing, body shape, and pattern shape to pants fit were explored for women aged 55 and older. Test pants were designed in t