1. Introduction
The production of clothing has brought both advantages and disadvantages to consumers. Numerous studies have shown that, while improving production output, the fit garments have been negatively impacted by mass production methods (1). It can be said that the fit of a garment is an integral part of garment quality and significantly affects consumer satisfaction (2). There is a study that shows that the rate of consumer dissatisfaction with ready-to-wear clothing has reached 50% in women and 62% in men (3). Fit clothing is influenced by various factors such as gender, age, size, trends, culture, style, and perception (4). In particular, satisfaction with the fit of casual trousers is recognized as the least satisfied garment item in ready-to-wear and one of the most difficult to wear because it is related to the crotch area. The crotch area is the main cause of trousers fitting problems because it involves complex structure and body movement (5). The study has built a regression model to determine the most suitable shape of the male crotch curve. However, due to the lack of integration of features into the crotch seam, the comparison is considered relative. Another study analyzed the bottom curve of women’s jeans based on a 3D scanner system. This study was limited to using a female mannequin instead of a human body. Furthermore, because the focus of this study was on the crotch curve, other issues such as hip, waist, thigh, and knee curves were not considered in the study (6). Similarly, in research (7), the author studied the design of curves on men’s casual trousers. The content of the research has presented three design methods being used in Vietnam and in the world today, giving advantages and disadvantages of each method. The research team focused on designing the crotch curve, and men’s crotch and adjusting the design according to the factors affecting the size parameters and the design method. However, the study was limited to the scope of the crotch and men’s trouser curves. Regarding the concept of fit, there are notions that fit is the relationship between the body, dimensions, and the style of the garment. A well-fitting garment should be smooth, free of wrinkles, defects, or sagging, and be effective for its intended use to provide comfort to the wearer (8). In addition, a well-fitted garment is a garment that is comfortable on the body, has no traction or distortion of the fabric, has straight seams, pleasant proportions, no gaps, is not overly tight on the muscles and body, and is easy to move. The hems of the trousers are parallel to the floor (9). There is a research group that has defined clothes as fit when the wearer feels comfortable and can move freely without any limitations from the clothes (10). There is also a group of authors who argue that the fit of a garment can be considered the tightness, looseness and shape of the garment in relation to the wearer’s body (11). In this study, the research content is presented on the causes affecting the fit of women’s casual trousers at the design stage for special leg shapes and proposes solutions to ensure the correct fit. The fit of dresses is important to improve the quality of the product.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Subject
The research is conducted on women’s casual trousers for people of the same age to find the causes affecting the fit of casual clothes for bow legs, X legs, and big waist but small thigh.
2.2. Materials and methods
The study was made out on the basis of the standard to assess the fit of the garment product TCVN 2112-77 on the assessment of the product quality (12). The author uses an objective assessment method to analyze the fit of clothes through three-sided photos: front, back, and hip. In addition, it also assesses the fit of clothes subjectively based on feedback from consumers (5, 6, 13–15), through the Likert scale (16). The patterns of the women’s trousers set are designed for people with straight legs and are designed according to the 2D pattern design method (17). Measurements include one vertical dimension, which is the length of the trousers, and two horizontal dimensions, which are the waist and hip. The measurement positions are detailed in Table 1 and Figure 1. The fit assessment method is made out by conducting pattern design for four body shapes, including one normal and three special body shapes. They have nearly similar measurements with the same formula and design method. Then, samples will proceed to try on real people to compare and evaluate the difference in fit on different bodies.
Table 1. The table measurement.
Figure 1. Measurement positions of the women’s trousers.
3. Results and discussions
There are many causes of anthropometry of the lower half of the body that affect the fit of women’s trousers such as leg shape, waist shape, and hip shape. First, the author designs patterns of the front body and the back body for straight legs. Second, he sews and tests the samples to get the standard pattern. Third, he edits patterns and sews the samples again. In turn, the pattern is designed for people with bow legs, X-shaped legs, and big waists-small thighs. People have similar measurements of leg length, waist circumference, and hip circumference who try on samples. After wearing the samples on the body, those products will be analyzed for fit and suggested pattern correction direction. Finally, he sews the pattern again and comments on the fit. The process of designing and adjustment is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. The process of designing and adjustment patterns.
3.1. The trousers’ patterns for people who have straight legs (Sample 1)
The patterns after designing (Figure 3) will be sewed to check the fit and accuracy of the pattern set. Figure 4 shows a real sample of the product after wearing it directly on the body with a normal figure with straight legs (Figure 5). Visually, the samples are fit and esthetically pleasing.
Figure 3. The patterns of the straight legs.
Figure 4. Bow-legged pattern (18).
Figure 5. Front, back, and sides for the first sample (straight legs).
3.2. Causes and directions for adjusting patterns for bow legs (Sample 2)
Esthetic factors fit of trousers styles are affected by differences in body shape according to muscle and physical development, amount of subcutaneous fat and distribution, and increased age work. Increasing the waist and hip circumference and measuring the depth of the bottom are important in the design of the trousers. In addition, the patterns will have many corrections for bodies with an O-shaped leg, also known as a bow leg (Figure 4).
For this type of leg, there are a few common defects of casual trousers after sewing, such as wrinkles that extend from the seams around the knees and calves. The cause of
this phenomenon is that the fabric is tight along the seam on the outseam and looser at the seam on the ínseam. To correct the design, it is necessary to first analyze the product of trousers when worn by people with bow legs (Figure 6). That is, the front of the trousers has wrinkles around the knee area down to the hem, with diagonal creases radiating from along the seam above and below the knee. The knees are directed to the inseam of the body, while, at the flexion of the calves, the fabric is deflected and stretched on the outseam line and redundant in the middle. The side of the trousers has loose wrinkles at the hip position. The outseam is not smooth. The trousers’ back has many folds extending along the inseam thighs and buttocks, and many wrinkles extend around the knees from the inseam. The trousers’ legs are pulled up on the outseam with loose excess fabric folds at the thigh below the buttock. Looking at the figures, we can see that the excess fabric creates a crease in the middle of the thigh, not from the sides of the inseam and outseam. Therefore, it is necessary to edit the patterns on both the front and back to ensure a good fit.
Figure 6. The front trousers before adjustment.
Table 2. The plan adjusts trousers’ patterns for the bow legs.
The patterns after adjusting are in red and before adjusting are in blue (Figure 14).
Figure 14. The patterns before and after adjustment for the bow legs (the blue is before the adjustment, and the red is after adjustment).
The trousers after adjustment show a smooth, flat surface (Figure 15).
Figure 15. Trousers’ front, back, and side after adjustment for bow legs.
When designing for bow legs, it is necessary to rotate the trousers’ leg from the knee to the back, tilting toward the outseam according to the shape of the leg so that it is not twisted and there are wrinkles around the leg with the shape of the trousers.
3.3. Causes and directions to adjust patterns for knock-knees (Sample 3)
The knock-knees (X-legs) have ankles that are not facing each other despite standing upright, but the knees are touching each other to create an X shape (Figure 16). With this legs’ shape, there will be some common defects such as a fly piece creating longitudinal folds from the bottom to the top. The pant leg has wrinkles around the knee area. The side is relatively flat on the outseam, with wrinkles under the buttocks. On the back, horizontal creases stretch the fabric under the buttocks and fold around the knees. The causes of these errors are the fabric that is tight along the seam on the inseam and looser on the outseam (Figure 17).
Figure 16. The X-legs (18).
Figure 17. Trousers’ front, back, and side before adjustment for X-legs.
The men’s Ao Dai is designed by the 2D method on the Gerber software with patterns as shown in Figure 3. The measurements are used to design patterns that have medium measurements in Table 2.
The front and back of the trousers are adjusted at the foot position such as on the original basic pattern. This is the origin of the defect. Adjustment details are given in Table 3.
Table 3. The plan adjusts trousers’ patterns for X-legs.
The patterns of trousers after adjusting (Figure 21) are worn on the body (Figure 22), in which the basic pattern is in blue and the adjusting pattern is in red.
Figure 21. The patterns before and after adjustment for the X-legs (the blue is before the adjustment, and the red is after adjustment).
Figure 22. Trousers’ front, back, and side after adjustment for X-legs.
Comment: When we design trousers’ patterns for X-legs, it is necessary to rotate the trousers’ leg from the knee to the hem, tilting toward the outseam according to the shape of the leg. The tube is not twisted, and there are wrinkles around the leg for the tight trousers. However, the best solution is to advise customers to choose the style of wide trousers to help conceal their legs.
3.4. Causes and directions to adjust patterns for the body shape with big waist but small thigh (Sample 4)
The body characteristics of this type of person are big waist and small thigh. The front belly is bigger than the back belly (Figure 23). From the above body characteristics, it can be seen that the front body is affected by the measurement of the lower abdomen. In addition, the thigh area will also be affected due to the imbalance with the waist.
Figure 23. The front, back, and hip sides of the body shape with a big waist but small thighs before adjustment.
Figure 23 shows that areas such as the front door and the back of the trousers at the position of the thigh do not fit and need to be adjusted to the actual measurement of the patterns to ensure the comfort and appearance of the wearer. The details of the adjustment are shown in Table 4.
Table 4. The plan adjusts trousers’ patterns for the body shape with a big waist but slender thighs.
The patterns of trousers after adjusting (Figure 27) are worn on the body (Figure 28), in which the basic pattern is in blue and the adjusting pattern is in red.
Figure 27. The patterns before and after adjustment for a body shape with a big waist and small thighs (the blue is before the adjustment, and the red is after adjustment).
Figure 28. The front, back, and hip sides of the body shape with a big belly, big butt, and small thighs after adjusting.
Comment: The trousers after editing are smooth and flat. If body shapes have a large waist and a small thigh, it is necessary caution to cause drawing curves of the bottom and the inseam and outseam. Another solution is to choose loose-fitting trousers to hide the flaws of your legs. Also, to cover up their belly, people with big bellies wear trousers with a waist girth that goes around the largest part of the belly. Wearing trousers with a belt that rests above or below the largest belly is not the right approach. This will make your abdomen more noticeable.
3.5. Testing the results for the adjustment of the trousers’ patterns
After adjusting and sewing, the trousers were surveyed and tested with a sample of 10 people/trousers style. Survey subjects include four groups of people with straight legs, bow legs, X-shaped body shapes, and big waists and slender thighs. In each body shape group, the waist and thigh measurements of the selected test wearer fell within a tolerance of ± 1 cm. The objective of the survey is to assess the satisfaction level of the trousers’ fit in each group of testers. Survey respondents try on the product and make a rating by filling in the corresponding boxes after trying on the product. After the adjustment of samples to check and assess the fit, the Likert scale is used to evaluate the quality of samples for five criteria on five levels:
1. Very unsatisfied. The trousers do not fit, the size does not match, and the shape does not fit.
2. Not satisfied.
3. Average. The trousers are fit.
4. Satisfied. The trousers are quite fit.
5. Very satisfied. The trousers are very fit.
The results of Sample 1 are presented in Tables 5 and 6.
Table 5. The survey results on the level of satisfaction about the fit of wearers with straight legs.
Table 6. Analysis results of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of Sample 1.
Based on the average values calculated above, positions such as waist, thigh, pocket, and hip circumference for straight legs have an average value of 3.8–4.3. It is a fit good. The waistline has an average value of 4.3 which is within a very good fit rating. When testing Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient on the SPSS software, the results are in the range of 0.636–0.732, and the total result of the evaluation criteria is 0.746. This shows that the survey results are reliable.
The results of the trousers for bow legs of Sample 2 are presented in Tables 7 and 8.
Table 7. The survey results on the level of satisfaction with Sample 2.
Table 8. Analysis results of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of Sample 2.
Based on the average values calculated above, positions such as waist, thigh, pocket, and hip circumference for bow legs have an average value of 3.9–4.2. It is a fit good. The waistline has an average value of 4.5 which is within a very good fit rating. When testing Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient on the SPSS software, the results are in the range of 0.679–0.813, and the total result of the evaluation criteria is 0.797. This shows that the survey results are reliable.
The results of the trousers for X-legs of Sample 3 are presented in Tables 9 and 10.
Table 9. The survey results on the level of satisfaction with Sample 3.
Table 10. Analysis results of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of Sample 3.
Based on the average values calculated above, positions such as waist, thigh, pocket, and hip circumference for X-legs have an average value of 3.9–4.2. It is a fit good. The waistline has an average value of 4.5 which is within a very good fit rating. When testing Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient on the SPSS software, the results are over 0.7. This shows that the survey results are reliable.
The results of the trousers for a big waist and small thighs of Sample 4 are presented in Tables 11 and 12.
Table 11. The survey results on the level of satisfaction with Sample 4.
Table 12. Analysis results of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of Sample 4.
Based on the average values calculated above, positions such as waist, thigh, pocket, and hip circumference for a big waist and small thigh have an average value of 3.9–4.4. It is a fit good. The waistline has an average value of 4.3 which is within a very good fit rating. When testing Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient on the SPSS software, the results are over 0.7. This shows that the survey results are reliable.
4. Conclusion
The study presented the influence of foot shapes on the design of women’s trousers, thereby analyzing the errors caused by bow legs, X-shaped legs, and people with big waists, but small thighs. It shows that two people with the same measurements but different physiques will affect the fit and appearance. The type of body shape according to the group of people is very necessary, thereby editing the pattern to suit each group of people. The dimensions’ adjustment coefficients between groups are different, and not uniform, some groups adjust at this measurement position. Others are not, such as the crotch curve being adjusted to different degrees between groups to achieve a comfortable fit. In general, the samples are adjusted to the satisfaction of the wearer’s fit. The evaluation results of all samples have usable reliability. The products after adjustment have been sewn and tried on. The number of sample testers includes 10 people for one style of trousers to test according to the five-level Likert scale. The test results show that Cronbach’s alpha coefficient is greater than 0.7. The content of the study will greatly support the employees of the pattern designers of the garment companies as well as in the teaching of subjects related to costume design.
Conflict of interest
The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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