by [TC]²
If The Suit Fits
By Samantha Thompson Smith, Staff Writer
Re-printed with permission from the Raleigh News & Observer
November 2002
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| Melvin Leynes stands still while his body is scanned at TC2 in Cary. TC2 is using scanners to precisely measure people's dimensions. The data collected will be sold to clothing manufacturers and others. |
CARY -- Glorina Stallworth is like most women. Finding the right size is a grueling process. A suit jacket might fit perfectly on top. But the skirt? Forget it. "It's too snug," she said. And just try finding something from the big-name designers in the same size. "They all fit different." Stallworth, an African-American who lives in North Raleigh, thinks some of it has to do with her race. "Being black, one of the things that people run into is that they have a hard time making clothes fit appropriately. We tend to have heavier bottoms."Last month, she decided to take matters into her own hands. At the encouragement of a co-worker, she drove to the offices of the Textile/Clothing Technology Corp., or [TC]², a nonprofit research company in Cary. That's where she took it all off -- jewelry, clothes, shoes -- in a dressing room and suited up in some workout clothes. She stepped into an adjoining private room, where strobing white lights and four cameras took her all in, scanning her body measurements in less than a minute to create a 3-D image of her form.
For her time, she was given $20. But to Stallworth, the reward was more than just cash. She is one of 4,000 people who have gone through what is called the Size USA body scanning process. The effort could end up changing how clothing manufacturers approach clothes, making sizes more uniform and better fitting. [TC]²'s goal is to scan people of all races, ages and sizes, although so far they are coming up short in attracting some minority groups as subjects. Having the variety is important.
Because the study will be so detailed, it's possible that clothing manufacturers could use the data to start making clothes that better fit different races and age groups, helping retailers zero in on target customers.
For instance, people of Asian descent typically have smaller body frames, with smaller hips. Retailers tuned into the data would be able to buy clothes made for Asian body types and stock specific stores to reach that group.
"I was very interested in being a part of this, because
I know it will make our lives easier," Stallworth said. "They
need to be making suits for different ethnic groups."
[TC]²'s project is attracting plenty of types like Stallworth these days.
Karen Davis, a [TC]² spokeswoman, said she routinely gets e-mail messages
from people who want to participate because they are tired of clothes
not fitting properly.
Studies conducted by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro,
and separately by Kurt Salmon Associates, a textile-apparel consultant,
show that about half of consumers are dissatisfied with the fit of off-the-rack
clothes. "I think this study is one of the most important things
that's been done in the industry in a long time," said Cindy Istook,
associate professor in apparel technology at N.C. State University.
The last study that was done in the United States on sizing was in 1941, when the government funded a project to measure women. Only those from age 18 to 30 were measured, and all the subjects were white and lived in the South. "If retailers want to try to boost apparel sales, then they need to make their customers happy. And this can help them do that," Davis said.
This past summer, [TC]² embarked on a national tour to gather sizing data, hitting major metropolitan areas including Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia and New York.
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| After cameras record images of the person from different sides, computers map the data points registered to produce a 3-D image . |
In all, the company is looking for 12,000 volunteers to
get sized for the project, which is funded by the U.S. Commerce Department
as well as more than a dozen companies, including Sara Lee, VF Corp.,
Jockey, Target and Dillards.
So far, the bulk of the participants have been white. Davis said the
company, which has been recruiting participants mostly through word
of mouth, needs older African-Americas as well as Asians, Hispanics
and Native Americans. "Anyone who doesn't call themselves Caucasian,"
she said.
Everyone who participates is given the choice of taking $20 cash or a $25 gift certificate, either from Target or Dillards, whichever is available at the time. People interested can register at http://www.sizeusa.com/
The last sizing measurements are expected to be taken in May. And the results should be out by July, with corporate sponsors getting first crack at the information. [TC]² will sell the information as raw data or, if the customer wants, [TC]² will analyze it, taking certain measurements or sizes of various ethnic groups or age ranges. In about five years, the data will be available to the public.
But clothing manufacturers won't be the only ones interested in what [TC]² finds. Automakers want the data to understand how Americans' bottoms have changed -- probably for the larger -- over the decades, so they can make seats more comfortable. Same with airplane designers and furniture makers. One furniture designer has expressed interest in the results so it can create a recliner just for women, Davis said. The medical community also will be able to use the data to better understand human body sizes and shapes.
The technology to take the measurements has been around
about a decade, tweaked over time for more accurate measurements. It
was originally designed to help textile companies and retailers create
custom-made clothes. "That's always been the intent, but over time
we just fell into these other applications," Davis said.
The 3-D Body Measurement System in Cary is similar to one in Brooks
Brothers' New York City store. It's a big, boxy structure, with two
dressing rooms and one scanning room, paneled in dark wood. For people
who squirm at the idea of a tape measure spanning their middle girth,
the process is painless, because the technology allows participants
to be measured in private.
It starts when the subjects step inside the dressing room. There, they slip off their clothes and into a form-fitting outfit specifically designed for the body-scanning process. For women, it's a pair of gray running shorts and a bra made by Sara Lee. For men, it's a tight pair of workout shorts.
From there, participants move into an adjoining room. They step onto foot outlines on the floor, hold two handles and click a button. A light meter takes a reading of the person's skin to adjust light levels for the scan. The lights begin flashing, and in less than a minute, the cameras, hooked up to a computer outside of the scanning room, take more than 200,000 data points on the body: the bust, the waist, the hips, the shoulders. The data is sent to the computer outside the scanning room. There, an image is printed out detailing the participant's measurements, showing a front and side view.
"They way they have it set up, it's not intrusive at all to you," Stallworth said. "They really respect your privacy. It's really comfortable." Davis has been surprised by the response so far. College students have waited two hours or more to get sized. And locally, at least one church group decided to participate as a way to earn money for a charity project.
Some are in it simply for the money. But for others,
such as Melvin Leynes of Cary, who works at Nordstrom's in The Streets
at Southpoint mall, it was important to be involved in the process.
Having an athletic build, he, too, has trouble buying off the rack.
By the time he buys a suit and has all the alterations made, it can
end up costing as much as having a suit custom-made, he said.
"Not to be stereotypical, but there are different types of body
sizes for different ethnic races," he said. "Just getting
a general medium for each culture would help."
Reprinted with permission of the News & Observer
of Raleigh, NC. Reproduction does not imply endorsement.