Clothes That Fit

Finding clothes that fit. Do your clothes fit you properly? Your clothes always give away tale tell signs to let you know if they fit - and if they don't, why. Learning to read the signs of an ill-fitting garment will save you both time and money.

Designers spend hours fitting clothes to their fit models because they know that clothes that fit - Sell. Buyers know that in order for a garment to sell, it must make the wearer look and feel good. Simply by knowing how and where to look, you can give your wardrobe a more polished look. While some problems can be easily fixed, most will require a trip to a tailor or a seamstress for alterations.

Let's start at the neck and work our way down.

The Neckline
A neckline that is too tight will pull uncomfortably around the neck but a gaping neckline is caused by a garment that is either too small across the bust or does not fit the contours of your body.

Excess fabric in the neck area creates wrinkles above the bust or causes the fabric to stand away from the body. Alterations are needed at the shoulder and neck to shorten the neckline and create clothes that fit.

The Shoulders & Chest
Because the shoulders determine the way a garment hangs, this is one of the places that an improper fit is really noticeable. And while your shoulders effect the fit from armhole to armhole, your rib cage and collar bone effect the fit from your neck to your bust line.

Sloping shoulders may create wrinkles at the armholes because of the excess fabric there. To save on alteration costs and create clothes that fit, a small pair of shoulder pads may be sufficient to correct this problem.

Square shoulders may pull across the shoulders and armholes which can cause wrinkles between the neckline and the bust. In this case, there is not enough fabric from armhole to armhole.

Narrow shoulders may cause the armhole seams to fall too far off the shoulder while broad shoulder cause the opposite to happen.

A hollow chest may create wrinkles between the neckline and the bust while a pigeon chest with protruding collar and breast bones which can cause the garment to pull.

The Sleeve
Diagonal wrinkles on the sleeve either towards the armhole or away from the armhole can be caused from the sleeve being improperly set.

A sleeve that is too tight across the upper arm will pull and wrinkle right below the shoulder seam while one that folds at the top of the sleeve is too deep.

The Bust
The bust can be the most difficult -and therefore, expensive - areas of the body to have alterations done. But an improperly fitted bust can turn even the most expensive garment into a waste of money.

The bust dart is the most important aspect of creating a smooth, flattering fit and probably the hardest to fit because it is dependant on the size, the shape, and the placement of a women's breast. So whether the fit model has an A cup or a C cup and whether her breast sit high or low on her chest can have a tremendous influence on clothes that fit. Both the under arm and front dart should end about 1/2" from the bust point (or nipple) and should fall in line with the fullest part of the breast. There is not much that looks worse on a woman than bust darts that point anywhere but where they should. Correct dart placement is necessary for clothes that fit.

If the garment wrinkles over the bust point, the garment may be fitted for a larger cup size. If the garment pulls at the bodice, the garment may have too small a cup size and be flattening the bust line.

The Back
The back of the garment should lay flat against your skin without wrinkling or pulling. Both bone structure and posture will effect the fit and may ultimately effect the hemline. The proper fit is especially important when buying structured jackets and blazers.

Both good posture and poor posture can alter the fit of a garment. Parallel wrinkles across the back above the shoulder blades can be caused by a very erect back while poor posture may cause wrinkles and pulling across the shoulders and near the shoulder seams.

A narrow back can cause looseness between the shoulder blades. A sway back may create wrinkles in back below the waistline. And a broad back or one with prominent shoulder blades may produce wrinkles and pulling across the fullest part of the back or may be tight when raising your arms. Clothes that fit you correctly will allow you to raise your arms or perform simple tasks like driving without straining the fabric.

The Abdomen
A skirt that is shorter in the front than the back may be caused by a large abdomen as can darts the are spread too wide.

The Hips
Another area that is effected by both posture and bone structure are the hips. Ideally, the garment should fit smoothly over the hips and rear without wrinkling or pulling. Protruding hip bones, a flat or large rear can cause a garment to fit improperly.

Pulling across the front of the garment can be caused by protruding hip bones, especially in fitted garments.

A flat rear will cause wrinkling and sagging just below the waist line while a large rear will cause bunching.

The Crotch
Pants that wrinkle in the crotch area do not fit correctly. If the wrinkles point up towards the waistline, the crotch is too short and needs to be lengthened. If the wrinkles point down and away from the waist, the crotch is too long and needs to be shortened.

Learning to find clothes that fit your body will save you both time and money. By learning how to read the signs of an ill-fitting garment, you can determine the true value of that piece in your wardrobe. If you just found the perfect black dress but minor alterations are needed for the ultimate fit, it may be worth the cost of alterations. However, the latest fad that needs to be totally reconstructed to fit is unlikely to be a wise investment for your wardrobe. But regardless if it is a classic style or a the latest trend, clothes that fit are always in fashion.