Ethnicity, body shape differences and female consumers' apparel fit problems

Abstract

This research compared body shapes, measurements, ratios and fit problems of 234 African (109) and Caucasian (125) women. A 3-dimensional (3D) full body scanner generated virtual body images from which circumferential, width, protrusion and height measurements were extracted. Thereafter, circumferential and height ratios were computed. Drop values of key circumferential measurements were used to classify participants’ bodies; these were later visually confirmed and adopted. Results revealed that the triangle, hourglass and rectangle were the three most predominant shapes amongst African and Caucasian women. There was a significant association between the three most predominant body shapes and ethnicity. There were significant differences in some body measurements and ratios, most of which were observed between African and Caucasian triangle shapes, as well as in some of the other body shapes and the Caucasian hourglass used in the apparel industry. The differences especially between the Caucasian hourglass and the other body shapes may be the root cause of the persistent fit problems reported by some of the predominant body shapes at some of the selected body parts. This study therefore, concluded that multi-cultural markets need to identify characteristics of all prevalent shapes within a population in order to minimise apparel fit problems.