Don McCunn's Blog

The Tryanny of Standardized Sizing

January 15, 2010 on 9:59 pm | In Bikinis & Bandeaus, Fitting Issues, Online Classes, Pattern Design Guides, Sewing Techniques | 1 Comment

In preparation for my class Swimsuits, Lingerie, and Empire Dresses I was reading The Lingerie Handbook by Rebecca Apsan. Rebecca owns “La Petite Couquette” lingerie store in New York City. She goes into a fair amount of detail about the ins and outs of buying lingerie from her experience running this store and helping her customers get the best fit. When I came to the section on panties she includes a size chart. Here is a brief summary of sizing:

Waist	Hip	Size
23″ to 24″	33″ to 34″	4 or XS
25″ to 26″	35″ to 36″	5 or S
27″ to 28″	37″ to 38″	6 or M
etc.

The chart includes every size from 4/XS to 15/8XL. If you analyze the numbers, each increase in size is two inches larger than the preceding size. This is reflective of how the industry grades from one body shape to an entire range of sizes.

From the perspective of someone who helps people achieve a custom fit, not everyone has a proportional difference of 10″ or 11″ between their waist and hip measurements. If your body shape falls into this proportion, then you are lucky as you should have no trouble finding panties that are comfortable and fit you well.

I don’t do surveys of the various panty manufacturers so maybe there are companies that use a different proportion. I sure hope so because this shaping does not work for a lot of the people who I have helped over the years.

So it was interesting to me to read Rebecca’s solution to helping people find a fit that works for them. One solution she mentioned is that if you have a large waist, then she recommends the low rise boy shorts. She also touts how well thongs work to eliminate VPL (visible panty lines).

My personal feeling is that if your body does not fall into the proportions that the industry uses, you should be able to have both the fit and the look you want for your specific body shape, size, and personal aesthetic.

Fortunately for those of you who sew, or are interested in learning to sew, this is easy to achieve as shown in the photos above of three of the different models I have worked with. Each had a different body and a different way they wanted it covered.

The fitted briefs, or panties, shown here are one of the focuses of my online class Swimsuits, Lingerie, and Empire Dresses. They are derived from the research and development I did for the pattern design techniques I describe in my book How to Make Bikinis and Bandeaux.