The first standard for measuring garments emerged in Europe, with Alexis Lavigne, inventor and private tailor of Empress Eugenia, wife of Napoleon III (Bonaparte’s nephew). “Every day, Lavigne had to measure the empress’s body to create new clothes, a custom she hated. That’s why the tailor invented a sewing bust with the height’s measurements to serve as a model and not bother her anymore”, says stylist José Gayegos. But Lavigne’s creation – who also invented the measuring tape – did not become a world standard due to anthropometric differences (body measurements) between individuals from different countries.
In Brazil, the first official numbering of clothing items is quite recent. The manual of the Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas (ABNT) came out in 1995, defining the maximum and minimum sizes of each piece for men, women and children. The numbers take into account the contours of the chest, bust, neck, waist, in addition to the height of the person. In the case of men’s dress shirts, for example, the size in centimeters of the neck perimeter corresponds to the size of the piece. If the neck measures 39 cm, then the shirt must be a size 39. With jackets, the chest size is considered. If the ribcage measures 96 cm, the suit or jacket should be 48 – exactly half that. Some clothing companies, however, prefer the PP-PMG-GG system, very common in the US, which offers fewer numbering options.
MEN
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Suits, jackets, T-shirts, polo shirts and pullovers: half the chest measurement in centimeters.
Pants and shorts: half of the waist measurement in centimeters.
sport shirts: from 0 to 5.
Dress shirts: neck measurement in centimeters.
WOMEN
Apparently, women’s measurements don’t make sense, after all for pants and skirts, for example, size 44 is for girls with a 76 cm waist. But the logic comes from men: the numbering of women is the same – 38, 40, 42, 44… The female body structure was simply adapted to these numbers.
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CHILDREN
Children’s numbers emerged based on the age of the child. But modern eating habits have changed the height and weight of the little ones and, therefore, the sizing has gone crazy: it is common for a 10-year-old to wear a size 14 or 16.
– (Cássio Bittencourt/)