Dress Designing: Figure Analysis and Garment Components
Dress Designing: Figure Analysis and Garment Components
This domain asks you to read a figure objectively and then name the garment parts that create fit and style.
Figure analysis
Use the eight-head canon: an adult figure is about eight head-lengths tall, with the midpoint near the crotch. Check vertical proportions from head to bust, bust to waist, and waist to hip, and horizontal balance between shoulder width and hip width. Common body-shape labels are hourglass, triangle or pear, inverted triangle, rectangle, and apple. Posture, bust shape, and abdomen contour also affect fit.
Garment components
Know the bodice, skirt, yoke, sleeve types such as set-in, raglan, kimono, and puff; collar types such as Peter Pan, shirt, and shawl; placket, cuff, pocket, waistband, facing, interfacing, and lining. Each has a function: a yoke distributes fullness, facings finish edges, and interfacing supports shape.
Worked example
A client has narrow shoulders and wider hips. Recommend a design and justify it. A structured shoulder line, a semi-fitted bodice, and an A-line skirt add visual width at the shoulder and skim the hip, producing balance. A wide waist belt would emphasise the hip difference; a puff sleeve would add width but may overcorrect. The reasoning uses horizontal balance and proportion.
Traps that cost marks
Do not use body-shape labels as insults or fixed rules. Do not confuse a yoke with a facing. Do not say raglan sleeves are set-in; raglan seams run to the neckline. Do not ignore ease when analysing fit.