European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 9, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday april 9, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 17that s about the size it fitful efforts to set garment standards by Lisa Belkin new York times n a suburb of Philadelphia a group of sociologists and statisticians is collecting the measurements of thousands of americans. Their goal to establish new size standards for american clothing. But even when they finish taking the measure of the modern american and collapsing the information into a set of updated standards Consumers May see Little of their Handiwork. For although the american society for testing and materials is working at the Behest of the Federal government it is meeting resistance from manufacturers who have All but ignored standards for years preferring to establish clothes and sizes in their own images. There have been standards for years and manufacturers still do it their Way said Steven Ryan president of the modern Model co., one of two companies in the United states that produce the papier mache dummies used by clothing manufacturers. Why should these new standards be any different one reason garment makers have demurred of course is that the standards drawn up in 1940, Are out of Date and out of touch with reality. They Are also out of print. But manufacturers resist Standard sizes for other reasons too. Many add inches to each size category for example on the theory that Consumers and women in particular Are More Likely to buy a garment if they think it is a size smaller than they normally Wear. According to Bruno Ferri president of the Wolf form co., the nation s largest manufacturer of designer clothing dummies today s garment makers want the Waist bigger they want the hips  i Don t think women have changed that much in size Ferri added. They just want them to think they re wearing a size  manufacturers say too that size is one thing that sets them apart in the marketplace that allows them to differentiate their products. The Laura Ashley woman is different from the Liz Claiborne woman who is different from the woman whom Calvin Klein envisions. The fit of my line is different from the fit of someone else s line and that helps set me apart said Lenore Smith a Erma Bombeck new York times Phot Bruno Fern president of the largest . Maker of designer clothing dummies. Designer of women s evening gowns. Fit is a Type of  right now a size can mean whatever a manufacturer wants it to mean said Sirvart a. Mellian who determines sizes for the Navy and who is chairman of the sizing subcommittee of the society. We Are trying to be a voice of reason. We Are trying to be a voice of  the american fixation with size dates to the civil War and the need to clothe the Union army the first time a great Pool of men had their measurements taken in Masse. It was not until 1940, however that the government authorized the first and last systematic study of the shape of americans. The resulting Chart of 58 different sizes for men and women was printed As publication 454 by the Bureau of standards and was strictly followed for Many years. Over the decades however the measurements grew obsolete. Part of the problem manufacturers designers and those who make clothing mannequins agree is that the shape of americans has changed slightly yet noticeably Over the last 45 years. Most of the changes Are general and predictable people Are taller heavier and in better shape according to Molly Fierra who has worked for clothing manufacturers for 40 years and who has determined sizes for Mary Mcfadden inc. For seven years. But there Are More Subtle changes As Well. Modern Model s Ryan has noticed an increase in the size of the Ridge of muscle directly behind the neck. That part of the Back used to be very straight now it s rounded a Little he said. I m not sure if that s from More exercise or More stress and  body shapes have also been changed by the push and pull of undergarments. As women s bras became less restrictive and girdles less common the shapes of most women were refolded in turn. Today s emphasis on leanness has also prompted Consumers especially women to worry More about what size they Wear. That number is very important to the ego Fierra said. Periodically her company Mary Mcfadden receives requests from individual clients that the size tags be eliminated from their clothes before shipping or that a size 16 dress be re labelled a 14. In 1960, Fierra said the average size in the Industry was a 12, which had a 27-Inch Waist. Now it is a size eight with a 27-to 28-Inch Waist. According to Ferri of Wolf form More than 90 percent of customers now ask for variations from the Standard and from one other. That Raissez Faire attitude toward sizes accelerated about five years ago when the Bureau of standards officially relinquished All responsibility for the guidelines. At that time Mellian said the Bureau asked the testing and materials society to make a Home for the standards and the society asked. Her to redraft the sizes in accordance with modern needs. Over the last two years her group has taken measurement data on 4,000 children from a University of Michigan study and discovered that jumps in children s clothing sizes were inconsistent with jumps in the size of children. For example she said the difference Between a six for children and an eight is As much As three to four inches and children Don t grow three to four inches  Early last year health Tex and Carter both manufacturers of children s clothing created patterns in keeping with the new size recommendations for children s clothing and students at the school of fashion design in Boston and the fashion Institute of technology in new York created garments from those patterns. About 200 children recruited through newspaper advertisements will try the outfits on. The final results will be released to the Industry within six months. The next step Mellian said is the More complicated categories of men s and women s sizes. Initial measurements will begin this month and the final results Are expected to be available within the year. But even amid her sea of statistics Mellian is aware that All the work May be for naught manufacturers have gotten used to doing things their own Way she said. It s interesting to speculate when the history of women s struggle for recognition is recorded who will be at the top of the  it be the first woman to occupy the Oval office of the White House who is not expected to do windows and floors will it be the first woman to Anchor a network newscast the first one to find a cure for War or the first woman to play Ball in the major leagues women have taken an interesting direction in their quest for acceptance but none intrigues me More than the women who Are doing bits and pieces of their old Job at a new location with one difference getting paid for it. There s the woman who works in a Day Nursery taking care of someone else s children while she pays someone to come in and take care of hers at Home. There s the woman who started a housecleaning service for Busy career women who became so successful she had to hire herself to clean her own House. And let s not forget the female chefs springing up All Over the country who pick up a Frozen dinner on the Way Home. The list is endless. The Mother who for years tended sick children and husbands is working in a Hospital. The woman who car pooled for years is driving a cab. The woman who served a thousand meals in her lifetime is a waitress. The woman who sat hunched Over a table lecturing and helping with Homework is a teacher. Why Why did they leave Home to take their services and talents into the marketplace Money for sure. But maybe they Felt the need to materialize. You had to have been there to know what it was like to be invisible. To move and not be seen to talk and not be heard. To have family return to the House every evening and say anyone Home maybe they wanted to see if a Home was magical. Could butter and milk develop feet and walk Back to the refrigerator by themselves did kisses on a feverish forehead cure anything did a ironed clothes hang out its own wrinkles was food in foil less palatable than food made from scratch did time heal yellow Wax buildup did anyone care that you were Home to remind them Don t slam the door and change your clothes did it matter if you sat your child or Dallas reruns did it All i know is that housewives who need someone to come in and do All the above jobs while they go out to work Are in critical demand. It seems no one wants to do for Money what women have been doing All their lives for free. Think about it. C 1986, los Angeles times Syndicate