The Fit & Proportion Guide

The same trousers, in the same size, hang differently on two people. That is proportion, and it is learnable.

Fit is the part of dressing that is rarely explained. We are told to find our size and leave it there, which does not account for the fact that clothes are cut to a set of assumptions your body may or may not share. When something feels off and you cannot say why, the cause is usually where a line falls rather than the size on the label.

This guide looks at how garments are cut and where they sit, so you can tell in the fitting room whether a piece is working. It is written to be practical and neutral. There is nothing here about hiding, correcting or flattering away any part of you. The premise is simply that clothes should fit the person wearing them.

What is inside:

• The handful of measurements worth knowing, and how to take them properly
• Where hems, waistbands, shoulders and sleeves are meant to sit, and how to check
• How rise, cut and drape change the line of a trouser or a skirt
• Reading a garment on the hanger, before you get as far as the fitting room
• What a tailor can and cannot alter, and roughly what each alteration costs

Ideal for: Anyone who finds clothes never quite sit right, or who wants to shop with more confidence and return less.

Digital guide. Instant download after purchase. Yours to keep.