Sizing: A Historical Approach

This chapter starts with a reflection on the relationship between measurement and the human body as a way of recalling the philosophical problems underlying the concept of ‘measuring’. The abstract idea of measuring the body preceded the practice of measuring clothes, sewn around the body itself, especially starting from the Middle Ages. This study analyses the specific case of modern Italy, to evaluate how the concept of measuring clothes spread in practice. The starting point was the First World War, which represented a fundamental turning point in the clothing industry, as documented by the history of the textile industry in Prato. Military uniforms, and between the two great wars civilian apparel for employees, were the test bench for the new measurement systems. These systems finally reached their full development in the 1950s with the emergence of the first major clothing companies, like GFT.