A while back I had to enlist the help of a friend of mine to take the exact measurements of my body to have a jacket made.
There are two main and very simple reasons why I had to ask my friend to give me a hand: I don't trust my judgment and it's awkward to take measurements, especially around the shoulder area.
The very simple process of having my measures taken made me think about the importance of the human body in fashion.
Each century, or rather each decade, created its own vision of the human body.
As beauty canons changed from one century to another, skinny women replaced curvaceous goddesses and garments changed their shapes and silhouettes accordingly to highlight specific parts of the body or hide and reshape others.
The history of fashion is therefore also the history of tailoring, pattern cutting and, obviously, measuring. In the 30s a Rome-based tailor, Luigi Branchini, patented an innovative measuring technique consisting in a sort of metal structure that was applied to the body. By tightening the screws along the metallic cage in the picture (taken from a tailor's manual), a tailor could have taken precise measurements and saved also the fabrics needed to make a garment.
This patented method wasn't that successful and proof of its existence only remains in old books, specialist texts and essays. Yet it's interesting to rediscover it also in the light of the changes clothing charts have gone through in the last few years. I must admit though that, even if I had Branchini's cage, I would still enlist my friend's help to take my body measures (I'm sure I would just get trapped in the cage...). So, for the time being, I guess I'll just stick to ordinary measuring tape!
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