Clothing Fit Issues for Trans People

• Main Author: Andrew Reilly
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Centre for Fashion Diversity and Social Change, Ryerson University 2019-01-01
• Series: Fashion Studies
• Subjects: body; fit; ready-to-wear; transgender; transpersons
• Online Access: https://www.fashionstudies.ca/clothing-fit-issues-for-trans-people

As many as nine million people identify as a transperson in the United States, yet mass clothing designing and manufacturing do not meet the needs of this consumer group. This research examines the role of fit in ready-to-wear (RTW) clothing using qualitative research methods. 90 transpeople from the United States, Canada, and Ireland participated in interviews and data from interviews were analyzed using line-by-line analysis, resulting in three themes. Theme 1 explored current fit problems with RTW clothing, Theme 2 explored the desire to use clothing to hide parts of the body that did not align with one’s gender identity, and Theme 3 explored the desire to use clothing to highlight parts of the body that did align with one’s gender identity. Findings from this research confirm the assumption that current RTW clothing does not meet the needs of the transperson population and offers areas where designers and manufactures can reassess their methods relative to this consumer group.