A z w e t h i n k w e i z

Do you think that your newly bought lingerie doesn't fit you well, or isn't really sexy enough? Well, the solution to the problem lies in mathematics, according to Japanese researchers.

The researchers have built a computerized 3D model of the female trunk that could help lingerie and other clothes designers make more sensuous, comfortable, and better fitting product ranges.

Kensuke Nakamura of Kyoto Institute of Technology and Takao Kurokawa of Osaka University said that identifying body shape components was critical for designing close-fitting products, whether underwear, everyday clothes, or safety garments.

However, conventional body measurements, photographic images, and silhouette do not provide complete three-dimensional data, with which modern designers could work to improve their products and tailor specific ranges to particular body shapes.

In fact, the study might also have implications for research into body image disorders and ergonomics.

During the study, the researchers developed a technique that allowed them to extract a woman's body shape components from 3D data, and then tied that to a classification of trunk shapes.

For the study, the researchers closely observed the bodies of 560 Japanese women, aged from 19 to 63, using laser metrology to map "control points" at specific sites on the women's trunks.

That allowed them to fit the above data to a generic 3D trunk model in the computer, and fit the control points to it to build up a database of body shapes, revealed the researchers.

The team later applied statistical analysis to the data employing principal component analysis and cluster analysis to classify trunk characteristics into five different types.

Each depends on slimness or otherwise, breast size and angle, neck type, and shoulder slope.

They obtained five classes of body shape that, according to them, represented the majority of trunk shape among Japanese women.

The researchers claim that their analysis will be helpful in producing clothes that fit better for size and shape, and in improving practical functional clothes used for body adjustment and posture improvement.

"We expect that the method will be applied to various customer groups and the results will be reflected in clothes design instead of the seat-of-the-pants approach of designers," concluded the researchers.