Basic Knowledge Before Shopping for Clothing: Part 1 — Silhouette
“When purchasing clothing, we often only consider whether we like it and whether the price is affordable. However, many people overlook whether they truly know what they are buying. The basics of shopping for clothing are here to tell you that before making a purchase, you should have some basic knowledge, including silhouette, material, fabric, color, and fashion elements. Today, we’ll break it all down for you!”
“Hi, I’m Zion. Today, I want to briefly discuss the basic knowledge of clothing that you should have before shopping, which should be on par with that of a store employee. This discussion will be divided into five main aspects and five chapters: silhouette, material, fabric, color, and fashion elements. I’ve summarized simple and easy-to-understand methods to help you judge these aspects without having to memorize various technical terms. This way, even if you’re new to fashion, you can quickly grasp the key points and direction.
Today, let’s talk about ‘Silhouette’.”
“The silhouette of clothing is the starting point for defining style, and it is also the most important essence of a garment.”
“Have you ever noticed that when you walk into a clothing store, many of the clothes, pants, and jackets on display look quite similar? Or perhaps you often think that the only difference in clothing is size — whether it’s big or small, wide or narrow — so why do they come with different price tags?
Before diving into this, we need to understand why the silhouette of a garment is the most critical element among all the factors that make up a good piece of clothing. We’ll explain this through three development stages.”
Step 1: Human Physiology
Since the dawn of humanity, aside from the differences between male and female physiology, the human body structure has remained unchanged for hundreds of years. As people began making clothes to cover themselves, they also considered basic needs in daily life, such as ease of movement and convenience of putting on and taking off clothing. Thus, early clothing was based on four basic prototypes, laying the foundation for the development of all kinds of modern garments.
The four basic prototypes of clothing are:
- Drapery (Wrapped Clothing): Seen today in wrap dresses, skirts, tie-waist coats, and more.
- Tunic (Tubular Clothing): Commonly seen today in T-shirts, hoodies, etc.
- Caftan (Front-Opening Clothing): Now seen in cardigans, jackets, and similar items.
- Poncho (Cloak-Style Pullover Clothing): Seen today in umbrella-shaped pullovers, hoodies, dresses, coats, and raincoats.
Step 2: The Emergence of Culture
“Where there are people, there is a community; where there are people, there is culture.” As humanity developed civilizations, culture began to emerge, and different regions developed unique aesthetics. In the early construction of clothing “aesthetics,” the most evident and crucial aspect was the “silhouette.” The silhouette is not only meant to enhance the appearance of the body but also to ensure comfort in movement.
This is why the silhouette is so important: it must be comfortable to move in, and it must also showcase the “most advantageous parts” of the human body, as these are the areas that leave the strongest impression. A well-fitted garment has always been about “highlighting” an individual’s strengths rather than “concealing” their weaknesses.
Step 3: Seeking Commonality in Differences, and Differences in Commonality
Even though all humans have two arms, two legs, and one head, people differ in body types and natural physical attributes. Even among those from the same culture or ethnicity, there are variations in height, weight, and body shape, which is easy to understand. The evolution of clothing silhouettes has progressed from seeking commonality within differences to, once again, finding uniqueness within that commonality. This process is driven by the desire to highlight individual strengths, as well as the influence of different cultural aesthetic perspectives. As clothing silhouettes continue to evolve and become more detailed, they cater to the diverse body types of different individuals.
A Simple Method for Judging Clothing Silhouettes — Balance of Rigid and Soft: A well-fitted garment is the most fundamental requirement.
So, how do you actually judge the silhouette of clothing? With so many different silhouettes, it’s impossible to cover them all, and you wouldn’t be able to remember them anyway. That’s why we’ll use a simpler, more focused approach to help you assess fit. We’ll break it down into upper body, lower body, and one-piece garments for explanation.
- Upper Body Garments:
Includes: T-shirts, hoodies, shirts, polo shirts, jackets, vests.
What you should look at: The height and shape of the neckline,
the width of the shoulders, the width and length of the main body,
and the width and length of the sleeves.- Lower Body Garments:
Includes: Long pants, shorts, jeans, skirts.
What you should look at: The height and width of the waist,
the width of the hip contour, the rise (crotch height),
the contour and lines of the thighs and calves,
and the length and width of the pant legs.
- One-Piece Garments (Consider both upper and lower body together):
Includes: Dresses, jumpsuits.
What you should look at:
The characteristics of both the upper body and lower body combined.Typically, the effects of height are as follows:
- High: Energetic, formal, serious
- Low: Casual, relaxed, carefree
Typically, the effects of length are as follows:
- Long: Formal, energetic, meticulous
- Short: Casual, relaxed, lazy, carefree
However, there is an exception in the interpretation of body length:
- Long: Casual, lazy, relaxed, informal
- Short: Sexy, bold, avant-garde
Typically, the effects of width are as follows:
- Narrow: Sexy, confident, high-end
- Wide: Casual, bold, lazy, carefree
Let’s summarize:
The features of clothing such as height, length, and narrowness typically convey a more formal, energetic, sexy, and confident impression. Conversely, features such as low, short, and wide usually give a more casual, relaxed, lazy, and carefree impression.
However, while “length” usually conveys a more formal and energetic feeling when it fits your body type, if it is deliberately too long, it will give a casual and lazy impression instead. If it is both too long and too wide, the casual and lazy effect will be even more pronounced.
A well-silhouette garment should balance proportions of length/shortness, width/narrowness, and height/low effectively, achieving a “balance of rigidity and softness.” Just like a person who is both serious and humorous can have a strong charm, the most important thing is that the clothing feels “comfortable and free” when worn.
If you’re still finding it hard to understand, a simple tip is that “fit” is a reliable choice. While it may not make you look particularly striking, a well-fitted garment at least makes you appear “energetic,” which is a great start.
That’s it for today. In the next article, we’ll discuss “material.” See you next time!
[This article is part of the hahow Knowledge Bundle — Graphic and Text Series: “Style Shaping Essentials,” which combines fashion logic with stylistic systems.]
[hahow Exclusive Course: Building a Fashion Style with Logical Systems — “Style Shaping, Build Your Wardrobe System.”]
