Apparel Quality: A Guide to Evaluating Sewn Products

This user-friendly guide to evaluating apparel quality presents the roles of product designers, manufacturers, merchandisers, testing laboratories, and retailers from product inception through the sale of goods, to ensure quality products that meet customer expectations. Bubonia provides an overview of apparel production, with emphasis on quality characteristics and cues, consumer influences and motivations impacting purchasing decisions, and the relationship of apparel manufacturing and production processes, cost, price point and the quality level of an apparel product. A key aspect of the book is the focus on both U.S. and International standards and regulations required for apparel analysis, performance, labeling requirements and safety regulations. The text is highly illustrated with images of stitch and seam types plus photos of their uses in actual garments, providing students with the tools needed to skillfully evaluate and critique quality elements in apparel and textile products. Key Features ~ Supplementary Apparel Quality Lab Manual (sold separately) includes hands-on lab activities and projects that simulate real-world garment analysis and material testing ~ Industry Scenario boxes present case studies highlight real world situations such as the Lululemon recall and the environmental impact of apparel manufacturing ~ Provides an illustrated guide to ASTM stitch and seam types Teaching Resources ~ Instructor's Guide with Test Bank ~ PowerPoint presentations for each chapter PLEASE NOTE: Purchasing or renting this ISBN does not include access to the STUDIO resources that accompany this text. To receive free access to the STUDIO content with new copies of this book, please refer to the book + STUDIO access card bundle ISBN 9781501395338. STUDIO Instant Access can also be purchased or rented separately on BloomsburyFashionCentral.com.

Table of Contents:
Preface 1. Overview of Apparel Quality and the Consumer 2. Integrating Quality into the Development of Apparel Products 3. Raw Materials Selection and Performance 4. Garment Construction Details 5. Apparel Sizing and Fit Strategies 6. ASTM and ISO Stitch Classifications 7. ASTM and ISO Seam Classifications 8. Sourcing and Mass Production of Sewn Products 9. Labeling Regulations and Guidelines for Manufactured Apparel 10. Safety Regulations and Guidelines for Wearing Apparel 11. Measuring Product Quality through Testing 12. Raw Materials and Sewn Products Testing 13. Quality Assurance Along the Supply Chain Appendices Bibliography Glossary Index

About the Author :
Janace E. Bubonia is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Design, Merchandising and Textiles at Texas Christian University, USA. She has taught classes in design and product development, fashion illustration, fashion show production, promotion, and textile testing among others. She is the author of Apparel Production Terms and Processes, 2nd Edition (Fairchild Books, 2011).

Review :
It will help students and professors of fashion design understand how apparel quality is addressed throughout the process from design concept through production and how students think and build quality into their projects at every stage of development relative to price point. Information [is] more current than competing textbooks, engaging format and style, appropriate for undergraduate fashion students, strong focus on quality cues, evaluation and terminology appropriate for industry professionals, inclusion of the consumer perspective, and glossary of terms. The international perspective is the best aspect of the [book]. The fact that both U.S. and international standards will be addressed will be of tremendous benefit to students. . . The major need fulfilled is that the text [is] updated and brings information more in line [with] what is currently happening in the industry. The... accompanying lab manual is excellent. Students in this area tend to be experiential and visual learners. The more hands-on experiences that they can obtain, the better reinforced the knowledge becomes. It is very direct and clear. The author is clearly an expert in the field.... The book is very consistent in striking a balance in all chapters. There is a wealth of information in this book, all simply presented, using descriptions, examples and analysis.