MANCHESTER GARMENTS

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4592, 30 July 1923, Page 4

MANCHESTER GARMENTS

ART OF MEASURINGWIDE FIELD OF OPERATIONS. From the turban of a Mussulman to the dogs of a cotton operative, the measurements of every garment worn by man are known. Hats are sent all over the world, but heads vary,, as do styles, and the requirements of South America are not those of Salford. The Italian working in the mines of Peru is patriotic enough to wear a hat made in his own country if he can get one, but more often than not his head gear comes from Denton or Stockport; and it is certain that - some portion of his clothing, like that of the natives around him, has passed i through the hands of ■■ a Manchestei , shipper. , it was a Manchester cbp factor - who first discovered that heads were not round but oval, ’ and made his ’ cans that way, to the greater comi fort of mankind. Now caps are made i. to fit like gloves and are hand- - tailored. s But it is the manufacturer of , ready-to wear clothing who is in pos--1 session of most of our cherished , secrets. We may think that our fig- - ures are unique, yet the manufaci turer has certain classifications into which all men fall., Measurement - has been reduced to such a science i that it is possible for any normal man i to find his exact measure on a manut faeturer’s chart. ’ But it is a curious fact that, al- , though all Englishmen fall into the » same category, Scotsmen and Irishmen are of different build, and therel fore require a special classification. The reason why a Scotsman pre- : fers a loosely fitting coat, while a • Londoner wants one cut to the figure, ; is hal'd to fathom. But the manufae- : turer knows that it. is so, and makes i his plans accordingly. Just in the ; same way shirts made for the Home , market differ from tho.se intended > I for .Scandinavia. The Englishman 1 has a flat back, and his measurements > do not conform to those of the Norwegian or Dane. ; But what secrets are locked up in i the warehouses and factories of Mani Chester! Corset and blouse makers ’ know where the women with the most • slender waists reside. The habitation of the tallest and shortest men is discovered, as well as that of those , i with the smallest heads., and biggest hands and feet. For what Manchester does not make in the way of clothing is handled in the warehouses an.l distributed to all parts of the world. —“Overseas Daily Mail.”