the present invention is directed to a method of sizing an item of apparel for purchase or selection without requiring the individual to either to be present during the purchase / selection or try on the item of apparel . reference may be made below to specific elements , numbered in accordance with the attached figures . the discussion below should be taken to be exemplary in nature , and not as limiting of the scope of the present invention . the scope of the present invention is defined in the claims , and should not be considered as limited by the implementation details described below , which as one skilled in the art will appreciate , can be modified by replacing elements with equivalent functional elements . referring to fig1 there is depicted a graph 100 that shows the published chest measurements for women &# 39 ; s blouses , both size 10 and size 14 , from a selection of retailers who publish sizing guides online including gap ™, reitmans ™, american eagle ™ and tommy hilfiger ™. as shown a size 10 may vary from 36 . 5 inches with oakley ™ to 40 inches with zappo ™. looking at the size 14 dimensions then we see that a is evident from the graph 100 the 40 inches of a zappo ™ size 10 is larger than the oakley ™ size 14 and only slightly smaller than the size 14 &# 39 ; s sold by gap ™, reitmans ™ and american eagle ™ which measure 40½ inches . overall the size 14 dimensions range from 39½ inches with oakley ™ to 42½ inches with liz claiborne which is larger than a size 16 from gap . fig2 depicts a graph 200 that presents the range of waist and hip measurements for women &# 39 ; s jeans from a selection of retailers . considering firstly a size 10 pair of jeans then we observe that the waist measurement goes from 28 inches ( oakley ™) to 33½ inches ( liz claiborne ™), a range of 5½ inches . likewise the hip measurement ranges from 39 inches ( oakley ™) to 41 . 5 inches ( gap ™), a range of 2½ inches . additionally we can see for many manufacturers the hip measurements are missing from published data , such as liz claiborne ™ and addition elle ™ for example . we also see that the waist - hip difference with a size 10 pair of jeans varies also , from 9 inches with roots for example to 12½ inches with gap ™. now considering published measurements for a size 14 pair of jeans then we see that the waist measurement ranges from 31 inches ( artik ™, oakley ™) to 36 . 5 inches ( liz claiborne ™) and the hip ranges from 42 inches ( oakley ™) to 44 inches ( roots ). again we find that not only does a single dimension , i . e . waist , vary substantially between different manufacturers and retailers but also that within each garment there is a variation in sizing , as shown by the waist - hip difference . now referring to fig3 there is depicted a graph 300 which shows the range of waist measurements for men &# 39 ; s pants from a selection of retailers for sizes medium ( m ) and large ( l ). looking firstly at medium then we find that the waist measurements range from 32 inches ( dickies ™) to 35 inches ( columbia ™). in contrast for large the waist measurements range from 34 inches ( american apparel ™ and oakley ™) to 39 inches ( roots ™). not only therefore do the measurements for large pants vary more than medium but the difference between each size shifts dramatically within manufacturers . for example the difference between large and small with oakley ™ is just one inch whereas with roots ™ it is 5 inches . hence , should someone have purchased medium pants at either of these stores and then find them too small , and subsequently choose large it is likely that in the case of oakley ™ these will still not fit ( being only an inch different ) and that the roots ™ pants will be too loose ( being 5 inches different ). referring to fig4 there is depicted graph 400 showing the chest dimensions for men &# 39 ; s shirts from a selection of retailers , similarly sold as medium and large . considering initially the medium shirts then the chest measurements range from 40 inches for multiple retailers including oakley ™ and roots ™ to 42 inches from american eagle ™. for large the measurements range from 42 inches ( roots ™ for example ) to 45 inches ( american eagle ™ for example ). again a purchaser of a shirt from retailers such as tommy hilfiger ™ and roots ™ might find that a large from an exchange on an original medium purchases offers a slim or form fit due the increase in size of only 2 inches versus a more regular or relaxed fit from the 4 inches difference with retailers such as american apparel ™ and columbia ™. the fit of apparel is shown in fig5 where the variations in fit associated with a particular clothing size are depicted . accordingly for tops there are shown fits form fitting top 510 , slim fit top 520 a , regular fit top 530 a and relaxed fit top 540 a . for each of these there is an associated gap , being first to fourth gaps 550 through 590 respectively , between the body of the individual wearing the item and the fabric of the item of apparel . the gap , being first through fourth gaps 550 through 590 increasing as the fit ranges from form fitting through to relaxed . similarly , with pants there are shown varying fits , being form fitting pants 510 b , slim fit pants 520 b , regular fit pants 530 b , and relaxed fit pants 540 b , wherein there are varying gaps between the wearers body and the item apparel at their hips , being first to fourth hip gaps 515 a through 545 a respectively and first to fourth knee gaps 515 b through 545 b respectively . other aspects of fit may also vary , as indicated by the silhouettes of the clothing against the body within fig5 . referring to fig6 there is depicted a measurement guide 600 according to the prior art of lewis ( u . s . pat . no . 6 , 286 , 224 ) wherein a series of templates , first template 610 through sixth template 660 . each template represents an effective cross - section through the chest or abdomen of an individual which has been selected from a measurement of the individual . according to lewis the intention is that the individual take the template , representing themselves or the individual they are purchasing for , with them to the retail establishment and insert this into the item of apparel to determine the fit . it would be apparent to one skilled in the art that transporting and using a rigid template having dimensions of a human body . equally it would be apparent that using the template is cumbersome and awkward for even an able bodied person yet alone one with limited dexterity , manual disability etc . further judging fit would also be difficult . as such the invention of lewis has not gained any commercial or other exploitation to the benefit of clothing purchasers . now referring to fig7 a there is depicted a measurement guide 700 for shirts according to the prior art of slilaty ( u . s . pat . no . 5 , 920 , 998 ). accordingly the individual places the measurement guide 700 around their neck , first portion 710 sitting to the front of them as the collar of a shirt would normally . they then adjust second portion 72 — to the desired fit whereupon a measurement is read from the second portion 720 . accordingly the user obtains a neck measurement which can be used to purchase tailored shorts which are typically sold by neck size , e . g . 15 , 15½ , 16 etc . therefore as long as the shirt manufacturer follows a standard , such as en 13402 then the purchaser knows the shirt will fit . however , as described supra in north america such standards are not generally followed , nor does this help wherein the retailer uses m , l , xl etc , or where the users stomach is perhaps larger than en 13402 defines such that whilst the short fits around the neck it does not around their stomach . accordingly , measurement guide 700 really only addresses a very specific section of the market , formal shirts . referring to fig7 b there is depicted a measurement guide 750 for measuring an individual for use in making clothes with a pattern according to the prior art of oblander ( u . s . pat . no . 3 , 685 , 155 ). according to oblander an individual takes a tape 760 and wraps it around their body at the appropriate point , such as waist , hips , sleeve , and makes a mark at that point on the tape 760 . they then apply a pre - printed sticker to the tape at that location , being waist marker 774 , hip marker 776 and sleeve marker 772 respectively . each of these markers being the same size and their locations being subject to human error as the user marks a point and then attaches the sticky marker . the user then takes the tape 760 and lays this down onto a pattern , comprised of first and second pattern pieces 782 and 784 respectively , allowing them to adjust each of the first and second pattern pieces 782 and 784 such that one edge of the pattern sits on one side of the pattern and a predetermined point on the sticky marker , e . g . hip marker 776 , sits on the other side of the pattern . each stickly marker , such as hip marker 776 , has a predetermined marking set at a predetermined distance from the middle , for example 2 ″ for hip marker 776 . this distance being the standard “ ease ” within the garment industry for that garment and that part of the garment . the user then uses the adjusted pattern in conjunction with their chosen fabric to make the garment . accordingly the tape 760 with the sticky markers provides a means of adjusting a pattern during making of a garment but maintains the industry standard ease . now referring to fig8 there is depicted a schematic 800 a showing how a cross - sectional view of how a dimension of a pair of pants varies with fit for the same nominal size . also shown is graph 800 b showing the measurements for this dimension . accordingly in schematic 800 a cross - section 810 of a user is shown . then shown are cross - sections of a garment for form fit 820 , slim fit 830 , regular fit 840 and relaxed fit 850 . as can be seen the cross - section increases as the fit goes from form fit 820 to relaxed fit 850 . for each fit the garment has a periphery dimension , which as shown in graph 800 b varies from 40 inches for form fit 890 , to 41 inches for slim fit 880 , to 43 inches for regular fit 870 and 45 inches for relaxed fit 860 . as such differences from the form fit 890 are 1 inch , 3 inches and 5 inches which are relevant when considering purchasing a garment as typically any measurements made on an individual of waist , chest etc are form fitting a the measuring tape is tight around that portion of their body . accordingly the individual does need to know neither these differences nor the particular dimensions of a garment they are trying as it is the comparison of the later with the former that will define the appropriateness of the garment to the user . fig9 depicts a first step in a process according to an embodiment of the invention wherein the baseline measurement for a measurement guide , according to an embodiment of the invention , for an individual for whom clothing is to be purchased is shown . as such person 910 has two measurements made , being bust 920 and hips 930 . for the bust 920 a blank tape is wrapped around the bust of person 910 and adjusted until it is deemed to be form fitting to them . this first tape length 922 forms the periphery measurement of their body at the bust . this tape is then halved to form first shortened tape 924 wherein a mark is made at the fold and identified with a marker denoting the measurement , such as a “ b ”. next the tape is unfurled again and the same process repeated to make the measurement of their hips 930 . this time a second tape length 932 is obtained , which is again folded in half to form second shorted tape 934 , to which another mark is added at the fold with an indicator , for example “ h ”. accordingly the fit of a top or bottom may be determined with reference to each of the first and second shortened tape lengths 924 and 934 . it would be apparent to one skilled in the art that additional measurements could be taken for an individual including but not limited to neck , waist , thigh etc . further it would be apparent that as the measurements made on the individual are established from a determination of a periphery of a body portion and simply halving the device making the determination that the device making the determination does not have to have any marking , numbering , pattern or other artifact . also it would be evident to one skilled in the art that the device may accordingly be formed from a variety of materials including but not limited string , fabric , rope , paper , wire etc . referring to fig1 there is depicted a process flow according to an embodiment of the invention wherein an individual is measured using the guide and clothing is selected for them using the guide . accordingly the process begins at step 1005 wherein a helper takes a blank measuring guide and in step 1010 measures the circumference of the individual &# 39 ; s body at the chest or bust . then at step 1015 they take the blank tape from the start to this measurement point and fold it in half allowing them to find the halfway point , after which they mark that point with a line and an indicator “ b ”. then at step 1020 they perform a second circumference measurement at the hip of the individual . then in step 1025 they repeat the process of determining the half - way point for this circumference measurement and mark this with a second line and an indicator “ h ”. the two measurements being made from a common start point . next in step 1030 the fit guide is attached to the common reference point of the measurement device , at which point the guide is ready to use in step 1035 . this completes the first stage of the process wherein the measurement guide is prepared for use . this first stage being similar to that depicted supra in fig9 . in the second stage of the process the helper takes the guide to a retail establishment and looks for an item of clothing for the individual . at step 1040 a selected item is removed from a rack ( or shelf / display area ) and then in step 1045 is laid flat , such that the garment is presented with half the material at the back and half at the front . then in step 1050 the guide is laid across the garment . at step 1055 the appropriate marker , i . e . “ h ” or “ b ” is placed to the left edge of the garment . at step 1060 the measurement device is laid across the garment and the helper looks at where the right edge of the garment and in step 1065 the individual looks at whether that edge sits within the band on the measurement device that has the desired fit for the individual . at step 1070 a decision is made as to whether the garment is acceptable . if the decision is no then the process moves to step 1075 and the garment is replaced and the process returns to step 1040 with the selection of another item of clothing . if the decision is yes then the process moves forward to step 1080 and the helper purchases the garment . next in step 1085 the helper determines whether more apparel is to be tried and / or purchased . if the decision is that more clothing will be tried then the process moves to step 1040 and continues . if the decision is no then the process moves to step 1090 and terminates . it would be evident to one skilled in the art that the measurement device may be formed as a single entity rather than as presented supra in fig1 being formed from two elements . it would also be evident that the same guide could be used for multiple individuals with markings indicating the name of the individual as well as the specific measurement . equally a discrete measurement device may be used for each individual . also the purchasing step and decision to select more garments may be juxtaposed without impacting the overall result as can the sequence in which measurements of the individual &# 39 ; s body are made . whilst the embodiment described supra in respect of fig1 was described in respect of a helper and an individual it would be apparent to one skilled in the art that these may be the same person , whether able bodied , disabled , etc . equally , as the measurement device when employed in making a garment determination does not necessarily contain any measurements in centimeters or inches there is also the removal of embarrassment for the individual as a helper does not know whether the individual is 36 inch , 38 inch etc . referring to fig1 a there are depicted exemplary front and back portions 1100 and 1150 respectively of a guide according to an embodiment of the invention . as shown the front portion comprises first section 1160 that explains how to establish the measurements of an individual and second portion 1170 that explains how to use the guide upon an item of apparel . the back portion 1150 comprises four fit guides 1130 through 1145 respectively . first fit 1130 being for tops , second fit guide 1135 for jackets , third fit guide 1140 for coats and fourth fit guide 1145 for bottoms . within first fit 1130 for tops are shown the fit ranges which are molded 1105 , also known as form fitting , close fit 1110 , semi - fitted 1115 , also known as regular , loose fit 1120 , also known as relaxed , and very loose fit 1125 . it would be evident to one skilled in the art that the guide may include more fit guides , such as fit guides 1130 through 1145 or may include fewer fit guides . optionally the fit guide may be created for different population groups , such as men , women , boys , girls etc as well as to reflect ethnic or other preferences . it would also be apparent that the categories may be further divided , for example with women to reflect for example misses , miss petite , junior , junior petite , young junior , and women &# 39 ; s as discussed supra . similarly the markings to denote particular fits and the nomenclature used may be varied according to sex , language , ethnicity , or other factors according to the target population base . optionally the guide may be branded by a particular clothing manufacturer , retail store or other organization . now referring to fig1 b there is depicted a guide 1175 according to an embodiment of the invention . as shown the guide 1775 comprises four individual guides of which only two are identified in fig1 b , being first garment guide 1175 a for coats and outerwear and second garment guide 1175 b for tops and shirts . the other two guides not explicitly identified being for jackets / sweaters and pants / skirts . each garment guide being seperable from the guide 1175 by tearing along seperation lines 1185 a . optionally the garment guides being cut out from the guide 1175 . the description will focus on first garment guide 1175 a but the principles apply to each garment guide . marked on the first garment guide 1175 a is reference line 1185 b which represents the point at which the tape , such as tape 922 or shortened tape 924 described in respect of fig9 supra , would be attached . marked at predetermined positions with respect to the reference line 1185 b are multiple regions associated with bands for which a garment of the type associated with the garment band , which for the first garment band 1175 a is coats and outerwear , has different fits . these being snug 1180 a , regular 1180 b , relaxed fit 1180 c , and loose fit 1180 d . for second garment guide 1175 b these regions are very tight 1180 e , snug 1180 f , regular 1180 g , relaxed fit 1180 h , and loose fit 1180 j . it would be evident that guide 1175 allows the user to purchase a single guide kit and generate multiple garment guides for use in purchasing clothes for themselves , members of their family , or others . referring to fig1 c there is shown a user guide 1190 providing user information for a guide such as guide 1175 or guide 1150 in fig1 b and 11a supra respectively . the user guide 1190 comprises sales and marketing information as well as information tips . such tips for example including using the guide with stretch knits and active wear 1195 a , measuring for waist as well as chest / bust 1195 b , addressing larger tummy 1195 c , larger bust 1195 d , and garments with pleats / gathers 1195 e . now referring to fig1 there is depicted a measurement of an item of apparel using a guide according to an embodiment of the invention , and being similar to the second stage of the process flow described supra in respect of fig1 . accordingly an individual has selected a shirt 1210 to assess using fit guide 1220 which comprises first portion 1230 and second portion 1240 . accordingly the individual has laid the left edge of the fit guide 1220 , being the first portion 1230 with the mark and reference indicator “ t ” to the left edge of the shirt 1210 and laid the fit guide 1220 across the shirt such that second portion 1230 lies at the right hand edge of the short 1210 . thus as shown the user selects visually the “ top ” guide 1250 within the second portion 1240 of the fit guide 1220 to see where the edge of the shirt 1210 lies . as such it lies within the close fit 1260 region of the “ top ” guide 250 . referring to fig1 there are shown braille guide 1310 and visual guide 1350 according to embodiments of the invention . as discussed supra the guides according to embodiments of the invention have been primarily discussed with respect to those of impairments or impediments that prevent them trying the garment on when looking within a retail establishment or wherein the person for whom the apparel is intended are absent . however , in many instances the person selecting the item may be visually impaired or be blind . as such braille guide 1310 and visual guide 350 are just two alternate embodiments wherein the guide is tailored to a particular group of people . hence braille guide 1310 comprises an identifier 1315 for the item of apparel , in this case tops , and regions 1320 through 1335 for the different fits . each region being differentiate by a pattern of small raised dots and containing within the braille text appropriate for that region . accordingly the regions 1320 through 1335 are tight , slim , norm ( al ) and relax ( ed ). similarly , visual guide 1350 contains apparel identifier 1355 , being “ top ” and text for the four regions 1360 through 1375 respectively , being again tight , slim , norm ( al ) and relax ( ed ). in contrast to back portion 1150 of the fit guide presented supra in respect of fig1 the text is now large within each of the four regions 1360 through 1375 allowing use by a user with poor visual acuity , such as the partially blinded or the elderly for example . referring to fig1 an application of a guide according to an embodiment of the invention is shown for use in either ensuring a pattern to be made fits an individual or adjusting a pattern to suit the individual . accordingly there is shown a pattern set 1400 comprising front 1410 , collar 1420 and back 1430 . also shown laid onto back 1430 is a guide 1440 comprising tape 1440 a and guide 1440 b which as shown comprises a garment guide portion such as second garment guide 1175 b . accordingly the user can determine the fit for the garment based upon the measurement made on the back 1430 or adjust the pattern set 1400 such that the adjusted pattern pieces , front 1410 and back 1430 will give the desired ease and fit . now referring to fig1 there is shown an application of a guide according to an embodiment of the invention . as shown in webpage 1500 a user has accessed an online offer to sell a blouse 1510 such as using ebay ™ for example . however , there is an issue for seller and buyer in knowing how to size the garment for sale and fit once purchased respectively . accordingly the seller has taken the photograph , which is shown expanded in image 1550 of the blouse 1520 with a measuring guide 1530 superimposed upon it . the measuring guide 1530 comprising a tape 1530 a and guide 1530 b , such as second garment guide 1175 b described supra in respect of fig1 . tape 1530 a being unlike shortened tape 924 or first portion 1230 as described in fig9 and 12 respectively in that it is marked with markings representing sizing . unlike determining the fit of a garment in a retail establishment the user starts by placing the guide 1530 b at the ease the garment and then the marking on the tape 1530 denotes the size of the garment so that the seller knows how to list the item for sale and provides the potential buyer with physical proof that the item is the size the seller states . it would be apparent to one of skill in the art that each of the tape 1530 a and guide 1530 b portions may be varied according to the embodiments taught supra as well as others that do not depart from the scope of the invention . the above - described embodiments of the present invention are intended to be examples only . alterations , modifications and variations may be effected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention , which is defined solely by the claims appended hereto .
each year thousands of millions of items of apparel are purchased . within a large percentage of these transactions they are undertaken either by those for whom trying the item on prior to purchase is extremely difficult within the retail establishment or where the person they are buying for is absent . it is a common occurrence for additional time , effort and expense to be incurred taking the purchased item back to replace it or have a refund as the item does not fit as intended . by people for themselves or for others who are not present during the selection . accordingly it would be advantageous to have a simple device to indicate the fit of items of apparel for the individual for whom the items are being purchased . such a device is presented according to embodiments of the invention .