The massive job losses and factory closures in the clothing, textiles and leather industries in almost all countries in the region. The low wages that continue in our industries, resulting in a low and, in many instances, declining standard of living of workers. The crisis which face unemployed workers who have no income, no social security net, and no immediate prospect of a job. It is a fundamental responsibility of governments in the region to work with trade unions and employers in order to develop appropriate policies to secure a future for the industries and to improve the conditions of workers.

Thesis (M A. (African Languages)) -- University of Limpopo, 2009 / The study evaluates the communicative aspects of the Vhavenḓa female traditional attire in the Vhembe region, Limpopo Province. Chapter one carries an introduction and background to the study, aim of the study, rationale and objectives of the study, significance of the study, literature related to the study and data analysis thereof. Chapter two carries the detailed investigation of the Vhavenḓa Traditional attire as well as the relevant times to wear that attire, where and their uses. Chapter three carries the Vhavenḓa Traditional attires that are not allowed to be worn in some occasions. Chapter four carries the findings and the recommendations of the study. Chapter five is the summary of the study.

Review of Encyclopedia of National Dress : Traditional Clothing Around the World. Jill Condra. 2013. 2v, 9780313376368, $189.00

This paper explores the possibility that Hemingway scholars are overlooking the development of Hemingway as a writer by concentrating too much on the autobiographical elements of his writing. I am not suggesting that scholars ignore the autobiographical aspects of the writing, but rather propose that scholars acknowledge and look for the development of Hemingway's craft of writing in his novels by comparing the early texts with his posthumous works. I have chosen to show this development by comparing A Farewell to Arms and The Garden of Eden, especially through his use of the females characters Catherine in both novels. I assert that whether consciously or unconsciously, Hemingway's reuse of the name Catherine in The Garden of Eden was his attempt to address criticism of his writing by invoking a comparison of the two characters he created in an effort to show how he was able to portray a more sophisticated female character when he was an older, more mature writer. The specific writing tools Hemingway employed to accomplish this task include the use of names, details about the physical appearances of his characters, the vocation of his characters, and the dialogue of his characters.

El presente trabajo de tesis tiene como propósito conocer aquellos factores que limitan las importaciones de ropa de diseñador para niños desde la Unión Europea hacia Perú, en particular a la ciudad de Lima. En el capítulo dos, se describe el marco teórico que detallan los conceptos y teorías consideradas como una referencia para desarrollar el estudio y una presentación del entorno comercial tomado de fuentes secundarias que permiten entender mejor el ambiente en el que se desarrolla el sector de confecciones del Perú. En el capítulo tres, se presentan tanto la pregunta de investigación, los objetivos como las hipótesis planteadas que luego se procederán a contrastar. En el capítulo cuatro, se explica la metodología de la investigación, el tipo de la investigación, la técnica y el instrumento utilizado, además se identificó la muestra y las categorías empleadas en el estudio. En el capítulo cinco, se realizó el análisis de los datos y los resultados de las entrevistas realizadas a los segmentos de importadores, consumidores, diseñadores, representantes de entidades gubernamentales y especialistas del sector privado. Finalmente en el capítulo seis, se presentaron los hallazgos, las barreras y brechas de la investigación, las conclusiones y las recomendaciones resultado de la presente investigación. / The purpose of this thesis is to know those factors that limit imports of designer clothes for children from the European Union to Peru, in particular to the city of Lima. In chapter two, we describe the theoretical framework that details the concepts and theories considered as a reference to develop the study and a presentation of the commercial environment taken from secondary sources that allow us to better understand the environment in which the clothing sector of the Peru. In chapter three, we present both the research question, the objectives and the hypotheses that will then be tested. In chapter four, the research methodology, the type of research, the technique and the instrument used are explained, the sample and the categories used in the study were also identified. In chapter five, the analysis of the data and the results of the interviews with the segments of importers, consumers, designers, representatives of government entities and specialists from the private sector was carried out. Finally, in chapter six, the findings, barriers and gaps of the investigation, the conclusions and the recommendations resulting from the present investigation were presented. / Tesis

The computational modeling of clothing has received increasing attention since the late 1980's with the desire to study and animate clothing-wearer interactions. Within a clothing modeling framework, it is necessary to model the mechanical behavior of woven fabrics. An important aspect of modeling the mechanics of woven fabrics is capturing realistic stress-strain behaviors which are invariably anisotropic, nonlinear, and hysteretic in that they feature irrecoverable deformation when loadings are removed from the fabric. The objective of this research is to develop a fabric constitutive model that captures the primary features of anisotropy, nonlinearity, and hysteresis, and that can be easily implemented in a nonlinear, large deformation shell finite element framework for general clothing-wearer interaction modeling. To achieve the objective, biaxial responses of four different woven fabrics were experimentally measured under a battery of load-unload uniaxial stress tests performed in the fabrics' warp, weft, and bias 45° directions. Axial deformations were measured precisely using LVDTs, and transverse deformations were measured less precisely using photogrammetric methods. Such measurements yielded insight on the different fabrics' membrane properties such as nonlinear Young's moduli in the warp and weft directions, shear moduli, and Poisson's ratios. These membrane behaviors were captured in an incremental constitutive model that uses polynomial fitting of a fabric's loading warp and weft Young's moduli, and polynomial fitting of the membrane shear modulus. Measured membrane Poisson's ratios of the different fabrics were found to be asymmetrical and highly variable between fabric types. All of these effects were integrated in a nonsymmetrical incremental constitutive model that relates Piola-Kirchhoff stress to Green-Lagrangian strain. For numerical implementation in a shell finite element framework, the woven fabric's warp and weft directions relative to an individual element's lamina coordinate system are specified in the undeformed configuration of the fabric and are denoted as the local material coordinate system. As the fabric undergoes arbitrary deformations, the local Piola-Kirchoff stress, the Green-Lagrange strain, and its increment at a point in the fabric are transformed to the material coordinate system in which the stress is updated. The updated state of Piola-Kirchoff stress in the material coordinate system is then rotated back into the local lamina coordinate system for usage in finite element force and stiffness calculations. This new realistic material model for woven fabrics is successfully implemented and tested in a variety of computations such as simulation of quasi-static material tests, and dynamic fabric "drape" and "poke" tests.

The influence of an individual's dress practices on his/her sense of self has been studied for many years. Courses such as the Dress and Humanity course at Utah State University have been developed to educate students on the impact of dress on society. In this study, students in the Dress and Humanity course were given a pre-course and post-course survey to determine if self-perceptions related to dress practices underwent a change over the duration of the semester. Significant differences were found in the categories of body image, evaluating self-esteem, and communication of self to others. A relationship was found between survey responses and gender, degree of importance of clothing purchases, and how much money participants spent in the 365 days previous to the pre-course survey.

The purpose and underlying motivation for this project was to examine the procedure of garment construction methods, by specifically choosing to abandon traditional rules and standards that are associated with mass production. I chose to explore domestic hand-craft made by women in New Zealand in their domestic situation, focusing on hand-stitched techniques from the past reflecting a nostalgic value which potentially contributed to the garment’s construction process. The project sought to utilize the re-using of materials by incorporating previously made hand-craft; and looked at the remaking of second-hand garments by means of deconstruction and reconstruction. Traditional hand-craft, in this context, refers to the use of craft forms not governed by principles of efficiency, mass production or technology, allowing the garments to contain unique ‘one of a kind’ hand-made qualities. My studio practice specifically focused on exploring the relationship between hand-craft and garment construction, by researching their application and integration into the garment’s structure, along with disrupting the orderly traditional production process. I was not focusing on the finished garment’s design. The project provided an opportunity to refocus my attention on the hand-made, as I perceived that the skills required to produce these were being extinguished by modern lifestyles. Exploration promoted new discoveries by exposing the construction process and revealing unpredicted combinations. The project explored these ideas, resulting in a range of women’s garments that revealed, as part of their construction, hand-work which offered a modern variation of nostalgia. This project comprised of 80% practical work and will be accompanied by an exegesis with a value of 20%.

Dress and appearance constitute the visual realm in the dialectic of identity construction and are powerful communicators in this process, since dress and appearance are the symbolic means by which we locate ourselves and others through interaction within social contexts. Dress is used to differentiate and create boundaries for group belonging and exclusion, and in the uniform has been understood to have a capacity to suppress individuality and to identify the wearer with objectives beyond the self. Adolescence is a time of intense identity work and in New Zealand coincides with secondary schooling during which school uniforms are usually worn. Is freedom in dress necessary for development of personal identity? The effects of same-dressing on identity development in adolescence were investigated in the context of the history, practice, and meanings of school uniform in New Zealand secondary schools. This was investigated through a nationwide survey, analysis of selected school photographs and records, interviews with students, review of legal and bureaucratic structures supporting the practice, and review of the literature of school uniforms, and education and social history of New Zealand. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods contributed to analysis of both dress practices in wider New Zealand contexts, and more personal use of dress in the formation of personal identity. Analysis of school uniforms as mechanisms of power, constituting both the student and the self, drew on symbolic interactionist theory and on Foucault�s later interpretations of power, while also linking material culture and social structures. New Zealand has a strong and continuing tradition of school uniform in secondary schools, yet this practice is characterised by change, variety, and differences, challenging the sameness which uniforms are supposed to embody. Meanings and functions of uniforms have changed considerably over the twentieth century, evolving through extreme and diverse expressions of the expectations of social, political, and education systems towards their young people, and mediated in turn by students themselves. While school uniforms both manifest and mediate the power of the school over the bodies of children, the power embodied in uniforms is not always and only a repressive power, but is also a generative, productive power. Students described uniforms as a form of shelter and protection, embodying belonging and participation in the school and a projected future of success and engagement in adult society and work. Uniforms also maintained a breadth of possibilities consistent with a fluid class system and egalitarian ideals of New Zealand society. While students believed self-expression essential for the formation of a self, they believed this need could be met through the use of minor differences in uniforms, while uniforms allowed them to retain the advantages of group belonging. Schools allowing some personal expression effectively strengthened the sense of belonging and participation, by maintaining the individual in positive relation to the group. The interaction that creates a self consists in symbols, involving meanings, appearances, and communication: differences and similarities from part of these complex interactions.

Fashion scholarship has prospered since the 1980s. Yet in spite of the stimulating research in this field, principally in the domain of design, gender, media and cultural studies, only a handful of scholars have written about fashion�s relationship with the artworld. This, inspite of the artworld increasingly drawing upon the idiom of fashion - �the new�, �the now� and hype, and the evolvement of sartorial fashion into an exciting new artistic medium as the result of an increasingly experimental attitude towards design. This thesis considers the idiom of fashion as part of art-making, and how we might critically approach fashion design as a visual arts practice. The relationship between fashion and the artworld is explored using the ideas of intersection, interplay and collusion. In utilising these ideas to explore the rapport between fashion and the artworld the multi-faceted nature of fashion�s relationship with the artworld, the slippages between the commercial and creative imperatives of fashion, are brought to the surface. This project grew out of a �debate� emerging in the 1980s and 1990s and occurring in articles and exhibitions which sought to identify and elaborate on a closer rapport between fashion and art. Based on this �debate� six sites of connection are considered, beginning with a discussion on writing about fashion from a visual arts perspective, and where a range of proponents and proposals are considered. The thesis then shifts to an analysis of the February 1982 special issue of Artforum which featured a garment designed by Issey Miyake on its cover. This is followed by an exploration of the value attached to fashion in the artworld. The fashion designer�s self-construction as a visual artist is the subject of the next chapter, followed by a look at the emergence of Conceptual Couture - ideas-based fashion. The final chapter considers fashion in the exhibition environment.