Navy Volume Midi Skirt - Elasticated Poplin Midi Skirt for OEM

A light navy cotton poplin midi skirt, machine washable at 30 degrees with no tumble drying, made in China, listed at 157 GBP with three of five sizes in stock. Its volume is drawn in by an elasticated waistband carrying an adjustable cord, and it has side pockets. It publishes a waist figure for every size, and that figure is the clearest case yet of a number that cannot be used on its own: an elasticated waist measured flat is a relaxed measurement, so the number is a floor rather than a fit. Its length grades two centimetres per size, which makes it one of three garments in this batch that grade length and two that do not. The reference is the Volume Skirt in Navy by The Tiny Big Sister. Dongguan Bafinasa Garments Co., Ltd. develops comparable skirts on OEM and ODM terms, from cloth selection and volume development to retail or FBA ready packing. We publish this as a development reference and build your own version of it, and we do not supply the branded original or reproduce anyone else's label.

Key Features

• 100% cotton poplin as stated, described as light with a crisp textured hand
• Machine wash at 30 degrees, do not tumble dry, as stated, giving a temperature and a prohibition
• Elasticated waistband with adjustable cord as stated, two adjustments rather than one. See the note below
• Waist published for every size, and the figure needs qualifying. See the note below
• Total length grades two centimetres per size, opposite to the outerwear in this batch
• Side pockets as stated
• Volume drawn in at the waistband rather than cut away, as stated
• Three of five sizes in stock, with the two largest sizes gone

Customisable Options

• Cloth: cotton poplin to the reference, offered across weights since that decides how the volume falls
• Waist: elasticated with cord to the reference, or a fixed waistband for a different market
• Waist figure: we would state whether the measurement is relaxed or extended, since the two differ by several inches
• Pockets: side seam to the reference, with depth and position adjustable
• Length from knee to ankle, fullness level, cord type, size set, colour development, private label and care labelling

Specifications

Size Chart as Published by the Reference

The waist is a flat half measure, so doubling gives 64, 68, 72, 76 and 80 cm around, or 25.2 to 31.5 in. That doubling is only valid because the waistband is elasticated and measured relaxed, which means the figure is the smallest the skirt can be rather than the size it fits. A waistband on an elastic can extend several centimetres further, so this number understates the range it will accommodate, and the page does not say whether it was taken relaxed or extended. Total length is a full length rather than a half measure.

Our Proposed Body Chart

Occasions and Styling

Suits everyday wear, work, summer and holidays. A voluminous skirt reads best with something close on top, since the volume is already doing the work below the waist, and the elasticated waist with a cord means it can sit at more than one height.

Production and Quality Control

The waist is published for every size, and that is the problem, because an elasticated waist measured flat is a relaxed figure rather than a fit. Three things follow: what that number can and cannot be used for, what two adjustments do together, and what the grading in this batch says as a group.

A waist figure that cannot be used on its own, and that is the first thing. The table gives the waist at every size, which is more than almost anything examined before this batch managed. Doubling the flat figures gives 64 to 80 cm around, which is about 25 to 31 and a half inches. Now, those figures describe a waistband at rest on an elastic, which means they describe the smallest the skirt can be rather than the size it will fit. An elasticated waistband of this kind will comfortably extend several centimetres past its relaxed state, so a customer whose waist sits between two of these numbers may well be served by the smaller one, and the table gives them no way to know. This is the second time in this project that a waist figure has been published for a skirt or dress that could not be read without knowing how it was made, and the first was a gown whose waist was tied rather than fixed. The difference here is that this page does say how the waist is made, just not how the measurement was taken, and those are two separate statements. Relaxed or extended takes four words to state. This series has argued repeatedly that a measurement without a statement behind it cannot be read, and it has usually had to leave it there because the statement was missing entirely. Here everything is present except one qualifier, and the qualifier happens to be the one that changes the meaning of the number. It is worth being clear that this is not the same as the pages criticised earlier for publishing nothing, and the improvement is real. It is the last step that is outstanding.

Elastic and a cord, two adjustments doing different things, and that is the second thing. The waistband is elasticated and carries an adjustable cord, which is two independent ways of changing the same measurement. This project has catalogued the mechanisms that let a garment fit a body different from its own measurements, and the adjustable closure is one of them. Here there are two of those mechanisms in the same place, and it is worth separating what each contributes because they are not redundant. Elastic sets a floor and recovers: it makes the waistband sit snugly on a range of bodies without anybody adjusting anything, and it returns to its resting size afterwards. A cord sets a ceiling and holds: it allows a person to decide how tight the waist sits and then keep it there, and unlike elastic it does not quietly loosen as it is worn. Together they produce a waistband that both grips and stays, which is why the combination is so common on volume skirts, where the volume above has to be held by something deliberate. Two practical consequences follow for anyone building this. The first is that an elasticated waistband on a voluminous skirt is under real load, since the cloth above it is heavier than a plain skirt of the same length, and that load is carried by the elastic rather than by the seam. Elastic gauge and pre-tension should be specified rather than chosen by feel, and the waistband recovered measurement should be checked on the bulk rather than only on the fit sample. The second is that a cord needs a channel and an exit, and both are places where a thin cord abrades the cloth over time, so the channel depth and the exit finish are worth specifying.

Three that grade length and two that do not, and a clean instruction, and that is the third thing. Across this batch, three garments grade length and two hold it constant: the blouse grades length two centimetres per size, the skirt two and the tee one, while the coat and the jacket both hold length fixed at every size. That is not a coincidence and it is a useful pattern. Holding length constant is a choice that suits outerwear, where the hem relation to the body and to whatever is worn underneath matters more than the exact point on the leg, and where a design line is the point of the piece. Grading length suits a skirt or a top, where the hem lands somewhere specific on a person and that person is a different height at each size. So the two rules are both defensible and the pattern in this batch is that they are applied by category rather than by brand. This is worth knowing when quoting, because a buyer comparing two references may find that the same maker grades length on one garment and not on another, and it is not an error. On the care instruction, this page does something the earlier source rarely did, which is to give the instruction as a process rather than as a state. Machine wash at 30 degrees is a temperature, and do not tumble dry is a prohibition about a specific step rather than a general warning. This series has complained for a long time that most care lines say what is permitted without saying how to carry it out, and it is worth crediting the pages that give the actual figure. Cotton at 30 degrees without tumble drying is a defensible instruction drawn from the cloth rather than from caution. Every bulk shipment gets a measurement report against your approved chart.

Optional upgrades include stating whether the published waist is relaxed or extended, since the two differ by several inches and only one of them is a fit figure, publishing the extended waist as well, so a buyer can see the range the elastic covers, specifying elastic gauge and pre-tension rather than leaving them to be chosen by feel, since the volume above the waistband puts real load on the elastic, specifying the cord channel depth and exit finish, since both are wear points on a thin cord, grading the waist at the usual rate or deliberately slower, since waist grading is what decides whether one size serves between sizes, offering a fixed waistband as an alternative for markets that do not want elastic, grading length by the same amount in every size rather than adding two centimetres each time, since that compounds, stating a model height and wearer measurements, since none are given, weight in grams rather than described as light, length options, size set, colour development, private label, hangtag and care labelling.

Pre-production sample approval, in-line inspection during cutting and sewing, and a final AQL inspection before packing, with measurement reports and photos shared before shipment.

Send us your tech pack, a photo or a reference garment and we will quote within 24 hours. Contact bafinasa@bafinasa.com or WhatsApp +86 13827222469.