Worldwide, a close connection is demonstrated between the clothes worn by people and their cultural or political expression. The subject covering the history of costume taught in many fashion schools or institutions, focuses primarily on Western ideologies with little to no African concepts addressed. This paper explores the availability of a rich history of African costume and textiles that have remained indigenous to many people in most parts of Africa. Some of the examples include the dressing styles of the Maasai of East Africa, Adire textile influences of the Yoruba from West Africa and the Himba and Ndebele from Southern Africa.

The South African government has invested in skills development ever since 1995 in an effort to facilitate more opportunities for small business and micro business (SMME) owners. Skills development programs offered in South Africa include the development of technical skills like apparel construction. At least 129 active apparel SMMEs were operating in the Pretoria region of Gauteng province during between 2001 and 2013. Most of these SMMEs provide custom‐made apparel for their individual customers and the owner‐designers of these businesses are involved in the design process of the custom‐made apparel, but also play an imperative role in the business functions that directly relate to the design process.

One of the most severe disabilities known to man is the loss of sight, as it deprives the individual of the primary sense used to acquire information and knowledge about their direct environment. Visual impairment limits effective decision making as it severs the individual’s essential involvement in society. Such individuals have restricted mobility and are mostly dependent on other people and as a result their ability to make decisions, and develop a sense of purchasing orientation is hampered. This research aimed at exploring the shopping experiences of visually impaired consumers in regards to clothing prices, colour choices, fibre content and the feel or hand of the fabric used for the garment.

During the past decade, all the surveys of women’s sizes and measurements show that a significant proportion of the population can be categorised as plus-­size. This is not necessarily something new but rather re-­confirms that there is a large market for the plus-­size garment of all types. Younger women are becoming plus-­size, particularly among “pear-­shaped” South African women of African origin.

These two factors, combined with the ever growing fashion awareness among the general public, make it necessary to develop a sizing chart for the pear-­shaped body characteristics and to re-­evaluate the existing sizing chart in relation to this particular body shape and size category.