Materials for clothing examination
What to keep and prepare: the item, labels, photographs and purchase, tailoring and dry-cleaning documents.
Item and documents
- The item in its current condition, surviving labels, markings, tags and packaging.
- Receipt, order, contract, product listing, description, size chart or specification.
- Dry-cleaning, tailoring, acceptance and repair documents, and information about the detected flaw.
- Correspondence, complaint and the seller’s or service provider’s response, insofar as relevant to the assignment.
- Information on wear, washing, drying, ironing, dry cleaning, storage and alterations.
Photographs and videos
Prepare overall views of the item and close-ups of the defect, seams, fabric, lining, fittings and legible labels. Keep the original photographs and videos. Materials from before and after treatment may help compare condition. Video of fittings in operation helps preliminary assessment but does not replace necessary checks.
Before inspection
Keep the item’s condition unchanged where possible: do not remove the flaw, alter the garment, cut off markings or repeat treatment solely for the examination. If changes have already been made, disclose them and provide information on the original condition. Transfer of the item and permitted actions on it are agreed in advance.
Batches and reviews
For a batch, provide the specification, quantity, sizes and models, supply and acceptance documents, and a description of how the submitted items were selected. For a review, provide the full opinion, appendices, photographs, test records and available source materials. A finding on one item is not automatically a finding on the whole batch.
Files and personal data
The form accepts JPG, JPEG, PNG, HEIC, WEBP, TIF, TIFF, BMP, MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, PDF, DOC, DOCX, TXT, RTF, XLSX, XLS, ZIP, RAR and 7Z files. Up to 10 files, 10 MB each, with a 15 MB total limit. Actual available capacity depends on server and email settings; large materials can be sent via a separately agreed channel.
Send only necessary materials. Where possible, remove unnecessary people from photos and videos, and passport details, addresses and other people’s information from documents. Your consent does not replace an independent basis for processing their data.
Item size, fit and agreed order
In a size dispute, specify what the item is being compared with: its label, a published size chart, body measurements or the agreed finished garment measurements. These are different starting data. Body measurements and garment panel dimensions may differ because of design, allowances and the model’s intended purpose.
For a made-to-order item, keep the final assignment, sketch, fitting notes and agreed changes. For ready-made clothing, keep the exact model’s listing and the size chart valid at purchase, if available. A later description of a similar model does not replace information about the order being examined.
How to describe a mismatch
- Identify the area: sleeve length, width along a specific line, or the position of a seam or another element.
- State the source of the expected value, rather than only the desired result.
- Explain how the measurement was taken and which reference points were used.
- Note any washing, wear, fitting alterations, repairs or other changes before inspection.
Photographs of the fit can help explain the complaint but do not always give accurate panel dimensions. Comparisons require the same reference points and positioning of the item. If the data are not comparable, the specialist must establish this before concluding on the nature of the deviation.
This set of materials helps distinguish order conformity, design features and changes after use. The findings should make clear which dimension was measured directly and on what basis it was compared with the requirement.
Describe the item, defect and circumstances
Send photographs of the item, labels, markings and defects, purchase documents, the contract, product listing, seller’s refusal, dry-cleaning documents or the seller’s opinion. Free telephone consultation for up to 15 minutes.
- whether the clothing has a defect;
- whether it relates to manufacture, care, dry cleaning, use or tailoring;
- whether the item matches its size, description, composition and labelling;
- which document is needed: an inspection record, specialist opinion or review;
- when laboratory testing is required.