It’s almost the change of season and time for one of the most anticipated semi-annual events — shopping for new clothes. This occurrence brings both excitement and dread to the minds of most female shoppers.

Sure, having a new pair of pants is an indescribable feeling, but the hours spent going to store after store in search of the perfect fit almost spoils it for many consumers.

A recent study by the College of Textiles has shown designers are not manufacturing clothes to fit today’s shape of women.

The shape most designers use for their apparel is the antiquated hourglass, characteristic of 1950’s icons such as Marilyn Monroe.

The hourglass shape, defined as having bust and hip measurements that are equal while the waist is narrow, presently describes a mere eight percent of women. While the few who have this shape are catered to, the 92 percent of females with shapes ranging from the inverted triangle to the bottom hourglass are relatively ignored.

Liz Henderson, a freshman in textiles, said there are many reasons for the change in sizes.

“Many women today are at polar ends of the spectrum, they’re either more overweight, or very athletic and have straighter features,” Henderson said. “Women are told to love their bodies, but it’s hard when you can’t find clothes that fit your body well. I’d love to see more tops designed to complement all different shapes, like pants are starting to do.”

Taylor Madey, a sophomore in the College of Design who hopes to some day design clothes, said she has noticed a slight increase by some manufacturers to market clothes, pants in particular, to fit a variety of shapes.

“Stores like Gap have styles like curvy or straight, so you can get pants that look great, are comfortable and fit well,” Madey said. “But not too many other stores do this yet, and a lot of companies only have a few numbers for sizes.”

Cindy Istook, the lead researcher on the study and an associate professor of textile and apparel technology and management, said the clothing manufacturers are slow to adapt.

“Companies are recognizing that there’s an issue. They just haven’t changed their sizing system to demonstrate it,” Istook said.

Once the change takes place, Istook hopes at least the top four shapes, which constitute 90 percent of the market, will be served. The change is not expected to happen overnight, but with the increase in consumer dissatisfaction, a change in sizing systems is expected.