How to Choose Fabric, Trim, and Details That Improve Fit and Performance

Suzy Wakefield
2 days ago
3 min read

Suzy Wakefield Fitting apparel close to the body garments

A practical guide for founders on choosing fabrics, trims, and design details that enhance fit, comfort, and performance across your full size range.

Most people think about clothes in terms of color, where they’ll wear them, and whether the style feels like “them.” Designers think about that too, but we’re also tuned into the tiny choices that determine whether someone actually reaches for the garment a second time.

Little things like:

The button spacing that prevents a chest gap.
A tank strap wide enough to cover a bra without looking orthopedic.
A swimsuit clasp you can manage without phoning a neighbor for help.
Rings and slides that actually stay put instead of slipping their way into a shoulder-falling disaster.

Consumers don’t think about these things until they fail. Designers and founders, on the other hand, need to think about them constantly. This is the part of product creation that hides in plain sight. When these elements work, the garment simply feels good. When they don’t, the customer doesn’t return. And neither does the revenue.

How This Builds on Last Week

Last week, we talked about how to develop a fit-critical garment. Now we shift into what you select to make that fit possible. Think of this as zooming in on one layer: from the overall process to the levers that actually produce performance.

Where Your Brand Niche Comes In

Once you define your USP, the must-haves for each garment get very clear. Fabric, trims, and details should support that USP in ways your customer can feel, even if they can’t name them.

Example: Size Inclusivity

Size inclusivity is not simply offering more sizes. It’s designing intentionally for each of them.

A 32B can jog in something most people would call a yoga bra. My 38DDD friend cannot, unless the goal is emotional growth through adversity. Larger sizes often require:

Additional inner support fabrics
Rigid or stabilized straps instead of stretch
Size-split trims and components, like different strap widths, wire gauges, or hook sizes across the range

The outer fabric can remain consistent for aesthetic reasons, but the internal architecture must adapt. This is where performance and proportion meet. And yes, it’s a balancing act with minimums and cost, but the customer comes first, always.

Trims: Where Aesthetic Meets Function

Trims seem small, but they’re often the difference between delight and disappointment.

A bra strap made with a microfiber plush-back elastic looks elevated and feels better against the skin.
A legging with the wrong waistband elastic fails instantly. No one is loyal to discomfort.

The trick is choosing trims that support both your design intent and the garment's physical demands. You need to see them in hand, but you also need to see them sewn into the fabric they’ll live with. That’s where performance reveals itself.

Details: Where Materials, Technique, and Vendor Capability Converge

Details aren’t decoration. They’re engineering choices.

If you want a smooth, molded, modern cup, you need:

A vendor who can mold consistently
A fabric with enough stretch and recovery to handle the shape
Enough spandex to prevent that “draggy cup” that looks tired on a hanger and even worse on a body

If you choose a lighter fabric with less stretch, you may need gathers at the cup base. It might not look as clean on the hanger, but it may fit far more comfortably on the body. These are the tradeoffs real product development requires.

There Is No Perfect Formula

There’s only what is best for your brand, your customer, and your intended performance. The clearer you are on your product priorities, the easier these decisions become.

Apparel design is not an on-paper exercise. It’s hands-on, iterative, and at times, humbling. Even with deep expertise, you learn by testing, refining, and staying curious.

But when you combine the right fabrics, trims, and details, you create garments that feel intentional and earn repeat wear. And that is the foundation of both brand loyalty and volume.

If you are ready to apply this thinking to your own collection, I can help you get there.

Book a call if you are developing a close-to-the-body garment and want clarity on fit, materials, or the development process. A quick conversation can save you months of trial and error and help you avoid costly mistakes.