Standards that relate to the wearability and care of clothes will help even the owners of the glamorous gowns and tuxes seen at the Academy Awards maintain their fancy frocks. Standards developer ASTM International, a member of the American National Standards Institute, has released a number of standards relevant to textile and clothing care. ASTM C3107-03, Standard Test Methods for Stretch Properties of Fabrics Woven from Stretch Yarns, helps ensure that a garment retains its shape after wearing and washing. ASTM D4846-96, Standard Test Method for Resistance to Unsnapping of Snap Fasteners, determines the force required to unfasten snaps by a pull perpendicular to and parallel with the plane of the snap fastener. Also relevant to clothing are ASTM D2061-03 Standard Test Method for Strength Tests for Zippers and AATCC Test Method 15-2002 Colorfastness to Perspiration.

Finally, AATCC Test Method 2004, Colorfastness to Drycleaning, determines a garment’s ability to retain its original color after three commercial dry cleaning processes. The tested specimen is rated against the AATCC standard gray scale for color change and against the standard gray scale for staining to determine chromatic transference to a multifiber swatch.

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