Senior designers already know their taste. What arrives here, too often, is still a PDF of photos and a line that says the fit should feel expensive. The cutter cannot grade “expensive.” This is the pack we send back when a capsule crosses studio, court and water.
A legging block does not become a skort because the colour story matches.
Opacity is judged on the pale SKU, largest size, not on black.
Opening, bag depth, what it holds. A shadow in a photo is not a pocket.
Clasp, slider, lining colour. Not a finishing surprise.
The email we can cut from
For each style, before a marker: fabric code (PowerForm™, AirTouch™, AquaForm™, or a mill code), every contrast material named separately (mesh, elastic, binding, lining), a size spec with the grade, and the POMs you will argue about later. Placement of a logo is a measurement from a seam, with a method — print, transfer or embroidery — not “left chest-ish.”
If the pack is thin, we can still sample a library block. We will write the open points on the proto. We will not guess them during bulk. The sample clock of 7–9 working days starts when that list is stable, not when the deck is pretty.
Yoga block: rise, gusset, waistband
On a legging the arguments that cost a second sample are rise (from where to where, worn), inseam, leg opening, gusset shape, and waistband height plus the recovery you expect after a squat. “High rise” on two brands is not the same centimetre. Say the centimetre.
On a bra: underband, strap, cup or padding intention, and whether the neckline must survive a forward fold without gaping. Support is construction, not a word. If you already have a house method, point at it; if you want ours, say which photographed block is the start. Flatlock and coverstitch are different seams. Name the one you want on the sweat zone.
Opacity protocol, if you care about it in public: lightest colour, largest size, agreed stretch, after the care wash you will put on the label. We will not sign a black sample as proof that stone is safe.
Court block: pleat, short, pocket
A tennis dress is a shell plus a built-in short. Write the short’s length and the leg opening. Write pleat depth and how many, and whether the pleat may open over the short on a lunge. The ball pocket needs an opening width, a bag depth, and which side of the body. Designers who have played will know if a right-hand pocket on the left side is a joke. Write it down anyway. The sample room was not at your last match.
A golf skort or dress is not that block with a longer hem. Coverage in a bend, side vent, and pockets for a glove or a rangefinder are a new list. Quieter hand is a fabric choice — often still PowerForm™ — not a reason to skip the list. White and optical brightener: say if the white must stay white after a wash, or if you only judged it on a hanger at 10 a.m.
Swim block: lining map and hardware
State the lining: full front, brief only, power-mesh, colour-matched or contrast. Light grounds need a wet-opacity note, not only a dry one. Hardware gets a finish and a clasp type on the BOM. Strap width and adjustment range are measurements. Top and bottom are developed as their own pieces; if they must share a dye lot, say so, and keep them on AquaForm™ rather than hoping a court fabric will dye the same.
We do not treat a resort cover-up on CloudTouch™ as part of the swim fit. Different cloth, different shrinkage, different conversation.
How a change is actually logged
The cleanest change we receive is a photo of the sample with three arrows and a number on each arrow. The slowest is a paragraph that says the neckline should be more refined and the leg more flattering. Second samples are normal. Unwritten second samples are how a ship date dies.
Related desks: legging fit, tennis dress, bikini lining, tech pack checklist.