Question regardng meshes and 'modelled from scratch' 

My general workflow is to import a 'modelling dummy' of the figure the clothes are being prepared for and build around that, without using any of its actual geometry.

In a lot of cases I will also, where it works with the project, try to lay out my polys as close to the origional model as possible. (My thought, not sure if its true or not, was that it would possibly rig better if the poly's were more similar to the base model)

I hadnt thought either of those practices would pose a problem as I am building the model myself one poly at a time, but in a way it is copying at least something of the origional figure artists work.  Hopefully if these arent ok practices somebody will let me know!