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I did this 12 years ago. Nobody really wants this. I would advise against it. Men have the same problem, btw. Size 32/32 jeans at Old Navy are not equivalent t

I did this 12 years ago. Nobody really wants this. I would advise against it. Men have the same problem, btw. Size 32/32 jeans at Old Navy are not equivalent to size 32/32 Levi's 501s or size 32/32 Diesel "skinny jeans" and so on and so forth.

dkokelley 16y ago
Could you elaborate? I'd love to see what you did, what worked, and what didn't. Did you have a website set up? Is it still up?
- maxawaytoolong 16y ago
  The fundamental flaw of your idea is that you think the way women shop for jeans is "broken". It is not. Women like to go to the store and try on clothing with their friends. It's also not just jeans... it's t-shirts, bras, shoes, coats, blouses, etc. Anyway, I made a website for a large PANTS manufacturer. You'd measure your hips, waist, inseam and then put it into a web form and get a custom pair. After much promotion, we had an amazingly low number of customers. Like.... less than 50... for a site that we charged $300,000 to build. The men's version did a little better... but not much. The website is no longer available. Like the Kin and Google Wave, it was put out to pasture a few short months after going live. You could try it again but I don't think shopping proclivities have changed much.
  - dkokelley 16y ago
    Thanks for the info. Do you think that the failure might be due to the online shopping landscape of 12 years ago? I know that in 1998, buying things online was the 'new' thing, and there were lots of concerns about security. Has the mainstream acceptance of online shopping progressed to the point where people are willing to buy clothes without trying them on? You accredited the low acceptance of the site you worked on to the theory that women want a shopping 'experience' possibly with friends and lots of physical connection (trying things on, feeling the materials, etc.). Are women still as interested in this, given how their relationship with the internet has evolved over the last 12 years? Thanks for your input. I really appreciate it.
    - maxawaytoolong 16y ago
      Has the mainstream acceptance of online shopping progressed to the point where people are willing to buy clothes without trying them on? Yes, but you need a good return policy. Expect a lot of returns. However, I still don't think women want custom jeans.

dkokelley 16y ago

Could you elaborate? I'd love to see what you did, what worked, and what didn't. Did you have a website set up? Is it still up?

maxawaytoolong 16y ago
The fundamental flaw of your idea is that you think the way women shop for jeans is "broken". It is not. Women like to go to the store and try on clothing with their friends. It's also not just jeans... it's t-shirts, bras, shoes, coats, blouses, etc. Anyway, I made a website for a large PANTS manufacturer. You'd measure your hips, waist, inseam and then put it into a web form and get a custom pair. After much promotion, we had an amazingly low number of customers. Like.... less than 50... for a site that we charged $300,000 to build. The men's version did a little better... but not much. The website is no longer available. Like the Kin and Google Wave, it was put out to pasture a few short months after going live. You could try it again but I don't think shopping proclivities have changed much.
- dkokelley 16y ago
  Thanks for the info. Do you think that the failure might be due to the online shopping landscape of 12 years ago? I know that in 1998, buying things online was the 'new' thing, and there were lots of concerns about security. Has the mainstream acceptance of online shopping progressed to the point where people are willing to buy clothes without trying them on? You accredited the low acceptance of the site you worked on to the theory that women want a shopping 'experience' possibly with friends and lots of physical connection (trying things on, feeling the materials, etc.). Are women still as interested in this, given how their relationship with the internet has evolved over the last 12 years? Thanks for your input. I really appreciate it.
  - maxawaytoolong 16y ago
    Has the mainstream acceptance of online shopping progressed to the point where people are willing to buy clothes without trying them on? Yes, but you need a good return policy. Expect a lot of returns. However, I still don't think women want custom jeans.