Whatever your proportions, finding clothes that fit perfectly is a very rare experience. Successes are usually followed by much cheering and bulk-buying of the one thing that sits just right.
LikeAGlove promises to solve this age-old problem with smart leggings that will match you up with your perfect pair of jeans. These measure the exact contours of your legs to get an accurate reading of your size, and then connect to an app that scans their list of retailers for a match.
The smartwear was created in response to the boom in online shopping for clothes (according to ONS research, 64% of 25 to 34-year-olds now buy clothes online). But convenience can come at the expense of fit when you're not able to try before you buy, so LikeAGlove brings the changing room into your home.
According to CEO Simon Cooper, it will mean that "everyone now has access to a personal tailor".
The launch price is US$49.99 (around £35), going up to US$99.99 (around £65) later. The service is simple: customers pull on the tech-laden Lycra offerings, sync with the app, choose their jeans from the options LikeAGlove selects for them, and then order direct from the retailers.
To make sure its recommended fits and styles really do measure up, LikeAGlove is employing people to manually measure and test thousands of pairs of jeans a month to ensure the sizing information is accurate and not just from some outdated sizing chart.
The upshot should be jeans that really fit, and less time spent waiting in queues to return not-quite-right purchases.
At the moment, the app offers a selection of the most popular high street brands, but LikeAGlove hopes to expand the range over time. While we weren't able to try out the product ourselves, we did get a demonstration of the measuring feature.
The service is likely to appeal to middle or high-end consumers – especially in Japan, where the buying public love high-tech shopping experiences but have very little time to go out and shop.
However, there could be shades of the weighing scales here: some women would simply prefer not to know their exact body size, while for others the potential for obsessive monitoring could exacerbate eating disorders or body dysmorphic disorder.
There's also something a bit indulgent about buying an expensive pair of leggings that you can never wear out to simply enable you to spend even more money. However, if you live far away from the shops or a post office, it could save you a lot of time and effort in the long run.
Just remember – this is one pair of leggings you can't throw in the wash.
The LikeAGlove leggings are available in the UK and US now.
