California Apparel News

The quest to make a better bra is never ending, and San Francisco fashion tech company True & Co. believes that it has designed the big data way of making a bra with a spectacular fit.

On June 10, the company introduced TrueSpectrum, an algorithm-driven method of sizing bras. TrueSpectrum is shaped by more than 500,000 fit quizzes with women who offered information about their body types, said Michelle Lam, the co-founder of True & Co., who formerly worked as a Bain & Co. investor in e-commerce businesses.

“Data-driven design is an entirely new concept that’s just beginning to change the way that physical products are designed, engineered and produced,” Lam said about her company, which started business in 2012, when Lam became frustrated about finding a bra that fit. In the spring of 2012, Lam raised $2.5 million in a first round of funding for True & Co. from venture capital companies such as Crosslink, Cowboy Ventures, SoftTechVC and VegasTechFund.

One reason for poor bra sizing, Lam contends, is that many bra makers stop their sizing efforts with the cup, which, they explain, merely measures the base of the breast, not the entire breast. Other bra fitters did not take into account the curvature of the breast or if there was more weight at the bottom of the breast. “When you wear a bra for 12 hours, where does it bulge?” Lam asked. “It transcends the whole measuring-tape business.”

The bra is one of the toughest parts of the body to find clothing with a good fit, said Linda Becker, who has run a New York store called Linda’s Bra Salon and has built a national reputation as a bra-fitting expert. “Trust me, it’s not easy for most women to find the right size and style on their own,” Becker said. “If a bra is one band size or one cup size off, it’s completely uncomfortable. One band size too big means the whole bra won’t fit right and is sliding around and pinching here and digging there. One cup size too small and the underwire is crushing you and it’s hard to breathe.”

True & Co. has developed bras for many shapes and anticipates developing more. “The idea is to build a design and architecture that is flexible. Spandex is a best friend,” she said. Designer Nikki Dekker, formerly of The Lake & Stars label, signed on as True & Co.’s creative director in 2013. Currently, the label’s bras are only sold through its direct-to-consumer channel. Retail price points range from $44 to $68 for bras. On June 10, it also introduced a new basics and underwear line called Uniform by Nikki Dekker, which uses the TrueSpectrum sizing method.