Cricket Lee wants to spare women from ever trying on a pair of pants in a dressing room again.
After five years of research and measuring thousands of women’s bodies, Lee created Fitlogic, a system that fits women for shape and age as well as size.
Starting this fall, Fit Technologies Inc. is licensing its fit patterns to designers, charging 3 percent of the sales on items using the fit technology. Lee, chairman and chief executive officer, projects it will be a $30 million business within three years.
“It’s a very democratic system,” said Sherry Cassin, of the designer-priced line Cassin, one of Fitlogic’s first customers. “It’s totally brand and channel agnostic. Cricket is not selling design or style or even taste. She is selling the technology for the fit and has done all the research and development, which is what costs companies a lot of money. I never have to fit another pant in my life.”
International Women’s Apparel, which owns Austin Reed, is another client.
Lee plans to address three ages of women — teens, 20s and 30-plus — with both tops and bottoms, but is starting with the bottom half of those over 30. Bottoms for women in their 20s and teens will follow in 2008, along with tops.
Lee divided women into three body types based on where the curves fall. For type one, the widest point is at the top of the hip. For type two, it is mid-hip. For type three, it is at the top of the thigh.
“Whereas 80 percent of fit models are type twos or hourglasses, less than half the population is,” Lee said.
Women can go on fitlogic.net (or from a pop-up on Fitlogic’s partners’ Web sites), enter their measurements, find their Fitlogic size, and be connected with brands that carry their Fitlogic size. Lee, a size 18, carries her fullness at her waist and upper hip and is thus a type one, so she would be an 18.1.
“Women think there is something wrong with them if they can’t find something that fits,” Lee said. “I am doing this as a consumer advocate.”
Related Articles
You May Also Like
Lee said she hopes the technology will reduce online returns, increase sellouts, and bolster shopping in general, as women become acquainted with the Fitlogic system and know that they can find pants that will consistently fit. She plans to spend at least $2 million this fall on marketing and educating consumers on the Fitlogic concept, which is also explained on hangtags with the Fitlogic label.