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Clothes Horse launches, & attempts to find you a better fit.

February 23, 2012 By Joe | Heads up: Buying via our links may result in us getting a commission. Also, we take your privacy rights seriously. Head here to learn more.

Clothes Horse – The next evolution to finding good fits online?

Say I’m looking to buy this light blue dress shirt from Bonobos (sidenote: I’m not.  $98 is too rich for me).

If I was left to my own devices, I’d buy one in my somewhat standard neck & sleeve size of 15.5×33.

But instead I see this “what size am I?” button.  I click it.

A box pops up.  It asks me a few questions, and after I answer, this box suggests that instead of my 15.5×33, I consider sizing up to a 16×34.

That fellas, is Clothes Horse.

Clothes Horse is the next step in trying to deliver clothing that consistently fits to customers who prefer to shop online.  Key word is “trying.”  They officially launched today, and so far they’ve got just a few retailers using their product.  Bonobos is one of them.  The new Modasuite product Frank & Oak is another.

We all know that a pair of Brooks Brothers pants won’t fit like a pair of Old Navy pants, which in turn won’t fit like a pair of Bonobos pants.  Clothes Horse is attempting to cut out the trial and error of getting to know certain brands by providing us, the customers, with an easy to use pop-up interface that asks a few questions, then spits out a suggested size based on you responses.

Clothes Horse trying to help me pick a shirt size on Bonobos.

Initial reaction from this end is that the Clothes Horse questions are reminiscent of how Blank Label and ratio/clothing attempt to get you a perfect fit.  Clothes Horse asks you some questions about your body type as well as what brand of shirt fits you best.  According to them, they’ve got “Human body scan data across thousands of men and women” as well as “key measurement data across brands”  which when combined with their algorithms, a suggested size is produced.

Welcome to the future.  I know.  Heavy.

But is it that simple?  From the ten brands listed in the “favorite fitting brand” section, Banana Republic is the closest for me, but B.R. shirts aren’t spot on through the body.  The arms seems right though, and short of a custom shirt, nothing really is going to be perfect.  I leave B.R. as my favorite and says it “fits well.”

Clothes Horse suggests a 16×34 in the Bonobos shirt, which seems a little large & long in the arms.  Clothes Horse reassures me that “The sizes run small, so you might see a larger size than expected” and that it should fit “just right” all around.  We’ll see.  Got the $98 (ouch) Clothes Horse suggested sized shirt on the way.  More next week.

Thoughts on these guys?  Do you depend on the comments of reviewers to determine if you should size up or down?  Do you think Clothes Horse is fighting an uphill battle against too many individual body types?  Leave it all below.

Filed Under: Clothing Tagged With: clothes horse, online shopping

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Comments

  1. Nilay Modi says

    February 23, 2012 at 2:21 AM

    we request demo?

  2. Guest says

    February 23, 2012 at 2:44 AM

    Interesting – cant wait to see it in action 

  3. Adam says

    February 23, 2012 at 5:27 AM

    LOVE that movie. Heavy.

  4. Jessy Diamond says

    February 23, 2012 at 5:35 AM

    I wonder if it will work with non-standard sized guys like me. I bet I’ll get something like : «Neck fits correctly, body is very loose, sleeves are too long».

  5. Nicholas Crawford says

    February 23, 2012 at 6:27 AM

    I had this idea a few months ago and wondered what it would take to create it. 

    In many ways, I would prefer to see the raw data, but I can imagine how they would consider that proprietary. Still, they ask you to take a big leap of faith which may be hard to accept.

    Of all sites, it seems Bonobos would need the most sizing help!

  6. antonio moore says

    February 23, 2012 at 7:03 AM

     Jessy, I am in the same boat as you. I started to buy more slim fit shirts at a size smaller than what I thought I wore. I also bought collar extenders online, they really helped with my dress shirts.

  7. Bennynojets says

    February 23, 2012 at 7:10 AM

    Good idea.  I hope it catches on and expands.

  8. Bennynojets says

    February 23, 2012 at 7:10 AM

    Good idea.  I hope it catches on and expands.

  9. Electrogent says

    February 23, 2012 at 7:21 AM

    I’m interested to see how this improves over time, even if it’s not perfect to start.

  10. Roth S says

    February 23, 2012 at 9:10 AM

    great idea. kinda upset I didn’t invent this!

  11. Geoff says

    February 23, 2012 at 9:53 AM

    I agree that there is some significant difference between one brand’s slim-fit shirt and another. A big grid showing me actual measurements of different brands might be a little more accurate. Something else to consider is that brands change their sizes every year. This seems to be something clothing companies are reluctant to put on their website. 

  12. zerostyle says

    February 23, 2012 at 10:12 AM

    Always thought about this idea, but am assuming that getting it right will be near impossible.

    User inputs will vary based on their preference (some want slimmer than others).

  13. Weston says

    February 23, 2012 at 10:13 AM

    I agree, some sort of graphical display would be appreciated, just to establish fit trends so that people could understand them for themselves, rather than just having some suggestion spit out by the Clothes Horse.  Great idea though.  I think a big improvement for Clothes Horse would be to enable users to provide fit feedback.  For instance, Joe was suggested a 16×34 (fit on Bonobos shirts are super wacky, so that might actually be the right size for him), but it would be great if he could go back and give feedback, positive or negative, on how accurate the fit was.  Strikes me as the sort of device that could “learn” as more and more people use it.

    I would be curious to know what their business model looks like.  Subscription service for businesses to help reduce customer service & shipping issues due to more accurate fits??

  14. Paul U. says

    February 23, 2012 at 10:14 AM

    I just tried this “what size am I” app and it had me at shirt neck size 15.5.
    I used to wear a 15.5 when I was 25lbs heavier, but now I’ve been wearing 14.5 which fits perfectly.
    Trying something on at a brick & mortar store is usually the best bet.

  15. Geoff says

    February 23, 2012 at 10:40 AM

    Bonobo’s fit descriptions are rediculous in the first place.

    “Flattering and not too tight or too lose”. That can mean a million things to a million people.  C’mon, man.

    If they overviewed all of their fits and defined them well, there would be less amiguity and need for this service in the first place.

    For example, I know in J Crew clothing the classic fit is perfect for me. I know the regular fit is too loose and the urban slim is too tight for me. They define it and it helps consolidate what I’m looking at. Those fits cross over from their wool slacks to their chinos.

    A little organization would behoove Bonobos and their shopping experience.

  16. TallEnglishman says

    February 23, 2012 at 10:56 AM

    Banana Republic XLT fits me perfectly.  Tall isn’t an option in the clothes horse…

  17. Charles Martel says

    February 23, 2012 at 10:59 AM

    I like it, it’s a good idea. Probably a great idea, but I’d have to test it out first.

    There’s a simpler, if somewhat inferior, solution, but retailers have been too boneheaded to do it. Just post the model’s sizes and measurements (chest, hips, shoulders, circumference across navel or iliac crest, etc). Or the garment’s. Have a table with a suit’s stated size, and its shoulder measurements for each size (eg 18″ for the 40L, 18.5″ for the 42L, etc)

    One of my biggest pet peeves is how retailers will pin back garments, especially shirts, or otherwise alter them. Their clothes are made for fat people, and their models obviously aren’t fat, so their clothes would look terrible on the model unaltered. So they pin back or tailor clothes that customers would never actually alter, like sport shirts or sweaters. 

    You can see this on in-store mannequins too. Some people might say this is just simply presentation, but I consider it deceptive false advertising. If it looks good on a shapely mannequin, it should look good on a *real* shapely body, unaltered.

    And somewhat OT, but I’d love it if shirtmakers placed the cuff buttons so that the cuff doesn’t flop around. These buttons are made to accomodate the dude at the 99th percentile with 8.5″ wrists. I’ve gotten a few bespoke shirts through thrifting, and it’s just an amazing feeling to have the cuff *tightly* fastened to your wrist.

  18. Geoff says

    February 23, 2012 at 11:24 AM

    I agree with your sentiment in regards to posting measurements. The pinning back also frustrates me. How a shirt looks on a model, even if you are in similar shape, is often an illusion.

    On the cuff buttons issue, the Brooks Brothers Extra Slim Fit shirts have tighter cuff shirts which I thought I liked…until I wore a wristwatch.

  19. Giantandre says

    February 23, 2012 at 11:28 AM

    Looks like a good idea for ‘normal sized’ people. As a tall person (6’9″) I’m usually out of luck with these sorts of things.

  20. MrGinghamShirts says

    February 23, 2012 at 11:38 AM

    Just played around with it. It’s definitely neat as hell, though there’s not a lot of shirt brand options to choose from when it comes to a shirt that fits you best. I’d like to see them expand their dataset to include shirts from more brands even if they’re not the most chic. 

  21. John says

    February 23, 2012 at 8:43 PM

    I prefer the method that Zappos and Amazon.com Prime use which is free shipping and returns.  I call this the “virtual dressing room.”  If I went to a brick and mortar store, I could try on the stuff and if it didn’t fit, I could just leave it on the rack (if I’m a good customer) or leave it in the dressing room (if I’m a bad customer).  Online stores don’t have the expense of sales staff and stocking a showroom, so I feel the least they can do is pay to get the item to me and if I don’t like it, pay for the return.  It definitely keeps me coming back to them.  And if a customer abuses the privilege, they can always refuse.   Also, exchanges are silly.  Just do return/refund and order the item the way you prefer.  You’ll get the item faster, they’ll get they’re money with less processing, so everybody wins.  Cheers!

  22. Soleful Strut says

    February 24, 2012 at 8:27 AM

     “to help reduce customer service & shipping issues due to more accurate fits”

    What would help them reduce shipping costs & vastly increase customer satisfaction is if all retailers actually used standardized measurements for S, M, L, etc.  And if pants actually measured what their label states.  But that is far too logical & would not cater to those with low self-esteem who like to deceive themselves about what size they really are.

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