June 2- 8, 2005

fine print

A Perfect Fit

by Nicole Sarrubbo

As I stand nervously in the 8- by 8-foot glass booth waiting to be Intellifitted, I silently curse myself for eating chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream last night. And for my brownie breakfast. After all, Intellifit is sizing me up. And in a few seconds it will print out the results.

Intellifit is a new fashion technology that uses radio waves to collect a person's measurements, which it then prints out for the shopper. The only painful part of the process is standing completely still for 10 seconds (it's harder than you think!) while a vertical "wand" circles around you. My printout lists my height (59.8), bust (32), waist (28), slightly below the waist (26), lowrise waist (28), hip (38), raw inseam (26), narrow waist (25.5) and total rise (25.6) — and also includes size recommendations for nine different styles of Levi's jeans. And based on measurements I'd taken recently for a trip down the aisle as a bridesmaid, the results are spot on.

The device's aim is to put an end to the long and fruitless hours spent squeezing into 20 different pairs of jeans under the notoriously unflattering fluorescent lights of in-store dressing rooms. According to Liz Bannister, marketing manager at the Horsham, Pa., company, Intellifit was designed with the hope of alleviating dressing room anxiety.

"Rather than taking 15 pairs of jeans in," Bannister said, "now you can take in just two or three that actually fit."

one smart booth: Intellifit can't tell what you ate for breakfast but, using airport security technology, it can pick you a nice pair of pants.

Bannister explains that Intellifit uses the same technologies the government uses in airports to scan passengers for weapons. That vertical wand sends out low-powered radio waves (less than 1/350th the strength of cell phone signals) that reflect off the moisture in a person's skin.

"We are trying to bring a standard to an industry that doesn't have a standard," says Bannister.

The company's founder and CEO, Albert Charpentier, likens it to "a search engine for clothing."

While Intellifit has the potential to make shoppers' lives much easier, the technology could be a boon for clothiers. Levi's reports that 60 percent of the customers that have used the device in their stores have gone on to purchase clothing.

It could also have a broader impact on the $180 billion clothing industry, as the sad fact is that a considerable number of consumers complain they can't find clothes that fit them. To help brands make better products, Intellifit anonymously aggregates customer measurements into a database, which companies then use to make clothes that will fit their target buyers better.

Charpentier cautions that Intellifit "doesn't necessarily tell you it's a perfect fit, but rather the size you are closest to."

Intellifit is currently in 11 locations nationally, including the Willow Grove Macy's, where customers can find out what sizes will fit them best in brands like Jones New York, Alfani, Liz Claiborne and I.N.C. Companies pay to have their results included in the printout. David's Bridal in Deptford, N.J., is also using the technology.

Charpentier says the ideal place to put the Intellifit booths are in malls where all the tenants share the cost of ownership and customers can find out their size in any brand they like. He says they are currently in negotiations to deploy Intellifit in six malls this summer, including one in the Philadelphia area.

But does it actually work? I won't lie — I was a little scared about the sizes and measurements Intellifit would give me, but now that I have my numbers, I love the idea of not having to take sizes 0, 1, 2, 4 and 6 (two pairs of each, in case one fits differently than the other) into a dressing room. The other day, when I went pants shopping at the Limited, I felt like a seasoned pro when I gave the sales associate my stats and she gave me a size — they were way too long, but they did fit everywhere else very nicely!

The bottom line: I'm willing to spend 10 seconds standing like a statue in the Intellifit booth if it'll save me endless hours in a dingy dressing room.