I want to give you an update on our non-gendered sizing project, as the scope has changed a bit since we began at the start of the year.

If you have read our recent blog post about it, you'll see that we've committed to removing any reference to gender on garments manufactured after January 1st, 2022 (or sooner!).  In order to do this properly, it means rebuilding and rethinking our sizes - not just relabelling the ones we currently have.

This is going to start with our Classic jersey, which we've already started some testing on.  As a note - in this summary, we are going to make some gender-based generalizations based on received feedback, which has been more gender-based.  Going forward we are going to put more effort into sourcing body shape/fit-based feedback. 

Fitted and Standard

We want to shift our customers to primarily wearing these 2 cuts.  Feedback on the Standard/Non-Binary Raglan is that most men wear the same size as they would in our Men's jersey without noticing a big difference. 

We need to do some testing on our Fitted jersey with men, so it will work for those on the smaller/slimmer size spectrum.

Relaxed

There's a gap in our sizing for people who are broader and shorter that isn't totally covered by the current Men's sizing.  The men's jerseys fit loose, but they get quite long as they get wider.  We're in the process of getting feedback from customers who need something bigger than our Men's jerseys.  Asking our customers what they want, instead of trying to design for them.  This fit will most likely see the most drastic change. 

Raglan Jersey

G brought up a good point - if we're making Standard sizing available in our Classic jersey, what would make customers want to order a Raglan?  We're going to try making the Raglan cut more distinct from the Classic. 

Our initial ideas were...

- tapering the sides, instead of a straight cut (since it has 2 side seams)

- adding a sweat wipe to the hem à la jerseys from early 2010s

Custom Sizing

The last part of this project is to expand our size coverage by adding some custom versions.  We talked about letting customers add or remove length per order, but think it's asking for too much trouble from production.

TBD once we nail the new fits, but this may mean getting a Short (-2" length) and Tall (+2" length) version of each size set up.

Next Steps

We want to do a thorough job of testing and sampling our new fits and ideas.  We'll be asking you for feedback, and may need help getting in contact with customers who would be good for testing.

This is our chance to answer the question "What else can your jersey do?"  Everything's on the table - are there more features than a sweat wipe that you think would be a great addition?  And as always, any and all feedback is welcome!

Thanks, 

Katie

*****

Have Feedback?

Have any feedback for us - suggestions, constructive criticism, new ideas? Or do you want to be part of this process by helping us test new styles? Get in touch with Katie - Katie at vcultimate dot com.