Forget S/M/L — mens’ tailored fashion comes with up to 50 size options

Two startups — Stantt and Threadmason — are hoping to put an end to ill-fitting men's shirts by offering a wide range of sizes and shapes to replace the standard small, medium and large options.

With consumers turning to the web to buy clothes, e-retailers are continually looking for ways to make sure they can get items at the right fit without trying them on. So far, these efforts have been aimed for the most part at women — take the InStyle Essentials range, for example, which lets customers browse tops by bra size. Now two startups — Stantt and Threadmason — are hoping to put an end to ill-fitting men’s shirts by offering a wide range of sizes and shapes to replace the standard small, medium and large options.

Based in New Jersey, Stantt has gathered data about the differing shapes of mens’ bodies using 3D modeling in order to develop a system for easily creating clothing that fits, to order. Customers are usually asked to pick one size option out of a limited range from XS to XXL when buying online, or else shell out a premium and travel to a tailor to get measured properly. Stantt customers simply enter in their chest, waist and sleeve length and the startup will automatically pick the best shirt shape and size out of a range of 50 in order to best suit their needs. The company recently raised USD 120,000 through a Kickstarter campaign to fund their first batch of shirts, priced at USD 70 each.

Also hoping to get funded through Indiegogo, Threadmason is another young company that is challenging the generic sizing of mass produced garments for men. Using the same three measurements, the New York-based startup has created 24 proprietary sizes that offer varying lengths and cuts for the torso and sleeves. Threadmason t-shirts come at the more affordable USD 34 and are available in both crew and V-neck designs.

Are there other product manufacturers that could benefit by giving greater choice to online buyers?

Spotted by Murray Orange, written by Springwise