MentionIt
What happens when we mention unmentionables?
Every few months ads for a new bra company hits my feed; one that promises to use some new tech to finally fix the many industry issues and provide all women with comfortable, well fitting bras, that they'll rave about. These companies never make significant change, and rarely stay afloat for long.
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I've long held a love of lingerie and a desire for transparency, variety, and an exact fit in the fashion industry. I like the idea of tech helping push us to new heights with lingerie; but I know lingerie, and I know sewing. Sewing is old school technology and we already know how to make beautiful, comfortable lingerie for any body. Most companies just don't have the resources to provide for everyone on the budget an average shopper can afford.
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So I set out to design a digital product that could help fill in the gaps, building communities, empowering lingerie wearers, and making indie lingerie brands more visible in order to give lingerie lovers access to well fitting lingerie for a diverse set of bodies and styles.
Empathizing with Users
Building User Profiles
What types of people purchase lingerie?
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I built three personas to help me better understand users.
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The first, while not a huge purchaser as an individual, represents a large secor of the market; she is shopping only for her basic necessities.
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The second is an exotic dancer. While lingerie brands love to distance themselves from sex workers, the reality is that this demographic has a lot of buying power, and is making frequent purchases.
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The third is is is a big fan of lingerie who makes many purchases for the love and fun of it. This group is not only a large part of purchasing lingerie, but also leads the conversation about the industry. She is also part of one of many communities commonly underserved by lingerie retailers.
"I only need the essentials, but I like finding cute bras and underwear."
Maria
Age: 26
Education: Bachelors
Hometown: Los Angeles
Family: Lives with one roommate and a small dog.
Occupation: Computer Engineer
Maria spends her free time swimming, going out with friends, and doing yoga. She likes to browse clothes and intimates online, but doesn't feel like she can purchase intimates that aren't for everyday wear.
Goals
Frustrations
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To buy cute everyday bras, undies and swimwear.
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Finding a comfortable and flattering fit.
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Stay in style and get good deals.
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To feel good about her purchase.
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She worries about getting a good fit when shopping online, and isn't confident in her ability to measure herself.
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Wants her lingerie to be sustainably sourced.
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Unsure if cuts that look good on the models will look good on her.
Maria's Moodboard
Image Credits: Unsplash & Pinterest
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"Dancing can be hard on your clothes; and I need to reliably buy lots of different sets that are flattering, fun functional, and decent quality."
Jessica
Age: 32
Education: Some Undergraduate
Hometown: Miami, Flordia
Family:One small cat.
Occupation: Exotic Dancer
Jessica is an Exotic Dancer from florida. She spends her spare time working out, mastering dance moves, going out for drinks with friends, and knitting hats for her small cat while binge watching latest Netflix hit.
Goals
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Reliably get the same size and quality lingerie.
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Buy in bulk for deals or save money on sets.
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Get sets that fit well and flatter her body type.
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Look fly AF for work.
Frustrations
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When the product is not what she expects.
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Finding a set is out of stock in her size after selecting it.
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Pop up banners and other glitchy web issues that waste her time.
Jessica's Moodboard
Image Credits: Unsplash & Pinterest
Zoey
Age: 42
Education: PhD
Hometown: New York, NY
Family: Wife, two kids.
Occupation: Homemaker
" I love lingerie and looking fabulous is a priority! But it is so hard to find things that are made for my body."
Zoey is a trans woman who spends her time as a homemaker, looking after two children, a household, and an extensive garden. She spends her spare time getting out, connecting with others, and getting all dressed up.
Goals
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To make purchases without having to do extensive research on which brands will fit.
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Looking stylish and making a statement.
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Occasionally splurging on luxury items.
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Having fun shopping!
Frustrations
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Finding enough style options that fit her anatomy.
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Bad return policies.
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Finding brands that are LGBTQ+ friendly.
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Poor quality sets that don't hold up to frequent nights out.
Zoey's Moodboard
Image Credits: Unsplash & Pinterest
What drives lingerie shoppers online habits?
When I asked a group of real people about their online lingerie purchasing habits, the results were decisive.
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Everyone was concerned about fit. 100% of users who said they don't purchase online cited inability to try things on and ascertain a good fit as the reason.
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Users who did shop online cited fit as well; it can be very difficult for plus size and petite women to find lingerie that fit at a brick and mortar, which typically caters to the largest common denominator. 50% of users who preferred to shop online did so because what they needed was unavailable in person.
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Size issues are so pervasive in the bra industry, that many people and companies believe that 80% of women are wearing the wrong size bra.
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Why don't users shop online?
Fit Concerns
100%
Why do users shop online?
Good Return Policies
17%
Ease/Practicality
33%
More Options Online
50%
What else do users need?
When asked about shopping priorities and frustrations, users revealed many more features they look for while shopping for lingerie, such as:
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Good return policies
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Effective organization and filtering with categories and search.
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Sustainability and environmental friendliness.
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Sizing Options; including plus size ranges that don't compromise on looks and petit size options.
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Clear and detailed sizing information.
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Models with similar body types.
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Trans-friendly fits for womens and mens designs.
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Gender neutral designs for non-binary folk.
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Mens options.
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Variety of products.
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Good reviews.
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Products that are flattering and comfortable.
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So how can we address so many issues at once, and help a huge, diverse body of peoples?
What does it boil down to?
Information.
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The majority of user problems came down to not having enough information about the purchases they want to make. Whether it's on sizing, sustainability, brand ethics, specific measurements, or product quality- it's all about information.
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MentionIt is a tool I conceived for shoppers to share vital information with each other on a platform built for organizing reviews, questions, and discussions about lingerie to be navigated casually as a social media platform or specifically as a shopping platform.
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With MentionIt, users would be able to:
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See reviews by real people with the same sizes and body types as themselves.
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View everything available on the market without having to jump between websites.
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Bookmark specific items for later purchase directly from the original brand.
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Create groups as niche communities to band together and share what items work for them.
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Hold the industry accountable by sharing research on company ethics and encouraging purchases from ethical brands.
Competitive Audits
How is the market currently addressing user needs?
Let's take a look at some similar products:
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Thinx
Lingerie Addicts
Google Shopping
Yandy
Poshmark
Thinx is a lingerie brand with a history of innovation. They were an integral part of the shift to reusable period products and are holding firm as one of the first and biggest brands to make period panties on a larger scale.
Successes
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Website is easy to navigate with a modern feel.
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Tone and branding is consistent; friendly, bright, inclusive, body-positive, and forward thinking.
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Models are diverse and viewable in multiple sizes for each product.
Drawbacks
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Margins are a bit small for a laptop screen, making their desktop experience feel a little overwhelming.
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Absorbency information outside of 'know your flow' quiz is difficult to find.
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Limited products.
Thinx includes the model size and measurements, with many models wearing a L (the average American Woman's size) or XL.
Reviews are detailed with a variety of relevant sections to fill out; and users do fill them out because Thinx promotes sustainability, ethics, and a life changing product.
Cora Harrington launched The Lingerie Addict; the world's largest Lingerie Blog. She is also the Author of In Intimate Detail: How to Choose, Wear, and Love Lingerie.
The Lingerie Addict stepped in to answer questions and talk about intimates when few others were. Anyone looking for information on intimates ended up on her blog eventually.
Lingerie Addicts is a Facebook community created and managed by Cora Harrington. This group is a safe space where women, nonbinary, genderqueer and trans lingerie lovers can come together to discuss lingerie. While not an independent product or platform, it is one of the most direct competitors for MentionIt.
Successes
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A onc of a kind space for people to safely share about a topic often seen as taboo.
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Extremely well moderated.
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Facebook supplies benefits of a big tech team providing functionality, as well as easy access to a large, built in audience.
Drawbacks
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Facebook hosting platform is not built for organizing information for later retrieval.
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No individual privacy settings.
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Not accessible for cis men.
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Not for organizing reviews of specific items and brands.
Google Shopping is an all encompassing marketplace where you can search items on google, get millions of results, and compare prices and shops. Its unique value lies in the idea that any item you could google would show up on google shopping.
Successes
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Has an abundance of items available on search.
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Ability to search for items from multiple brands and shops.
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Direct price comparison for multiple retailers.
Drawbacks
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Filtering through millions of items is overwhelming.
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Shops must submit themselves to be included, so many options can't be found on google shopping.
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Search results are not as specific as regular search results, disappointing googlers.
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No shopping by categories.
Google shopping is convenient and waiting right next to every web search, but it remains unhelpful when shopping for certain items.
While there appears to be many filters, searching a broad topic reveals extremely limited filter options-like only 2 materials options and 3 categories. For comparison, Victoria's Secret has 8 categories on their main menu. The material options are also confusing. For example; lace is a fabric, and silk is a fiber. To get even worse, when silk is selected, there are no silk results on the entire first page.
Many categories allow users to easily sift through items to find what they're looking for.
A full description for each product with many product images gives shoppers more confidence in the brand.
Yandy is a lingerie retailer partnered with Honey Birdette and Playboy. It is well known for a large selection of goods at cheap prices. Their emphasis is on sexy, flirty styles and the ability for customers to try them all.
Successes
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A huge selection of a variety of lingerie.
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A clear well organized website with a search function and many clearly labeled categories.
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Product descriptions are clear on what sets include.
Drawbacks
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Cheap products don't work for everyday wear.
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Pop ups are large and obnoxious.
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Limited filter options.
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Environment is not particularly diverse, progressive or body positive.
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Fiber content and other basic info are not listed.
Poshmark is a second hand marketplace with an emphasis on fashion. It also carries social media aspects, like heart-ing and commenting on posts and following other shoppers.
Successes
Drawbacks
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Shopping is easy is many categories and filters.
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A variety of goods from many different brands and even discontinued items are available.
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Built in easy haggling.
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Fosters a sense of community with following 'fellow poshers' and curating closets.
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Home feed is cluttered and confusing with many types of posts that are difficult to categorize and understand.
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Non shopping features can be hard to follow.
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Poshmark takes large fees, bumping prices up and decreasing sales.
Posts require tagging, categorizing, and uploading a variety of images.
Comments, hearts, seller profiles, and cute language like 'love notes' give Poshmark a 'shopping with friends' feel.
Listings for each Posher to describe themselves gives a personable, community tone.
Ideation
Creating an easy to use platform where users can socialize, learn, and shop.
Site Mapping
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Brainstorming
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Refining Mobile Concepts
Desktop Sketches
Refining Designs
User Studies informed development from wireframes to high fidelity prototypes.
Mobile
Desktop
Explore MentionIt
Walk through the mobile and desktop designs.
Mobile
Desktop
What's Next?
MentionIt has a lot of room for growth.
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The wardrobe feature could be expanded to help users decide what to wear and keep track of what is in their closet.
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A used marketplace could be introduced, generating revenue and encouraging users to give their garments a second life.
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Users could be encouraged to write their own articles, dive further into discussion, and bring more meaning to lingerie as an art form.
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MentionIt could expand to other sectors of the fashion industry, and eventually move beyond to many shopping sectors.
Mentioning the Possibilities
A social platform built for discussing and reviewing purchases isn't only useful for lingerie. After becoming established in a niche sector with a loyal set of users, MentionIt could expand significantly.
While clothing would be a natural next step, MentionIt could evolve into a place where people can talk about everything- from art lovers showing off their collections to homeowners finding the best appliances.
Why go to Amazon or Google Shopping when there is a platform that provides all the offerings of both platforms and more, with the authenticity of real people behind them?