You're probably better with a tape measure than I am. I'd have trouble putting a tape measure on my shoulders and positioning it in the right place — my shoulders are rounded, not angular. I'd probably screw up most of the other measurements as well, and I already have a tape measure. What about the ≈99.9%* of guys who don't? This sounds like a service for them.
* I made this number up just now, may be off by an order of magnitude or two
I used the metal, rolled up one, mostly used for DIY stuff. It worked :) (definitely wasn't precise though) You can also use one in any shop with shirts. I don't think it's that big deal really.
> Naysayers told him that when customers input their measurements, they often made mistakes — the idea wouldn’t scale.
> Asking about waist size was insufficient, for example, because it gave no indication of the size of one’s midsection. So Skerritt added a question about how far one’s belly protruded. Other questions were too confusing, like one about how T-shirts fit around your chest and shoulders.
1. There are dozens of fitted clothes manufacturers. More every year. It doesn't look like they fail, or not scale. I see almost only positive reactions about them on twitter.
2. Of course trivial measurements will not be enough. The article gives the example of midsection. But that's not other services ask for. Tailorstore asks for either common t-shirt size, 2-3 measurements, or if you actually want a fitted shirts, you provide: neck, chest, waist, hip, seat, shirt length, shoulder width, arm length, wrist. No need to ask about hanging bellies - just ask for measurements.
When they ask extra questions they seem to derive some ratios between basic sizes. Maybe it works, maybe not... but did they actually find out that taking own measurement doesn't work? I ordered some tailored shirts online, gave all my measurements and couldn't be happier with the result. Are the extra questions actually worth it? Maybe they did verify that, but it's not in the article, and I find that really annoying - here's the solution to what people told us will be the problem, we're not going to tell you if we verified that it is a problem.