Zip it Up

7A – Testing the Hypothesis

This is an idea I had last year while working in AmeiCorps when one of my co-workers couldn't close his jacket. The zipper didn't quite reach because he was heavier with a shorter frame. If he had gone up a size the sleeves and torso would be too long, but with the current size he would have to hold his breath to use the zipper. To solve this I came up with the idea of a special strip of jacket with zippers on both sides that you could use to extend the waist by zipping it into the jacket on either side. Adding what is basically a extension to the torso width of the jacket this way would be cheaper and easier than getting a custom fitted jacket. If that was hard to visualize, below is the poor drawing I did during one of my interviews to explain it visually.

 

Some larger people have trouble finding jackets that fit their waistline without being too large for their proportions.

• The who: Heavier people
• The what: Have trouble finding jackets that fit their waistline
• The why:  Going up a size can risk the jacket too large for their proportions

This idea was based on the experience of one of my friends so I had to look at how applicable it was to more than just that one person.

• Testing the who: I think this product is still mainly for heavier people, but maybe could be used by anyone who needs to adjust their jacket in this way.

• Testing the what: This opportunity is fairly specific because the customer would have to be having difficulties with their jacket size but not want to go up one size, and to have a jacket with zippers. I think this zipper extension idea might be useful to some other products for example I could see luggage companies selling custom ones that would let you expand the size of a bag.

• Testing the why: Other than the size issue I described out before, I could see someone using a jacket too small for them as a style choice, the jacket is not made in a larger size, or for younger people they could have outgrown a favorite jacket.

Interview #1: Michael, student

• Had experienced difficulty with finding the right size of clothes before, mainly pants
• Thought he had maybe heard of something similar before (worried me) but then was unsure. I could not find anything like it afterwards.
• Thought the idea had value and said anything that helped clothes fit better was useful 

Interview #2 Matt, student

• Had experienced difficulty with finding the right size of clothes before, mainly pants
• Had not heard of this before
• Saw it as useful
• Questioned where it would be sold (by the stores that sell the jackets? online?)

Interview #3 Ilaisah, student

• Had experienced some difficulty with finding the right size of clothes before
• Had not heard of this before
• Saw it as useful
• Asked about what colors would be available and brought up the idea of using this to accessorize a jacket even without problems in fitting

Interview #4 Dulce, student

• She had experienced this exact problem before and said that her mom used to sew and customize sweaters or jackets for her that didn't quite fit.
• I had trouble explaining what the product would look like at first (hence the bad drawing)
• She liked that this would be easier than fixing the jacket herself and cheaper than having it done or getting a custom fitted jacket. 

Interview #5 Adrian, student

• Had experience difficulty with finding the right size of clothes before, mainly pants
• Had not heard of this before
• Saw it as useful, and liked that it was a simple solution
• He was interested in this class after my explanation so maybe I inspired a future entrepreneur already

After interviewing five people, I see that the opportunity I found is most likely a new idea that some people would find useful. I clearly have to think about the details of what the extension would be called, what it would be made of, how I will size it to standard jackets, and how it would be sold. I still think this is a useful invention and am intrigued by making something for a smaller target audience when compare to the last product idea for this class which was basically for anyone.