Data-based lingerie e-tailer True & Co. has made a name for itself with a Fit Quiz that matches bra recommendations far beyond just a band or cup size. And with a new project, founder Michelle Lam is covering more uncharted territory in intimate apparel.
This month, the San Francisco-based company debuts a “Try-On Truck” that will travel the country with personalized bra fittings. This is True & Co.’s first foray into physical retail, and it converges four trends in one; part pop-up shop and fit shop, the truck is Lam’s iteration of “nomadic retail” and was inspired by the tiny home movement.
The truck is built with four heated dressing rooms, foldout origami doors, built-in trays to hold the assortment and seating. The 24-by-8-foot mobile shop is built of glass, wood and steel, and was custom-built by Popshopolis and designed by Spiegel Aihara Workshop and Mobile Office Architects. For the next 12 months, it will travel the United States, starting in California.
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Customers visiting the truck take the five-minute quiz online, then can try on a personalized assortment of pieces from both True & Co.’s in-house brand and 40 other lingerie brands. Purchases are then shipped to a customer’s home.
“Our aspiration was to create a warm, inviting environment that feels like coming home,” said Lam, a self-described “data geek” who founded the company after a traumatic fitting room experience. “Ironically, the experience of shopping for intimate apparel can be among the least intimate experiences there are.
“Bra-shopping revolves around an authoritative construct of beauty that creates feelings of inadequacy. With the Try-on Truck,” she said, “we wanted to create an experience that’s not only more personal, but leaves women feeling positive and empowered.”
After Northern and Southern California, planned stops for the Try-on Truck include Arizona, Texas, Chicago, Washington, D.C., New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Boston.