Like many women, Sarah White, 27, has trouble when shopping for clothes. She is tall and hovers around a size 10/12—right on the border of plus sized. Sarah wanted a bridge between the online- and offline-shopping experience that is more sensitive to shopper’s emotional needs and is more body positive.

“Few women actually know where or how to measure themselves and facing the numbers can be terrifying. The Fitwell platform was, in a way, scratching my own itch for something better…something that made finding something that fit less frustrating.”  Her Bluetooth Breakthrough Award entry, Fitwell, turns shopping into an empowering experience—what she believes fashion is supposed to do—instead of a defeating one.

Fitwell is a service that uses a “smart tape measure,” a smartphone and in-store technology. Fitwell strives to make it easy to find a fit that flatters. After measuring yourself with the at-home measuring system, your profile is put through a proprietary analytics system that uses real numbers from pattern data. You can then order from home or order while flying on Virgin airlines. If it does not fit, send it back.

“Shopping should be fun for everyone, not just those who fit the industry’s mold. We provide you with tools to become the author of your own experience once again.”

Sarah is an unintentional techie. She is currently a UX design strategist at an enterprise software startup so she is in that world every day. She works to maintain careful, selective use of technology who is under no illusions that technology has both solved and created society’s greatest problems.

In the next 10-15 years, Sarah hopes to pay off her student loans and go full speed ahead with Fitwell. She hopes to bring a more body positive lens to the fashion/body industry in some way.

“I can’t say for sure what I will be working on but I hope that it involves empowering people to take control over a part of their lives that they didn’t previously have—whether it’s finding the perfect fit in a delightful way, motivating personal performance or helping people explore the outdoors.”

Sarah hopes to use the breakthrough award to find the right developer and technology help to build the next round of prototypes for the mobile app and in-store technology components.

Other things you should know about Sarah:

Psychology and sociology were favorite subjects in school—“They were always some of my favorites. I’d take them as electives whenever I could because of my long-standing curiosity of how the brain works.

Loves shopping—“I suppose I like shopping more than your average person but there’s something therapeutic for me about actually going into physical stores/malls, seeing and feeling the material, trying things on and just getting lost inside of them. I like to people watch and just walk around.”

(Credit: Nanci Taplett)