Let me say something that might frustrate you a little.
You can create a technically perfect garment… and someone will still say it’s uncomfortable.
Because comfort is subjective.
One person’s “supportive and secure” is another person’s “tight and restrictive”. One person’s “soft and relaxed” is someone else’s “unsupportive and sloppy”.
And if you’re building lingerie or swimwear, where the margin for error is tiny, this becomes very real, very fast.
I often meet founders who are fitting only on themselves.
And I understand why. It feels efficient. You know your body. You know what you like. You started the brand because you felt like you weren't being serviced. If it feels good on you, surely it’s right?
But here’s the problem.
The perfect product is not the one that suits one body. It’s the one that works for a broad audience.
If you only fit on yourself, you’re designing for one preference, one shape, one tolerance level.
That’s not a size range. That’s a sample of one.
Now let’s add another layer.
Many women grew up in an era of highly edited, highly controlled body ideals. Diet culture was loud. Size was loaded. Numbers meant something.
While we’re doing better now (aren't we?), the legacy is still there.
It shows up in subtle ways:
• Women who won’t measure their body because putting a number to it feels confronting.
• Women who still buy the size they “always were”, even if their body has changed through life stages.
• Women who pick the largest size in store because it’s the biggest available, not because it’s right.
In Australia, the average woman is around a size 14–16. Yet many mainstream brands only stock to a 14. That means a large portion of the population is barely catered for, if at all.
So what happens?
Customers don’t actually know what size they are. And in truth, there isn’t a universal definition anyway. Formal sizing standards were withdrawn years ago because no one was consistently following them.
Add vanity sizing into the mix, where one brand’s size 8 fits like another brand’s 10, and it’s no wonder women feel confused.
By the time they get to your product, they’re already navigating uncertainty.
Now let’s talk lingerie.
In a loose T-shirt, a neckline that’s 1 cm off won’t ruin your day.
In a bra? That same 1 cm can create spillage, digging, pressure or instability.
People often say underwires are uncomfortable. My first question is always: are you wearing the right size?
There’s a technical layer here, but there’s also an education layer. Customers need guidance. They need reassurance. They need clarity.
Online stores make this even harder.
Your size guide has to do a huge amount of heavy lifting. It has to build trust before the customer has even touched the garment.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth:
Even if someone measures themselves correctly, that doesn’t guarantee the garment will feel right.
Why?
Because comfort isn’t just about measurements.
• Some people prefer a softer, looser fit.
• Some have a rounded ribcage, others a flatter one.
• Some have softer tissue that makes measurement less clear.
• Some will never measure at all, because that process carries its own emotional weight.
So they order their “usual size”. It arrives. It doesn’t feel right. And suddenly they’re facing disappointment and a returns process they didn’t want.
That’s the moment where comfort becomes commercial.
First, we accept that comfort isn’t a fixed formula.
You can’t design one garment and assume universal approval.
Second, we test properly. Multiple bodies. Multiple sizes. Different shapes within the same size.
Third, we communicate clearly. What does this product feel like? Is it firm and supportive? Soft and relaxed? High compression? Gentle hold?
And finally, we educate. Help customers understand sizing without shame or pressure. Make measurement feel neutral, not loaded.
Because when a woman receives a garment that feels good on her body, as it is today, something shifts.
She relaxes. She trusts. She comes back.
Comfort isn’t one size fits all.
But when you take it seriously, you give yourself the best chance of creating products that people genuinely want to wear again and again.
