When we shop for workout gear, we’re used to simple size charts that designate garments as small, medium, or large. Rachel Blumenfeld, however, decided there was a better way to do things, so she founded her own company, Manifesta. She realized that athletic clothing was sized with smaller sizes in mind, and that adjustments for large sizes weren’t done thoughtfully. The result was that larger sizes simply didn’t fit right. Blumenfeld knew because she herself was tired of working out in things that clearly weren’t made for her body.
It’s not just fit Blumenfeld wants to change—she also wants to change the way we think about sizes. Instead of having an “inherent order” of sizes that imply some are better than others, she “just wants you to get what fits.” When shoppers arrive at the Manifesta website, they are prompted to select sizes ranging from everything from “poppy” to “dahlia,” and can determine which flower they are by using a measurement chart. It’s about more than just cute names. Blumenfeld told Buzzfeed, “I didn’t want letters or numbers or even adjectives because I want the sizes to be absolutely neutral.”
Do you think changing a name can change people’s additudes? Let us know!