Archive for October 2008
PDXCritique: igal with @IgnitePortland’s ticket reservatioon system, @reidab with Caligator day/time picker, Chris with alpha of Sqrly, and PIE!!!
We are committed to expanding the focus of PDX Critique. As such, we have all promised to write posts regularly about things that concern us that relate, in some way or another, to the core mission of PDX Critique.
I kicked us off on our expansion with a post about my bra strap.
I hope to see you all next week at our October meeting at CubeSpacePDX.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Monday, October 27th
There will be pumpkin pie, and apple pie. Don’t miss it!
Consider the bra strap. Its purpose is to hold up a triangle of fabric that supports a breast.
Two and a half weeks ago, I started a new job. Instead of working from my home office, where I could wear sweats with a minimum of under garments, I am now working in an office with other people. I must wear under garments. I must wear a bra. I went and bought some. It has literally been years since wearing a bra was a daily requirement; so, for years, I have duly ignored the design of the bra strap. Until the other day. I was sitting at my desk, in my hip, loft-space, cubicle-free office, and my bra strap stretched until it was too long to do its job. It went: flop, scurried over my shoulder, and landed on my upper bicep.
I discreetly shoved my hand into the neckline of my polo shirt, seeking the strap-tightening metal gadget to tighten up the stretched-out strap, properly ensconce my breast, and thereby restore order to the world. My fingers quested without success. They went up and down the front of the strap, seeking the little metal gadget in vain. I finally gave up, went to the Women’s Room, shut myself into the large stall for persons with disabilities (who wouldn’t be able to get up the stairs to my office in the first place, but this isn’t a post about accessibility.) I yanked open my shirt and peered at the wandering strap. Holy cow. The little metal gadget I was looking for was on the back of my shoulder. Not the front. Somehow, in the intervening years since I last sported a bra, Fashion Design had mandated that the metal gadget should now go on the back of the strap, not the front.
Why?
I can only guess at what goes on in the minds of Fashion Designers. In this case, I guess that They think that the strap-tightening metal gadget could create unsightly lumps when deployed beneath tight outer garments. Metal gadgets are not beautiful. However, placing them on the forward portion of my bra strap means I can adjust the straps while wearing the bra. Placing them on the back of my bra strap means I have to remove my shirt, remove the bra, adjust, try on; lather/rinse/repeat until the strap is the right length. This process, in the middle of a work day is, to say the least, not very user friendly.
Yo. Fashion Designers. Would you please put the gadget back on the front of my bra strap? In this case, I really need usability over beauty. That is, until you can invent the fabric for the strap that doesn’t stretch out of shape half way through the work day.
Thanks. Love ya.
(Note: First posted on TingeyTen.com)
PDXCritique: Next PDX Crit 27 Oct at CubeSpacePDX will feature pie and Chris Pitzer of Lo-Fi Art. Sign up http://tinyurl.com/5l559x or just show up.
PDXCritique: Just found this great blog. Pertinent post about the death of the critique. http://designthinking.ideo.com/?p=18
