New Products

[Guest Elizabeth K]

Received this suggestion from our FTM poster, MrAwsome and would like to post it here:

I wanted to see about coming up with some products to fill the needs of Trans people that needs aren't being filled with current products. Or products that are out there but need serious improvement. Whether this has to do with binding, bra stuffing, packing, tucking, or anything really trans related. Also, I'm curious as to what everyone does now, such as for FTM holding in their packer, and stp, and binding. and if I get some posts on this topic, I'll post my ideas for solutions, once I come up with some stuff, in the Transgender forum for both FTMs and MTFs to see what everyone's thoughts are. And perhaps if I come up with a good enough idea, even just one, and a company gets a hold of it, then perhaps I can benefit the community. Can't hurt to try it out. So what's everyone's thoughts.

~ Lewis

Reason for edit: comment deleted by moderator

[Guest Dutchie]

(Thanks Elizabeth)

Hi Lewis,

I have had the same thoughts on and off, because I find it rather hard to find certain products.

Most of the clothing related stuff is cut specific for each (natal) gender, but for us transfolk, we have awkward sizes.

Some products are readily available, like binders for example, albeit rather expensive. But it's the stuff that is hard or impossible to find that needs to be more easily available.

my MtF example: I couldn't find (until recently) some decent bras, due to the bigger band size than regular women. The stuff that I did find was mostly fetish wear, which isn't suitable for daily usage. I found one online shop here that does sell those big chest sizes with small cups (and even in very decent, non frilly stuff), it happened to be a simple online discount store. But that is an exception.

At some point I was so frustrated about not finding what I need that I started to lookup on how to make them yourself. I can tell you, it's not easy to do! I did look into having the stuff manufactured, but due to the high amounts involved I dropped the plan. Getting things made in small amount is making it rather expensive, and because we're already paying dear for everything this would be a failure. The last thing I wanted to do is rip-off the people in our community.

Still, I do think that there is a "big" enough market for TG-specialized products, we just need to find the proper manufacturers for the desired products. My investors (for my other startup) do like niche markets, so there might be a chance to start this one too... And once the investors are paid off, a big part of the profit can be used in favour of the community. How does that sound?

[Guest Eth]

Honestly this sounds like a great idea. It would help not only us as individuals, but the entire transgender community. As individuals, we'd have acess to more items that would be useful for our every day lives, and as a community, we'd be helping each other because the cash spent on the items would be going to the manufacturer, who, if they are Laura's or like Laura's, I'm sure would also be putting aside some of that money for causes that support the TG community. I for one would be more than happy to buy stuff that I could both really use, and be supporting other transgendered people at the same time.

Even if some didn't go to other TG groups/etc., it'd still be cool just to have a place where you could get certain things that we can't now.

[Guest MrAwesome]

Well, how does a bra that the strap and cups can be adjusted sound? I don't mean the cup size, I mean the placement. I don't know much about bra designs, guess I'll go snatch some of mom's and study them. I'm guessing you don't want a sports bra thing, probably a normal one, like most other girls have. So probably a strap that's comfortable, and a lot like a normal bra, but velcro can attach to the material. The strap around the area under the chest could be adjusted to the appropriate size, and the cups can Velcro onto the strap so that spacing and size isn't an issue. Then the strap that goes over the shoulder can be adjusted in size *sorta like a back pack strap* the strap will be attached to the tops of the cups, and then the strap can velcro on the back strap.

[Guest Pól]

I'm not sure velcro's the right material to use. You want to make these both durable and psychologically as similar to a store-bought product as possible, I think. Velcro has the disadvantages of being tough to work with, it degrades over time, it's noisy, and it's not usually used in bras.

For the straps, I think if you made the straps much longer but with the same adjustable mechanism that would probably take care of that problem. For the cups, if you made a loop of fabric on the bottom of each so that each cup could slide on the strap around the chest, that would take care of the adjustable problem. For the strap around the chest, you might be able to use a similar adjustable mechanism as the ones on the other straps on either side to get it to the right circumference. Might be a little more complicated to sew, but I think that might yield a higher quality product. I have an idea about how to make an adjustable cup size, but I'm still thinking about how to execute it.

Is placement of the cups usually an issue?

<-- likes figuring out how to build stuff

[Guest Eth]

I'm not sure velcro's the right material to use. You want to make these both durable and psychologically as similar to a store-bought product as possible, I think. Velcro has the disadvantages of being tough to work with, it degrades over time, it's noisy, and it's not usually used in bras.

Not to mention velcro wouldn't be all that comfortable on such a sensitive area...

[Guest MrAwesome]

Hmmm that's a good idea. I was kinda iffy about velcro too. I think the loop idea works for all the velcro replacement, I think the hooks like on a normal bra should work. If it's gonna be a bra that can be adjusted for all sizes, which will be good as MTFs lose muscle and gain chest size, if the chest is wider, the cups of it will need to be further apart for some people I'd think. So basically it could be adjusted for the perfect fit. and they can be manufactured in mass quantities too without worrying about sizing. Just cup size.