We love jeans and took a risk. We did something the experts said was impossible. We combined fashion and fit with science to create a unique service that millions of women love today.

This is us and here’s our crazy story. If we learned one thing over the past six years. Don’t listen to doubters and never give up on your dream!

Buying jeans is hard, we knew that at the start

12500 women have visited our offices and told us about the hours of frustration going round stores. Being in the changing room surrounded by jeans and looking in the mirror and sighing.

Over the past 20 years we’ve worked in the jeans business and it’s always the same. So how could we make it different. Our goal was simple – HELP WOMEN FIND GREAT JEANS.

In 2004 we decided to make a difference, in 2005 we made a discovery

We scanned, measured and tried endless jeans on women. We even rented a small office in an old converted bakery right opposite Pixar. This was the view from our window!

Our discovery was that women who are the same shape have the same experience with jeans.

A small problem called distance

We women come in many different shapes! When a women visited our offices, we could see her shape. But what if she was 2000 miles away on a computer and we couldn’t see them?

We started asking questions and found that if you asked the right questions you’d get the right answer, duh! We were like detectives, searching for clues.

It’s 2006 and our baby is on display

In April ’06 we launched our baby and got mass…..

Skepticism….

“It’s impossible, it can’t be done, you’re a fake”…. We heard it all from women, journalists and retailers. Then they used Zafu it all changed.

Time Magazine named us as one of their top ten sites of the year.

We continued testing, improving and adding new jeans. Retailers and brands saw what we were doing and phoned us to ask for help with their jeans.

From crazy people to experts. It’s been great fun for us and we hope you enjoy it too.

• 6.3 million women have been here and every week we get lots of nice emails thanking us for help finding jeans.
• Women are always writing how easy it is to use and how they LOVE their jeans.
• So thanks to everyone who wrote in and told us their stories.
• Send us your story to:  feedback@zafu.com

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love .

YES! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

After digesting your recommendations for moi’, I took list in hand to Cincinnati where I found Nordstrom with Not Your Daughters Jeans and snapped up five pairs! An hour later at Macy’s I found Ralph Lauren and did a ditto!

I’m 74, 115 lbs and size 2………with a ’0′ waist but these come closer than anything I’ve tried! Didn’t find Calvin Klein but always do a weekend in NYC for my May Birthday — more opportunity!

My tailor will have them shortened by mid-week and it’s all systems GO! FANTASTIC to have jeans that fit without pretending to hide gathers beneath a belt!

With this track record and you soliciting our ideas for our suggestions, may I suggest you turn a new matching service? Mates! Sigh! Too bad mine didn’t live to see these jeans! I’ll bet that woke you up! And you thought matching bodies with Jeans a task!

Stay Tuned — I’ll give you an update once I wear them.

THANK YOU!!! Barbara B

I did not believe that your service was possible. I decided to test it out and put all of my information in, printed it off and took it shopping with me. By the third store I was a believer. The only jeans that looked good on me were the ones listed on my personal print-out! You saved me frustration, poor self image and hours of time! I will only use my personal guide from now on!

Sincerely, Debbie

I have been an image consultant for many years, and Zafu is simply one of the most affordable, user-friendly, and effective resources I have ever found. After recently getting my own report, I was so impressed that I’m sharing it with everyone. This morning I did a presentation for a group of 70 women, and they couldn’t wait to go check out the Zafu for themselves. I know they’re going to be as impressed as I am!

Becky

You got it right! Not a little right, not just ok, but totally and completely right. I received the jean recommendations the night before last, ordered the top recommended jeans that night, received them tonight, put them on and immediately my husband said, “Wow those jeans look good! They hit you in all the right places and accentuate all the right curves. You look sexy!” I just had a baby 4 months ago and am still 20 pounds overweight; being told I look “sexy” and “hot” took me completely by surprise. I said, “Really? They don’t accentuate my big hips?” “No. No. No. Keep them. They look awesome.” He’s told me at least three additional times tonight that he really likes these jeans. My husband isn’t shy about telling me when clothes don’t look right. So, if he is this emphatic about these jeans, I think I might just have to sleep in them too : ) Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Cara

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Though I had my doubts, Zafu came through for me! I gained insight and courage enough to go out jeans shopping today. I went to my local department store where, lo and behold, they were selling DKNY and Levis! Guess what? You were right and I would never ever have tried on DKNY jeans! I got the Soho and Skinny jeans which both fit me like skin and they were both on sale for $29.99! Also, couldn’t resist trying a pair of “Perfectly Slimming” Boot Cut Levis – phew! women, those jeans were painted on my skinny self and couldn’t be more comfortable!

I’ve been humming Christmas carols – it’s February – and think it because I feel like it’s Christmas and I just got everything that I asked for and it FIT!

Thank you Blair and the other wonderful researchers at Zafu,

Liz

Wow! I just used the guide, jumped in my car and went shopping. I found two of the styles of jeans recommended for me

and, OMG, they FIT! I’ve never had a better fit, ever, ever. Thanks so much.

Linda

Wow, I’m so impressed with your site! I first read about you in InStyle. I went to the site, answered all the questions and loved the look of the first pair of jeans. I ordered them and received them within three days and they fit PERFECTLY! I’ve tried on dozens of jeans in-store and not found the right match and here I pick the first pair and they are perfect. Thanks

Summer

I saw mention of your site in In Style magazine. I went online, skeptical because I like so many others have difficulty with jeans fitting, and answered the questions. After viewing the results and reading the descriptions, it sounded like something I wanted to check out so I decided to order a pair. Turns out they fit perfectly on the first try – size is right and everything! The selection was great too – a variety of accessable and affordable options. I am very impressed. Thanks a lot for providing a wonderful service. I really appreciate the mission, efforts, and the execution. Well done!!

Paula

I love….love…love…this website. It’s a Great help ! Thank you, Thank you, thank you!!

Joanne

I love the jeans that you said I should get. They are the first pair that don’t make my butt look saggy. Thank you.

Janice

I haven’t gone out and tried any of the recommended jeans yet, but i intend to soon! I loved the fact that I got so many options returned. My thighs are muscular and on the bigger side, so I always have to buy pants to fit that part first. Consequently, the waist is always too big and I have a big gap at the back. Until now, I thought the “mia” or “flip flop jean” from 7 for all mankind was the only style of premium denim that would work for me and I was very happy to find several others for my body type. Thanks zafu!!

Veronika

Hi zafu! A friend sent me to your site, but I’d just about given up on ever finding jeans that would fit. But, ever the optimist, I tried your fit finder, and blindly ordered from Lucky Brand based on your recommendations. After all, it couldn’t be any worse that what was already in my drawer. Holy cow. I tried them on before work and was so happy I couldn’t take them off. Luckily, it was a laid back day at the office. I’ve never been so happy with a pair of jeans. Ever. Really. Thanks a million.

Eileen

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I LOVE THIS SITE! I had no idea what kinds of jeans to try on and therefore, rarely do I shop for jeans. It would take weeks to find the fit that I needed! One easy form to fill out and I have MEGA jeans that will work for me! I just for the very first time purchased clothing ON-LINE!!! I’ll let ya know how it turns out! I can’t WAIT! THANK YOU!

Ryoan

I love your site! It really works. I printed my list and headed to the stores! I found several pairs of jeans THAT REALLY FIT and could choose which I liked best. Thank you for this fabulous service. I have not only recommended your site to my friends, I also educated the jeans sales people about it.

Jennifer

What a COOL site! I learned of this site from our local radio station 101.5 kicks fm while driving to work. I actually am already wearing one of the brands that was selected for me, and they are actually a good fit for me. Thanks!

Stephanie

I am 38 years old, size 12 and have had to take up the waist on every pair of jeans I have ever owned. I went shopping at JCPennies and found your lower on waist, straight cut, narrow style jean. I tried them on expecting to see the gap in the lower back area. But no! They fit perfectly. Perfect in every way, even the leg has room. I have never been happier. I am sending you cudos for knowing how to fit a woman with curves. Thank you so much. You have made my life easier.

Evette

I am so glad I found this website. This is the first “jeans” quiz I took that asked specific questions regarding the perfect jean for me. The jeans that the quiz recommended are the exact same jeans that I have tried on at the stores and they indeed fit me perfectly! I will definitely recommend this site to all others who are going through the same “jeans dilemma” I was! Thanks,

Chardai

I wanted to let you know, I tried your site and yes, you did find a very good pair of jeans for me. You recommended the Lucky Sweet N’ Low, and when I went to the store, they had two washes of that cut on sale. woo-HOO!!! They fit well, but better than that: I have wanted to try Lucky jeans for a while, but I was worried nothing would fit me there, that their cuts would be too, um, young for me. You gave me the confidence to march into the store, knowing exactly what to ask for, and comfortable in the knowledge that the jeans would probably work (not afraid they probably wouldn’t). I’d LOVE to be on your feedback team!

Leigh

I HATE shopping for jeans and it seems that nothing ever fits me right. I was shopping at TJMaxx when I came across a pair of Tommy Hilfiger on the clearance rack and realized they were the ones on my Zafu list! I put them on and they felt like they were custom made for me . . . for $20!! How did you know they would fit me??? Thank you,

Jill

YOU GUYS ARE GENIUS!!!!!

Fullerton

God bless you for your website! I have been struggling FOREVER to find jeans to fit my body. I am running out to the mall today to try on your recommendations.

Nethea

This is the best website ever. I usually have to try on at least 15 pairs of jeans before I can find a pair that will do. I went & purchased a pair that you recomended & they were superb. Thank You so much

Amy

Where have you been all my life! It is so hard to find a pair of jeans that fit me, and shopping online is always scary because you never know if what they say about the fit is what it will actually do on YOUR body! Your site provides pictures of ALL fits on people that are not all super skinny super models so I can actually imagine what they will look like on my body. Now if only I had enough money to buy all of the jeans that would make me look fabulous that I found on your website! Thank you Thank you Thank you!

Jessica

I went with a pair of jeans that were recommended.. I want to thank you it’s been a while since I wore jeans and the ones I got fit perfect?I’m a size 14 and its hard to find jeans that don’t bind, or they just don’t look or fit right. I am in ahhhhh.. I love my new pair of jeans. Thank so much, it makes me feel good that I can wear jeans still and look and feel confident in them. By the way the ones I got were the Jag Melbourne Jeans… Thanks again…

Bowser

I think Zafu is a real blessing to have in the busy, crazy shopaholic world we live in… It’s so hard to figure out what to choose when you have a million options, and this is a huge help. Especially because I have chronic (and would like to avoid) muffintop. Thanks for your time, and for the great site!

Kate

I love the website and was happy to find new fits to try and see that one of my current favorites was on my list. It gives me confidence that the other recommendations will work well. I have sent the website to all of my girlfriends, older and younger and of all shapes and sizes. Lots of denim love!

Carrie

Genius! This is the best website I’ve visited all year! I can’t believe how great my new jeans fit. I normally compare jean shopping to bra shopping – long, painful and tiring. I got my new jeans in a matter of minutes and I even shopped at a department store (I normally just go to specialty stores in the mall so I don’t have to deal with the clutter and overwhelming selection at the dept. store). Thanks so much!

Kim

Thank you so much for helping me fit into the best jeans ever!!! I just got a pair of Goldsign jeans, as suggested by your website and they fit absolutely perfect! My butt looks great! I am hooked on your website!

Rebecca

This website is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!! I went on yesterday, got my info and went to the store to get my jeans. In 2 seconds I put on jeans that fit perfect in every way!!!!! You guys are fabulous and I am thrilled to have found you!!!!

Stephany

I love your sight and have purchased several pairs of jeans at your recommendation and they are the best fitting jeans I have ever had. Everything you said about the fit was absolutely true!

Jyette

I love it!! I forwarded your site to every one of my female friends (this is ALOT of people). I never wear jeans and I think it is because I can never find a good pair that fit really well.

Heather

I just ordered my first pair of jeans through Zafu. Last week I went shopping and after trying on about 20 pairs of jeans, gave up on finding a comfortable pair that made me look good. I had read about Zafu, so I went on your sight and ordered one of the pairs you recommended. My husband thinks they look great, I’ve gotten compliments from several people at work (I’ve only been here 15 min) and they are more comfortable than my “comfy jeans.” Thank you, I will be ordering again & telling my friends.

Lisa

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• Over the past four years, 7.1 million women have used Zafu.
• We’ve featured on TV shows, been reviewed by leading newspapers, women’s magazines and bloggers.
• Time Magazine rated us as one of their Top 10 web sites!

The stories are usually the same.

Journalists are skeptical that we really do solve the problem of finding perfect jeans.

Then they try it for themselves.

We loved it when one leading fashion editor phoned as. She was almost rude at first saying that nobody could match women to jeans and that she intended to write her story that way. Uh oh!

2 weeks later she called us and we had the most wonderful chat. She had her new jeans and was getting great comments at her office. She loves Zafu and wrote the most fabulous story!

Yay, cheers at our office!

It took us almost two years to develop the technology behind the Zafu Fit Finder. You can now find jeans that match your individual shape and style.

Four years and 6.3 million women later we have revolutionized the way women shop for jeans.

94% of women tell us that their jeans fit great.

That has to better than endless hours in changing rooms and driving from store to store, or back to the Post office with your returns.

We had been struggling to find a name for a few weeks. We wanted something that we liked and that was not just your generic web site title.  Anyway, we’d been coming up against a brick wall and one of our team said she was off to sit on her Zafu. Huh? We asked. Yeah, people sit on them when they meditate and reduce stress. This is essentially what we do for women trying to find jeans. And beyond that, we just like it.

Why do you know how to do this?

We’ve been working on fit for years and years. We know how clothes fit people – all sorts of clothes – on all sorts of people. Different members of our team have worked with leading brands and retailers during their careers and we also do consulting with many apparel companies to develop better fitting clothes for everyone. We took our experience and added years of research and testing. It’s hard to believe that we’ve done over 12,500 fittings.

Do you tell me which products I’ll like?

Not exactly, everyone has different perspectives on what they like. We tell you what fits then help you to choose the styles, brands, and price that you like best. The cool thing about Zafu is that as you look through your recommendations you can choose the jeans you like knowing that they will really fit you!

How do you know which ones will fit me?

We measured, tried on and reviewed the fit of each product on thousands of women with different bodies (we know every little detail about each of them). We don’t use models, we use real women just like you in all sorts of shapes and sizes to help us figure this out. Now that we know all about your body, we can tell you exactly which ones will fit you perfectly and which ones won’t.

How can you really know what I look like without asking me to measure myself?

It’s amazing how lots of little clues can add up to a complete picture of a person. That’s exactly how we figure it out – we’ve spent a long time fine tuning the questions we ask you. As for measuring, who has a tape measure? And really, where is your waist, or the largest part of your thigh? It’s really tough to get it right and most people don’t want to do it.

How do you choose which products are on the website?

We’ve chosen a range of over 100 brands and hundreds of styles. We wanted to make sure that everyone who comes to the site will not only find something that fits but also something they like. We welcome suggestions – if you have a product that you would like us to feature please email feedback@zafu.com.

Are you really impartial?

Yes. Being impartial is important for us to gain your long term trust. We see lots of good and bad products and we know how to tell the difference. We have no reason not to say it like it is?

Why does your description sometimes differ from what I see on the product?

Brands all describe their products differently. There’s just no standardized way of thinking about things, for example, how high or low a pant sits or how tight or loose it is. That’s one of the reasons it’s so hard to buy online. We’ve taken a completely consistent point of view and applied it across all the products. That way, when we say slim, you know it is. That said, what we say may contradict what you see on the brand page.

Do you work for jeans brands?

Over the past 7 years we have worked for many of the leading jeans brands and retailers helping them improve the fit of their jeans, pants, shirts and bras! In fact there’s a good chance that we’ve been involved with garments that are already in your closet. if you’re a retailer or jeans brand and would like to know more please contact: feedback@zafu.com

Why do you charge a fee for your services?

Every week our team tests new jeans on real women. We decided to offer you a great service that we’d constantly keep updating and improving. Just like you, we have to pay the bills. In fact, just like you, we think our team should be fairly paid for our efforts. We charge a small fee and feedback suggests that most think it’s awesome value. Thanks!

Bob Tedeschi

For all its innovations, the Internet has yet to crack what is, for many, one of life’s most vexing problems: how to find jeans that won’t make your backside look like a tractor-trailer.

A new online business, Zafu.com, believes that it has made progress on that front. Unlike, say, Amazon – which analyzes a visitor’s browsing and buying behavior and recommends merchandise bought by others with similar behavior – Zafu’s approach relies on users to do a little of the work.

On the site, which is basically a search engine for clothes, visitors click through a questionnaire of about a dozen items, after which Zafu determines the visitor’s body type and displays what it believes are the best-fitting jeans to suit that visitor (it offers only female styles for now). Each pair is modeled from several angles, along with a link to the product page of retailers selling the item.

The company, which introduced its Web site in August, can already point to a rapidly growing base of customers and merchant partners as evidence of popularity. The company’s early success underscores the industry’s slow but steady progress in personalization – finding ways to match customers with their stated or implied product preferences, and thereby satisfy what analysts say is a central consumer need.

“”Online shoppers are control freaks, and the tools they like the best give them the ability to customize something and do product comparisons,”" said Lauren Freedman, president of the E-Tailing Group, an Internet consulting firm. “”So I definitely see consumer appeal in what Zafu is doing.”"

Robert Holloway, Zafu’s chief executive, said the service had been about two years in the making. Starting early last year the company recruited women to come to its office in Emeryville, Calif., to test its recommendation system, and try on jeans.

“”At first, the accuracy was really low, about 50 percent,”" as at other apparel sites in general, Mr. Holloway said. About 20 percent to 50 percent of all jeans bought online, he added, are returned. “”Slowly but surely, we got it to the point where 94 percent of the women who went through our process said the jeans fit them great.”"

Since Zafu.com made its debut, Mr. Holloway said, the site’s traffic has grown rapidly, to more than 100,000 visitors this month, with virtually no marketing. The company makes money by earning a commission of 5 percent to 15 percent on every pair of jeans sold on the hundreds of retail sites with which it has agreements.

Ms. Freedman said one drawback of Zafu’s service was that it did not weigh heavily enough a user’s brand preference. “”I got a few hip choices, but it also returned me some brands I wouldn’t buy even if they fit me,”" she said. “”The label, for a lot of women, is as big a factor as the fit. But it’s still a really good service.”"

Lee S. Ettleman

[zafu.com is the #3 website in the Top 10 list]

Buying a book, lamp or new computer online is easy. But without a dressing room, buying jeans that fit can be a challenge. Enter zafu, a new site meant to help women find jeans from major name brands that match customers’ style and shape. Zafu takes you through a series of questions designed to pin down various aspects of your body shape and your desired pair of pants-everything from your size and weight to how much your jeans typically gape at the waist-then shows a list of options with links to buy from merchants’ websites. It’s a long-overdue fix to fashion e-commerce.

Erin Sumwalt

Answer a few questions on fit, size and styles you love, and zafu.com located the ideal pairs for you (among 90 brands from AG to Rock & Republic) and explains why each style works for your body.

Frank Piller

Personalization as a more scalable alternative to mass customization? Many women I know share this experience: Looking frustrated at thousands of jeans listed on a search engine, or carrying a pile of denim into a changing room – just still to find not the jean that really fits. ZAFU.com. a new venture by Archetype-Solution’s Rob Holloway, wants to provide help – and is the perfect example of an application riding the long tail.

Remember (see post from July 28) that the idea of the now bestselling “The Long Tail” book by Chris Anderson is that today there are (a) unlimited choice and variety, (b) more consumers that want to utilize this variety to find a better fitting product, (c) large profit opportunities for companies not focusing on a few large blockbusters or hit products but on helping customer to explore this variety.

Anderson’s book focused on long-tail-applications in the digital sphere, music, books, and movies. But zafu.com brings this into the world of apparel.

CNN described in a press coverage Zafu’s concept quite well: “Sizing jeans to the myriad shapes of women is a challenge even in a department store dressing room, let alone online. Zafu.com, launched this week, arrives as the industry shifts from years of marketing baggy or flare-cut jeans to a skinny silhouette that is much harder to size and wear. “We’ve taken the trouble to actually measure and check the jean and try it on people to see how it really fits,” Chief Executive Rob Holloway told Reuters. “We are the friend in the dressing room, I guess.”

Zafu asks women shoppers 11 questions about how they prefer jeans to sit on their hips or waist to create a body profile. That alone is a departure from the incongruous body-type descriptions of “pears” or “triangles” found in fashion magazines and retail catalogues.

The results are used to match the user with as many jeans as could suit them from a database of hundreds of styles, from broadly marketed Gap to pricey Seven, then link them to a retailer to purchase.”

In a recent phone conversation with Rob Holloway, he described the laborious process it took them to set up this fit database. They invited hundreds of women in their offices, each woman hat to try on 32 different jeans, all fits being evaluated by the company’s own apparel experts. This gave them both information about women’s shapes and figures and information about the cuts and fitting secrets of dozens of different jeans brands. To update this information, Zafu has created a streamlined process so that new models can easily being integrated into their database and assortment.

Correct sizing is one of the biggest obstacles to the growth of online apparel and footwear sales, which are expected to rise in the US to $13.8 billion this year from $11.3 billion a year ago, according to tracking firm Shop.org data. Almost 14 billion sounds a lot, but is only 6 percent of total U.S. apparel and related sales.

The jeans market is an interesting market segment. Market research firm NPD Group reports women’s jeans sales reached $7.8 billion for the 12 months through March 2006 — a 10.8% increase over the $7.04 billion reported during the same period a year ago. This data is on top of a 13.7% growth rate of jean sales between 2004-2005. Much of this growth comes from new jeans models and niche designer brands – offering more choice and options, but making the entire selection process also more difficult for women to navigate.

CNN quotes Ellen Tolley Davis of Shop.org saying “Many consumers still want to touch and feel merchandise before they buy it. When it comes down to particular sizing for shirts and pants, there’s still some room for retailers to make improvements.”

This is exactly what Zafu does. They also provide a service that you will get not from many retail associates: Zafu’s web site will tell you also when there is NO jean at all in their assortment to fit your body – asking you to postpone your purchase.

Zafu will tell the consumer outright and suggest she check in periodically as styles are updated. “We wondered, should we be completely honest here and show someone zero [results] or fiddle a bit,” said Holloway.

They decided to be honest – and this is exactly where the value of such an intermediary comes from. But according to their estimations, their assortment of analyzed and databased jeans is already large enough to provide an exact fitting jean for 94% of all consumers. And loosing this 6% of sales (theoretical) is a good price to pay to show to the other users that they are really serious and honest about fit! Early users of the service seem to love it a lot, as this customer review suggests.

Zafu also allows women to save their profile making the process even easier next time they return. This helps them also to inform customers when a new jean is added to their assortment that exactly fits their body style. However, if a user does not want to leave any data, she does not have to do register etc.

And how does Zafu make money?

First, there are provisions for each sale. Zafu does not carry any inventory, but directs customers directly to the web sites of affiliated retailers and gets the usual commissions between 5-20% of each sale.

Second, they will provide in-house fit recommendation services to online and offline retailers, helping the customers of just one brand to navigate the assortment in a store or online shop better.

Third, I believe there is a lot of potential to extend the service to other product categories, becoming the one-stop style adviser for women with regard to fit. This could also provide some nice aggregated market research data, another potential source of revenue. For this, a cooperation between My Virtual Model and Zafu would be a perfect option.

For me Zafu is also an interesting business model as it provides another alternative to real mass customization. Zafu’s parent company, Archetype, launched in 2003 a fit consulting business that provides mass customization services to some of the leading apparel retailers and brands in the US, including Land’s End’s Mass Customization business.

Zafu’s personalization service is an alternative model. It may not have the inventory advantages and value prepositions of mass customization, but provides a much more easy to implement and much better scalable system. The future will show where there is more value for customers. I believe that both models will work hand in hand and supplement each other: For most consumers, a better matching service as zafu.com will provide sufficient value. For others, however, the ultimate product will still be the truly custom jean — providing not only perfect fit, but also all the hedonic satisfaction connected with a custom product.