Editor’s note: This article was first published in August 2012, as a news item about a then-new startup. The forecast that many more shops would join “by the end of the year” refers to 2012, and UPcload may no longer operate.
Buying clothes online has the advantage of letting you browse the huge shop window the internet offers from the comfort of your home, and of making the purchase easy. The problem many people have is that once the order arrives, some garments often turn out too tight and others too big.
That’s the problem several entrepreneurs have solved by creating UPcload, a program that integrates with online clothing stores and, using your own webcam, can take your measurements accurately in under three minutes, with you striking just four poses in front of the camera.
The program is free to use, although it’s only useful for online shops that have signed up to it. The company says the number of shops using it will rise considerably by the end of the year, and it already counts leading brands in the United States among them.
To use UPcload, you first need to register and check that the shop where you’re going to buy works with UPcload. You stand at a reasonable distance from your webcam, in front of a light background and wearing close-fitting clothes, go through the various poses required, and you have your measurements.
Without a doubt, an excellent idea from these entrepreneurs, and one that encourages people to lose their fear of buying clothes online.
Featured image: Asurnipal, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
