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Does this ever happen to you? You pop down to your local fashion emporium. They have some great threads and you have just spotted the coolest pair of trousers known to mankind. You have got to have them....
Oh no! They haven't got your leg length. Well, I guess you could have them adjusted but that
costs time and/or money, and the thread colour never matches exactly. If the shop has only got shorter leg lengths, you are stuffed.
The Solution!! The In-store Trouser Leg Trimming Machine!!! Yesss!
Now when you go down to the store, all the trousers have very long legs. You just choose the pair that fits your waist and hand it to the assistant, telling them your leg length (or let them measure it - suits you, sir). They feed your trousers into the machine and hey presto - instant exactly fitting trousers.
The machine consists of a sort of combination of a drainpipe (double barreled optional on the GTI version), a meat slicer and a rotary sewing machine. The trousers are made with machine readable markings for the lengths on the inside. To be honest, I don't know exactly how it would work, that's why I'm here at the bakery instead of as famous as Phillipe Stark.
Anyway, you put a pair of trousers in, enter the required length, and out pop your trousers, cut exactly to length, with the exact thread from the factory.
Not only do you get the perfect trousers, the shop (and whole distribution channel) have to keep less total stock and less types of stock. Obviously there are some designs for which it wouldn't work, but it would work for at least 82.6% of trouser designs.
And not a giant sponge in sight.*
*See discussion for probably better variant on more or less the same concept
[link]
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Good point. Actually now you come to mention it, now _any_ style can be turned into bermuda shorts, too! The only limits of this invention are your imagination (TM). |
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//bermuda shorts// what about all the surplus legs? where will they go? landfills, where they will endanger wild moose by entangling their antlers. |
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bun anyways. cut to just the right length. + |
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The excess material is of course joined together and made into stripey scarves, which are then sold, further enhancing the overall profitability of the complete concept. |
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Mens trousers used to be sold mostly unhemmed. (well except at discount and department stores) and the store had a tailor on staff who would hem them up for you. Usually within a couple hours. |
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Automating this is a fine idea. |
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Indeed, at posh shops they do still do this. |
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I'm thinking mass market where the customer wants instant satisfaction (even a few hours is too long to wait), and the staffing costs must be kept to an absolute minimum. |
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Hmmm. Thinking about it a bit more... (whirring of cogs in what passes for a brain...). Problem is that after they are cut, you still might not like the actual size. |
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How about a two stage process. There is one machine used by the consumer. This folds the trousers and puts in a semi permanent staple (or something similar, wash-out adhesive?). This can be removed without damaging the trousers, and the consumer can try a few lengths to get the right one. |
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When customer is happy they take the trousers to the checkout, then the second machine actually sews the trousers based on where the first machine has made the fold, or by identifying the trousers using RFID / barcodes and a network link between the machines. |
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I'm thinking barcodes / RFID to select the appropriate type / colour / style of hem to be sewn. |
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There are probably lots of mechanical problems with the mechanism. It sounds tricky but not impossible to make. |
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I only regret that I have but one bun to give to this idea. |
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As a victim of trouser leg length syndrome, I like this idea, but there's not enough potential for tragic injury in the idea as it stands. |
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In order to assure an optimal fit for the varying physiometrys of the populace, this fast moving very sharp machine should do all this while you're wearing the trousers. |
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Hmmm. Back from drawing board again. |
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Same machine, better business process. |
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Same distribution idea - All the trousers arrive at the shop with the same (v. long) length, inside machine readable markings, RFID tags / barcodes for the style / colour of hem. |
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Now, the assistants at the store at non peak times feed the trousers into the machine, making one example of each size. All other stock can be hung on the rack with a label stating "Just ask the assistant for your length if you can't find one ready". |
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For the consumer, the process is almost the same as it is now. You just choose your trousers from the rack. However, if you can't see your size, they can always make it on demand for you, immediately. Plus you can have unusually short or long or Bermuda shorts if you want them. |
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When you buy the trousers, a computer keeps track of which sizes need to be made, in store. The assistants make the new trousers during slack times in the shop. |
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This is simpler and better than the original proposal. |
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Love this idea. It's hard enough to find a shop with the right size, much less the right length. Especially for women's pants, which tend to have fewer sizes and lengths than mens. |
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