SomaInnofit Review: Trying a Smart Bra On for Size

Anyone who has shopped for a bra knows that it can be hard to find a bra that fits. So we understand why a Bluetooth-connected bra and a fit-predicting app might seem like an appealing alternative to the time-consuming task of having a professional fitting or trying on a bunch of sizes and styles. But after trying the SomaInnofit for ourselves, on two testers with different body and breast shapes and sizes, we’re not convinced this tech is a time-saver.

Launched this year at the CES trade show, the $60 SomaInnofit bra offers a high-tech solution to a long-standing problem typically solved with a low-tech tool: measuring tape. The bra automates the process of taking bust measurements by scanning four points around the body, from the top to the base of the chest, using a sensor linked to sewn-in copper wires. Then it transmits the information via Bluetooth to the iOS- and Android-compatible SomaInnofit app, which reports your measurements and recommends Soma bras for purchase. LikeAGlove, an app developer that also makes fit leggings for jeans, produced the SomaInnofit bra and app.

The one-size fit bra is loose and stretchy, accommodating band sizes 32 to 44 and cup sizes A to G. On the Soma website, several customer reviewers report sharing the fit bra with family members or friends, and the company plugs the bra’s shareability as a selling point. The pullover style, though, may not work for every body, particularly people with mobility impairments.

The app requires you to set up an account and share information including your name, email address, weight, and height, plus two bra brands and sizes you currently wear (Soma’s app includes 29 brands to choose from and lists sizes 30A to 38G). Although Soma says it won’t sell customer data, according to the LikeAGlove/SomaInnofit privacy policy the company may in some cases share data.

To test the tech, as directed I pulled the fit bra over my best-fitting regular bra, pressed the Bluetooth sensor to turn the fit bra on, and entered its ID number in the app. I tapped Measure to scan my breasts and watched as the app displayed my information. Soma advises against wearing a padded or push-up bra under the SomaInnofit, as these styles can skew the measurements.

My measurements in the app were accurate (I double-checked them with a tape measure), but the app user experience is clunky. A single, short hamburger menu in the top-right corner of the app’s home screen lets you access your measurements, your account info, your preferences, and Soma’s catalog. You need to leave the app to purchase bras via Soma’s website.

To test the app’s recommendations, I called in some of the Soma-recommended bras for myself and another tester who tried the fit bra. At this writing, the company offers customers who have purchased the SomaInnofit $25 toward the purchase of a Soma bra.

None of the bras we ordered fit, though some were more drastically mis-sized than others. Both of the bras I ordered came close to working for me but were slightly too small, with insufficient coverage on the sides of the cups. I was spilling out of the top and sides, yet my breasts looked awkwardly flattened against my chest; they felt pinched. The bras for our second tester were huge on her, with several inches of dead air or saggy fabric in between the bras and her breasts. The SomaInnofit app doesn’t yet have a ton of reviews (iOS, Android), but many people report similar sizing struggles. In a review titled “Nope,” reviewer Mnicool reports that a Soma-recommended bra they tried was a size too large, adding: “This app is NOT a substitute for going in and trying on a bra.”

If the recommended bras don’t fit, Soma provides a prepaid label for returns but docks $7 from your refund as a restocking fee (you can return bras to a Soma store for free). You can give feedback on the bras you ordered through the app, which will recalibrate your size recommendations. When giving feedback, you can tell the app whether bras are too big, too small, or just right in the cup and band size.

In reality, bra fitting involves a lot more nuance. A skilled fitter with experience finding the right sizes and styles for different body types can respond in real time to what is and isn’t working for you. You can also assess your own fit, but you need to know what to look for. If you’ve never had a well-fitting bra, the shopping process may take more trial and error as you discover what works. And although Soma’s measurements were accurate in our tests, sizes vary by brand, so the fit bra’s size recommendations won’t help much when you’re shopping elsewhere. The best bras for you might come not from Soma but another line.

I gave the app one more shot: I sized up in both recommended bras, and the larger sizes did fit me better. I still didn’t think they were perfect—one was slightly too small and didn’t cover me entirely, whereas the other pushed my breasts too high for my liking—but that’s because I have bras that do fit me perfectly. Without a standard for comparison, it’s hard to know whether Soma’s bras really fit you well.

I also found that the recalibrated sizes weren’t always consistent. The app spit out different recommended sizes when I scanned two different bras. We provided feedback for our second tester, but in response the app gave us size recommendations only for pullover, non-wired styles in straight sizing (L, XL, and the like). A Soma rep told me, “In size 36B, we offer some full coverage bras—but they would not be fully encapsulated as we do not find that customers in this size are usually looking for that much coverage.”

Cathy Devine, Soma’s vice president of innovation, said the company is using responses from tens of thousands of customers to help make better fit recommendations. Devine noted that shoppers who have used the SomaInnofit have an 80 percent success rate in finding Soma bras that fit them. (She said the company reached this number based on feedback from the app and in-store fittings.)

The SomaInnofit does have a practical application: Devine said that Soma’s fitters use the fit bra in stores to help measure customers and then make tailored recommendations. The pullover fit bra provides more modesty if you aren’t comfortable showing your breasts to a stranger during an in-person fitting.

Perhaps tech will one day help bra shoppers find a perfect fit on their own, at home, but it may cause disappointment for now. After using the SomaInnofit, our second tester and I were both disappointed but unsurprised that this piece of cloth and wire couldn’t solve a problem that we—and so many others—have struggled with for years. For now, we recommend saving the $60 and putting that money toward a more-proven bra-fitting method.

Sources

1. Cathy Devine, VP of innovation at Soma, phone interview, April 15, 2019

2. Jessica Conditt, Soma’s smart bra means never buying the wrong size again, Engadget, January 7, 2019

3. Jenny McGrath, Slip on Soma’s smart bra and you may discover you’ve been wearing the wrong size, Digital Trends, January 9, 2019