When you wear underwires, you tend to avoid anything that looks like airport security whenever possible. But what about the Me-Ality Body Scanner? I’ve been wanting to try one since I heard about it earlier this year, but at the time it only made jeans recommendations. Since then, it’s expanded to include tops, so I was thrilled when reader Jame’s guest post about her Me-Ality experience showed up in my inbox on Sunday.

 

Me-Ality Body Scanning Station: what a joke!

Over the weekend, I went to Sun Valley Mall to do a little shopping. I was instantly attracted to the “body scan machine.”

I wanted to see if it would work.

The process was simple: remove your belt, shoes, and metal bracelets. Hop in the scanner. Stand still for a few minutes. And out pops a clothing and size recommendations based on what is in stock at the mall. This sounds like the best thing ever. Unfortunately, it didn’t work as expected.

So first up, here is a quick rundown on my stats:
Height: 5’4.5
Bust: 41.5 (34H-HH)
Waist: 33
Hips: 43
Other notes: short torso, longer legs, thicker thighs, not-flat tummy
Typical Clothing Sizes:
Dresses: 14
Pants: 14-16
Skirts: 14-16
Knit tops: L-XL
Blouses: XL/16
Blazers: 16 or more depending on the amount of stretch

So I’ll admit, I am not the easiest shape to shop for. I have a tummy. I have a short torso. I am full-busted. But generally speaking, I can find plenty of dresses that fit. Skirts are pretty easy. Knits are easy. Pants and jeans are tricky. Blazers are tricky. Blouses are hit or miss. I can find stuff in stores catering to “missy.” Dresses and tops at H&M. And I looks for pants at the low end of plus and the high end of missy.

So after I did my scan, I waited a few minutes for my results. The woman working the booth was printing the results from a touch screen computer by category. The categories were jeans, skirts, tops, sweaters, dresses (new category) and lingerie was coming soon.

So I got all of the pages back. And the results were:
2 jeans from Lane Bryant in 14/16
2 Elastic waist maxi skirts in 14/16 from Lane Bryant
1 logo hoodie from Gap in XXL
3 t-shirt type tops from Torrid in size 3

And that was it. No dresses. No non elastic waist skirts. No skirts shorter than full length. No other pants. Tops in a size that was several sizes too big. No sweaters.

I was a little surprised. It seemed like the scanner misjudged my bust measurements by around 9 inches.

It was a little depressing. In fact, if I didn’t know my clothing size in many stores I would have been depressed. I would have left the mall thinking that there were less than 10 items that would fit me. And if I had tried on those Torrid tops, they would have been significantly too big.

I don’t know what went wrong with the scanner, but all I know is it didn’t work for me at all. Especially on the top. Maybe it works better if you aren’t in limbo land at the top of Missy’s and the bottom of plus-sizes.

Maybe one of you will have better luck. Have you tried Me-ality or similar scanners?