Jockey Seeks to Revolutionize Bra Industry [VIDEO]

With finding the right bra size an infamously hated task among women, underwear company Jockey announced Thursday that, after nearly a decade of research, it has designed an entirely new system..

"We knew we had to come to market with the best possible product in order to really make a difference in women's lives, which is why it took us eight years to develop the new Jockey bra and its revolutionary Volumetric Fit System," Sally Tomkins, senior vice president of design, research and product development, said in a press release. "Through our research, and countless hours of testing and talking with women, we are confident we are answering women's desire for the perfect-fitting bra."

That research included the 3D scanning of more than 800 female bodies in order to come up with the patented Volumetric Fit System the company believes is destined to replace the letter-number combo sizing method that’s been in place for more than 80 years.

The way it works is customers measure the volume of their breast using different bowl-shaped cups because, as Jockey points out, “Would you measure water in a pitcher with a tape measure?”

Next, women are able to determine their under-bust measurement using a color-coded, double-sided measuring band.

Based on these two measurements, they are then able to select from five bra style options and, “unlike other bras, Jockey will not discontinue any style, so a favorite bra will always be available,” the company promises.

Ultimately, whether or not the new bra sizing and fitting system is a better option for women has yet to be determined, though the move comes just as bra manufacturer Wacoal reported a study showing that as many as 90 million women living in the United States - 8 out of 10 - may be wearing the wrong bra size. In the majority of cases, the company reported, women were wearing bras whose cup sizes were too small and bands too big.

But while unsupportive bras have long been thought to result in poor posture and, as a result, neck and back pain, one French researcher suggests throwing the underwear item out altogether.

Jean Denis Rouillon of Besancon University spent 15 years studying 330 women’s breasts and, in so doing, found that those who opted not to wear a bra not only experienced an ease in back pain but a 7 millimeter difference in height versus those who decided wore a bra.

The reason, Rouillon hypothesizes, lies in the breasts becoming "dependent" on bras, leaving the supporting muscles under-used, which in turn may cause them to degrade more quickly.