[gui-talk] Fw: Not blind to fashion

[Geetha Shamanna]

> From: Arika McCoy
> Subject: Not blind to fashion
>
>
>> ROME (Reuters Life!) - Two American students are launching a new talking
>> Web
>> site that helps blind people pick and buy trendy clothing that is fitted
>> with braille tags and then sent to their doorstep.
>>
>> The sound-activated
www.whitecanelabel.com
Web site, due to go online in
>> the
>> fall, will ask users what their fashion likes and dislikes are and
>> recommend
>> clothes ranging from casual to evening wear based on those preferences.
>>
>> A braille tag that includes the designer's name, type of clothing such as
>> a
>> "blouse" or a "t-shirt", size, color and symbols to help in piecing
>> together
>> certain look like "business casual" is attached to the clothes ordered
>> and
>> then mailed out.
>>
>> "The central point is to give blind and visually impaired people more
>> independence in choosing their clothing," co-founder Asmah Abushagur said
>> during Rome's summer fashion week where the initiative was launched.
>>
>> "If someone wants say, a black business suit, then we can help them put
>> that
>> together."
>>
>> The Rochester Institute of Technology students say they stumbled on the
>> idea
>> after discovering the difficulties blind people have in picking an outfit
>> to
>> wear and having to rely on family and friends for it.
>>
>> So far, the main methods used are metal tags or attaching different
>> numbers
>> of clothes pins or slits to outfits to indicate various colors.
>>
>> "It started off as a school project, you know, how can I get an 'A'?"
>> said
>> co-founder Jaimen Brill. "But then we saw the options blind people have."
>>
>> Though the venture is a non-profit effort and is asking designers to
>> donate
>> clothes, the outfits will be sold at retail prices to prevent shoppers
>> who
>> are not blind from using the Web site to take advantage of a good
>> bargain.
>>

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