14 DAY TRIAL // Two students at the University of Washington have come up with a solution for women who usually struggle to find a place for their iPhone when they go out.
Named after a baby Kangaroo which lives in its mother’s pouch shortly after birth, the JoeyBra is the invention of Mariah Gentry and Kyle Bartlow, two University of Washington juniors.
Interviewed by Forbes contributor Kelly Clay, Gentry said the bra is “the first, sexy and comfortable pocket bra. It lets you store a phone, ID and key when you go out partying.”
The duo originally showed off the JoeyBra on April 25th at the UW Business Plan Competition. The product was received with skepticism, mainly because people weren’t sure a woman’s ribcage was large enough to wear a bra with large pockets. As it turned out, it was.
Ms. Clay explains that when she met with Gentry and Bartlow at a coffee shop in Seattle to discuss the idea, she was "shocked when Gentry easily pulled the iPhone from the JoeyBra she was wearing. Not only is Gentry exceptionally tiny at barely a size 0, she’s also a size 32A – yet I had no idea she was practically wearing her iPhone,” she explained.
The inventors reportedly demonstrated how comfortable the bra was explaining that women’s arms won’t rub against that area of the ribcage where the iPhone pocket is placed. It actually creates a pocket, they said.
Plus, women will almost always wear a sleeveless dress or a shirt at any party, so access to the device is not impeded.
The JoeyBra is also on Kickstarter where the founders also offer backers VIP party invitations with a trip to a Kangaroo park near Seattle.
Gentry and Bartlow will further promote the product to the 19 sororities on campus at the University of Washington and, as the idea takes off, they hope to entice retail outlets such as Nordstorm to carry their product and sell it like a regular product.
Interested parties can immediately order the JoeyBra in three sizes – small, medium, and large from JoeyBra.com. It sells for $19.99 (around 15 EUR).
