This Dress Helps Protect Personal Space When On Crowded Trains And Buses (Video)

If you've ever been smooshed in a crowded Subway car, or grinded up on by some rando in the club, then you've likely lamented the lack of personal space that is the norm for being a woman in a big city.

But thanks to a new smart invention, you can say "back off" without having to utter a word. Instead, the clothes you're wearing can do that for you.

Artist Kathleen McDermott, as part of her Masters in Fine Art at the City University of Hong Kong, designed a dress that gives nearby people no choice but to honor your personal space.

Sensors have been sewed into the dress to create alerts when other individuals are creeping in too close. When activated, the dress's built-in plastic scaffolding slowly expands to protect its wearer's personal space.

This dress is just one part of McDemott's cheeky "Under Armour" project, which uses technology and art to create fashionable clothing items that also enhance a woman's experiences.

McDermott said her inspiration for the project came from her own experiences as a woman on a crowded train car; too many men thought that her space could be infringed upon, and constantly pushed her into smaller nooks to make more room for themselves.

McDermott said the dress also has greater social implications, since her general project is all about determining "ways women could take more ownership over their personal space in public."

But with an outrageous design and a motorized expanding dress, McDermott has been able to reclaim her right to space on public transportation.

H/T: Metro