TWO sisters from Stretford have created the perfect black dress for all women – the first of its kind.

Rachel and Laura Beattie have used their mathematical skills to create a dress to address the longstanding issue that has faced so many women - finding a dress that they love but just not fitting them.

The idea started with Rachel when she was 14-years-old and a pupil of Loreto Grammar School in Altrincham.

She said: “Growing up, I remember always stealing my sister’s clothes - I always found I wanted to change something about each dress, but I couldn’t!”

This stayed with Rachel, who had a dream of a dress that could adapt to each woman’s unique shape and different style preferences.

She went to study Mathematics at University of Manchester where she delved deeper into the Mathematical principles behind Careaux- combinatorics (abstract algebra) to study the size, fit and style of dresses, and the size and shape of women, finding patterns to match the two much better than conventional fashion.

She said: “For years, women have had to struggle with the one size fits all mentality whilst many of the fundamental aspects of fashion, particularly cut and fit, have remained unchanged for decades. But now Careaux is here to change that.”

When her idea became reality, her sister, Laura, aged 29 decided to get onboard.

She said: "I also have Cystic Fibrosis, and I have been in hospital quite a lot over the past couple of years. I did some primary school tuition with the The Tutor Trust, which I am still a part of. But starting this business, with the support from Rachel, gives me the flexibility to work from home and do work from hospital if needs be."

The Careaux dress has a zip around the waist that enables the garment to separate into a top and a skirt, or be worn as a dress. This enables the dress to have a different or same size top and bottom, and allows to interchange the tops (sleeveless and ¾ sleeved), and the skirts (pencil and skater) to create up to four different dress styles.

Laura said: "The Careaux Black Dress truly adapts to the wearer’s unique shape, size and style. When customers buy online they will choose their top and bottom size and style along with their waist size. This is to solve the issue that most women are a different size top to bottom and look for versatility combined with timeless style.”

Rachel Riley, TV presenter and mathematician has commented on the duos idea. She said: “I love Rachel and Laura's passion for Maths and fashion which they've used to reinvent the little black dress in such a clever way. For any woman with a top half bigger or smaller than their bottom, their idea solves the ill-fitting dress problem in a stylish and comfortable way - well done girls!”