GENERATOR

Your New Best Friend
Websites and Applications Let You Know
What Works and What Doesn’t
You wake up in the morning, groggy and
barely aware of your surroundings. Despite
this, you have to get up and put on an
acceptable outfit for class. After multiple
wardrobe changes, you settle on one, but
you aren’t sure if it looks good on you.
Normally, you might ask your roommate or
friends how you look, but no one is around.
What do you do?
I typically end up taking my chances on
the outfit or changing into the safe t-shirt
and jeans combo. But what if you could get
an unbiased opinion within minutes? Now
you can with the flurry of new websites
and apps that enable you to upload pictures
of your outfit, ask a question about it, and
get answers. I first found out about this
concept by reading an article in the New
York Times during the summer. The article
discussed two websites, www.fashism.
com and www.gotryiton.com. Fashism
has 3,000 registered users, compared to
Go Try It On’s 5,000. Both websites are
free and follow the same format: upload
one or more pictures, ask a question like
“Does this work?”, then people will vote
and comment on your look. On Fashism,
users vote “I like it” or “I hate it”, while at
Go Try It On, users choose either “Wear it”
or “Change it”. Many users also comment
with suggestions on accessories or advice
on what to fix.
I also found an app
created in the same vein
of these websites. The
Glamour magazine “Ask
a Stylist” app is just what
it sounds like. You upload
your photo, pick one of the
stylists on duty, and they
give you their feedback
in a matter of minutes.
This app is surprisingly
free. I decided to try all
three out to see if they
really are all that great. I
uploaded pictures of two
outfits from two different
days on the websites and app. These are the
results I got.
My first outfit was questionable. I had
a new pair of men’s style lace-up oxfords
that I really wanted to wear. Thus, I decided
to try them out with a gray boat neck tee
tucked into a flouncy black skirt with a long
turquoise necklace. On both of the websites,
my outfit was overwhelmingly rejected. Go
Try It On told me to “Return it” which is an
even worse verdict than “Change it”. Some
of the comments were very helpful though.
For example, Alexa F. told me “Maybe
a button down white shirt instead
(tucked in) and
add a thin leather
brown belt?”
which I completely
agreed with. A few
of the comments
on Fashism were
a little harsh, like
“no, way too ugly”,
but overall useful. I
had different results
with the Glamour
app. I asked two
different stylists if
it worked and they
both liked it but had
some suggestions.
That just ended up
confusing me.
By Rachel Forlifer
I was more confident about my second
outfit. It was a red plaid shirt with a black
t-shirt underneath, skinny jeans, and cute
gray flats with studs. Pretty simple, but I
liked it. Online, it rated higher than my first
outfit but not by much. Responses from Go
Try It On all seemed to agree that my black
shirt should be longer, which was probably
right. For some reason though, my shoes
were a big deal on both sites. Some people
loved them, while others really did not.
According to yslsweetie, “the shoes are
bothering me!” Yet again, the stylist from
the app loved my look. She even weighed
in on the shoe issue: “Those ballet flats are
also amazing!”
So, if you want to try these out yourself,
here is my advice: Only do it for outfits you
aren’t sure about, like my first one. Don’t
upload a picture of an outfit you think
looks great, because someone will find
something wrong with it and you will end
up doubting yourself. In addition, be ready
for some honest opinions. Most of the
comments are fine, but as always, people
can be rude. After trying them out, I think
these websites and apps are a pretty good
idea. They are also good for comparing
multiple outfits or helping you try to decide
what to buy while in the dressing room.
Next time you wake up and can’t decide
on an outfit, why don’t you just snap some
pictures and ask the world what they think?
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