Fashion Browsing on the Internet

I am on a relentless hunt for the perfect spring trench, and after a fruitless day of hitting the shops, I begin to wonder whether there is a more efficient way to accomplish this mission.

My tired feet force me to retire to the lounge with my trusty laptop, where I decide to ask my friend Google what the “it” coats are for the season. As I sift through the countless search results, I am reminded about a couple of genius shopping websites that I hope will save not only my feet but also my time and money.

ShopStyle.com was launched in 2007 and essentially is a search engine devoted to fashion. It brings together hundreds of stores and brands, allowing users to cross-shop hundreds of thousands of apparel items, home décor pieces, and kids’ products all on the same platform. In addition, the site facilitates a public fashion community where people can share and find inspiration from stylebooks created by other users.

Late last year, Internet giant Google launched its own version of an online shopping mall and fashion community, aptly named Boutiques.com. It basically has all the same elements of ShopStyle; however, this site has an increased focus on creating automated and personalized shopping experiences through individualized stylebooks, which are referred to as “boutiques.”

It features more in-depth search filters and has a greater emphasis on celebrity-styled looks. All users are encouraged to create their own boutiques by completing an online survey on looks, colors, brands, and silhouettes they love and hate. This data is then fed into a system that uses machine learning algorithms to analyze your taste and suggest items to suit your style.

Considering that online searching is probably what Google does best, I was a little surprised to find that there isn’t the functionality to filter your search results via price order or by more than one color. The site, though, is easy to navigate.

Furthermore, I was very impressed by the options that allowed me to refine my results via silhouette (for example, for shoes: wedge, slingback, mid-heel, ankle strap, and so on) and luxury or sale items only. Even more fascinating and quite helpful is the way the technology is programmed to recognize and display visually similar items when you mouse over a particular product.

What really sets Boutiques.com apart from ShopStyle.com is the concept of creating you own boutique that is constantly updated with products you might like. I found the process to achieve this unnecessarily long and arduous, and although I am accustomed to identifying products I like, I still struggle to break my taste down into specific colors, shapes, and brands.

After a series of visual questions, the Boutiques.com automated system also attempts to classify your style within the categories of classic, romantic, casual chic, edgy, street, and boho. The quirk I find with this is that many people’s styles cannot be classified into one or two of these categories, but may be a mix of all.

For example I sometimes love to match a delicate floral dress with studded stiletto heels and suit jacket instead of cute ballet flats and a cardigan. Additionally, because its survey prompts users to be so specific about things they love and hate, what comes out at the other end is often a very restricted range of products that are not only very similar to each other but also to what a person probably already owns.

I will admit that I was extremely excited by the prospect of a computer being able to present me with must-have items to lust over; however, currently this component of the site is better suited for people who are sure about what they need rather than for browsing through trendy styles as an indulgent pleasure.

And on further thought, even if this eventually were to happen, wouldn’t that take all the fun out of shopping on the street? If everything were presented to you on a silver platter, there would be no joy in discovering those perfect handcrafted Italian shoes to match your $10 dress and vintage bag.

Having said all this, when it comes to a simple search for items, sites are relatively on par. While ShopStyle.com lists a much larger variety of products other than just women’s fashion (such as menswear, beauty, kids, and homeware), I find the visual and search usability slightly better at Boutiques.com.

There is no doubt that these sites will save you time and help eliminate options, even if you don’t find exactly what you are looking for. Careful scrutiny of your search results may also save you money, as I have sometimes noticed the same product listed by different retailers with a notable price variance.

I believe the future looks bright for fashion aggregator sites like these, but there is always room for improvement. While currently neither site would be my only point of call when looking for a bit of online retail therapy, I look forward to visiting them again as they grow in size and intelligence.

Elaine Tiong is a freelance writer and marketing consultant. She can be contacted at tiongelaine@yahoo.com.au .