Styling confidence: crafting moxie for mindful styling
Transforming the daily routine of dressing into a creative and affirming process
ROLE
UX Researcher
UX/UI Designer
PROCESSES
UX Research
Concept Testing
DURATION
3 months
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Leveraging fashion psychology, how might we help people style themselves in a way that not only looks good but also feels good?
SOLUTION
Conceptual prototype for a mobile application that simplifies and adds creative reflection to outfit decisions
KEY FEATURES
Prompts to help you style outfits every day
Discover what makes you feel confident, creative, and comfortable
Your closet at your finger’s touch
Digitalize your entire closet and plan or try on outfits in advance
THE PROBLEM SPACE
"I have nothing to wear!"
It's a classic example of the paradox of choice: the more options, the more cognitive effort to decide. Picking out an outfit on a daily basis can feel like a chore — whether it's not knowing what to wear or not having the "right" pieces.
15% of people say that wardrobe rage, an irrational tantrum about having nothing to wear, ruins their mood for the rest of the day.
On average, people spend 8 hours, a full work day, per month, agonizing over what to wear.
The impact extends beyond the individual to the environment.
Nearly a third of the clothes in a typical closet has never been worn or touched for 1 or more years. The average person wears only 20% of their closet on a regular basis.
The rest ends up in landfills. In fact, 85% of all textiles produced go to the dumpster every year.
GENERATIVE RESEARCH
I found that satisfaction is primarily from a combination of feeling comfortable and beautiful.
10-question screener to recruit participants and collect attitudes towards fashion and style
n = 47
30-minute semi-structured interviews with a prepared discussion guide
n = 6
Putting an outfit together is a creative exercise in self-expression.
"My closet is getting more genuine to me." -P3
People want to maximize the potential of their wardrobe without purchasing new items.
"I’m less worried about repeating outfits and more worried about things that I got that I ended up never wearing." -P5
Satisfaction from an outfit stems from both visual appeal and physical comfort.
"I go for what I think looks good or what makes me happy." -P1
"I feel like sometimes you can or cannot pull it off if you're not comfortable with it." -P3
THE USERS
By reviewing the literature and user interviews, I created 2 research-backed personas.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
Among existing solutions, the most commonly shared feature appeared to be a virtual closet and an outfit generator.
OPPORTUNITY
I identified a gap between available solutions and user needs.
Users wanted to engage with personal styling as a creative activity. Subsequently, they expressed themselves through the outfits and the clothing influenced how they carried themselves in the world.
P2
Research Participant
I dress for myself because it’s a creative puzzle.
P6
Research Participant
It's really important to me that everyone tries the things that they kind of been wanting to, but they're not really sure what they would look good in. I'm a big advocate of, you gotta try to scratch that itch...I think you should do it just so that you can see how you feel in it.
P3
Research Participant
I was pretty uninspired and then recently I just, I bought, like two new tops and that made me really excited because like two tops mean, so many more different combinations that I could make with all my different bottom clothes.
Dr. Carolyn Mair
Former professor of psychology & fashion at the University of Arts London
Fashion is all about the identity you would like to portray. However, sometimes, our nerves get the better of us and we don’t feel confident enough to wear the piece we bought.
Dr. Dawnn Karen
Professor at Fashion Institute of Technology
Author of Dress Your Best Life
I am an advocate for people dressing for the psyche, not for their body.
USER NEEDS
I translated pain points into user needs which informed early ideation.
Dopamine Dresser
Pain Point
Users run out of ideas on how to style themselves, but they want think outside the box.
User Need
Inspiration and ideas to add creativity and fun to the process of deciding what to wear.
Pain Point
Users' most fashionable outfits are not very comfortable, which makes them feel less confident.
User Need
A better understanding of personal style and styling techniques.
Simple Styler
Pain Point
Deciding what to wear every day requires time and effort that users don't have.
User Need
Reduction of daily decision fatigue from deciding what to wear.
Pain Point
Users can't be bothered to dig through their closet to bring variety into their outfits.
User Need
Ability to see the entire closet at a glance or easily visible.
WIREFRAMING
I sketched four ideas, each addressing one of the primary user needs from above, and produced low-fidelity wireframes.
EVALUATIVE RESEARCH: EARLY CONCEPT TESTING
2
1
3
Logging OOTDs (Outfit Of The Day)
1
Added a help icon to inform users about how this data will be used and tracked
2
Removed mood question
"Mood seems irrelevant to what I'm wearing today. Options are also too limited." -P1
3
Added more specific statements for scales
1
2
3
Adding items to the closet
1
Added capability to auto-detect and display colors of clothing. Allows closet sorting by color
"Mood seems irrelevant to what I'm wearing today. Options are also too limited." -P1
2
Replaced drop-down menus with chips to reduce effort of scrolling. Allows for easy selection of multiple “tags”
3
Changed screen to a modal that puts the CTA at the bottom in the thumb zone
KEY USER FLOWS
Onboarding
Add pieces
OOTD logs
Look back at OOTDs
FURTHER EXPLORATION AND UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
How might we use the data from OOTD logs to inform users' styling choices?
Given that self-perception, self-esteem, and body image are weaved into fashion, data from OOTD logs may help users reflect and practice styling that not only looks good, but also feels good.
Generative research also demonstrated that people prioritize comfort, which, in turn, fuels the level of confidence that they feel internally and externally. Participants mentioned that body type or size was sometimes a barrier.
Literature review indicated that understanding enclothed cognition is a crucial step to further differentiating moxie from other solutions. Moxie draws attention away from a purely visual approach and to a mind-body approach to personal style and fashion.
How might we integrate augmented reality (AR) to create a virtual try-on experience?
Although a prototype was not built for this action, it addresses the pain of having to change in and out of clothes to determine what looks good and what to wear. By creating a 3D model from a 360° video of a user, the user can virtually try on pieces and outfits saved in their closet.
Early wireframing of a try-on feature