Overcome Wardrobe Panic
Styla:
This case study explores how we address wardrobe panic and the feeling of limited options. Our solution explores various options for outfit selection, making getting dressed quick and stress-free while helping users build confidence.
Product Designer
Role:
Time:
10 Weeks
Design Thinking, Human-Centered Design, 5Ws guidelines, & Double Diamond Framework.
Tools:
Approach:
Figma
Research
Before starting any project, I begin with research, gathering data from “Trunk Show,” a styling company run by Nordstrom.
61% of Americans struggle to find something to wear, despite having full closets.
The average person feels 'Wardrobe Panic' 36 times a year, believing they have nothing to wear.
Feel like you have nothing to wear? We feel this over 2,800 times—about 7.67 years!
Average Americans spend 8 hours per month trying to find something to wear.
New York Post. (2018, March 7). You’re not the only one who constantly feels wardrobe panic. https://nypost.com/2018/03/07/youre-not-the-only-one-who-constantly-feels-wardrobe-panic/
Empathize
As a fashion designer, I often see clients frustrated when choosing outfits for everyday or special events. Friends and family ask for my advice to feel more confident in their style choices, and I sometimes struggle with this too. That’s why I wanted to dive deeper into this topic and possibly create a digital tool to help myself and others overcome wardrobe panic easily and confidently, allowing me to help more people than just one-on-one.
Primary Research
With a curiosity to explore the causes and understand what users face when getting dressed, I decided to conduct some interviews.
Participants:
I conducted interviews with 9 females, 1 Male aged 22 to 34 from cities like New York, Montreal, Madrid, San Jose, and Miami.
Collect Insights:
I asked open-ended questions to explore different aspects of users' experiences with wardrobe choices, including their motives, pain points, behaviors, and emotional impacts.
Affinity Map:
After interviewing the participants, I organized the information into clusters based on similar ideas, issues, or functionalities. To identify patterns, I used color-coded sticky notes to represent different categories.
Prioritization:
I reviewed the clusters and prioritized ideas to focus on based on user value and how well they answered the “How might we” question.
This analysis showed that users often feel they have limited options due to a lack of resources and lack of creativity.
90% of participants perceived they didn’t have enough clothes.
65% expressed a lack of creativity in putting outfits together.
Define
How might we help young adults overcome the perception of not having enough clothes, so they feel less frustrated and more confident with their current wardrobe?
Persona
Using insights from my interviews, I created a persona that reflects the behaviors and challenges of the participants.
This helped me shape Zoe, a fictional character who represents my target users, making it easier to understand my audience and guide my design choices.
Experience Map
I created this experience map to show Zoe’s journey as she gets ready for work in the morning with just 15 minutes.
I divided her journey into five stages: search, choose, try, wear it, and ask for advice.
Zoe wants to be comfortable and seeks versatile outfits that work for both the office and after-work social plans.
“As a conscious fashionista, I want to discover different ways to use a single item so I can create various looks without needing to buy more.”
Core Stories
I created 40 user stories based on interview insights to better understand users, highlighting their feelings, actions, and viewpoints. I grouped these stories into themes, revealing key patterns.
“I want to receive unique outfit combinations from the clothes I already own so that I can make the most of my existing wardrobe.”
“I want outfit suggestions based on current trends to stay stylish and feel confident.”
We will focus on “outfit combinations” from clothes users already own for the core epic because it will positively impact other epics as well. We help them save money and gain confidence by providing new trendy looks with old clothes.
Possible Solution
With my core epic, I brainstormed ideas while keeping my persona and "how might we" question in mind. This led me to develop four main ideas.
1
2
Ideate
3
4
Task Flow
1
Add Item
When I thought about the user journey for outfit suggestions, I started with three stages: search, filter, and results. After user testing, I expanded it to five stages.
2
Search
3
Preview
4
Filter
5
Get Ideas
After reviewing all my ideas and the time I had to develop a solution, I realized that three of the four ideas would take too long. So, I decided to go with the outfit generator because it meets many user needs and is quick and easy, allowing us to provide suggestions without requiring users to upload their wardrobe.
I looked for wardrobe apps that provide fashion advice & found 9 of them. Most need payment to use, and one only offers AI suggestions. Here’s a list of the apps I could use for free & provide inspiration for outfit creations.
Competitors Analysis
Most of these apps require users to upload their entire wardrobe for outfit ideas. Style DNA is different—it offers an integrated search, allowing users to type in an item. I’ll consider this approach for my solution, as it lets users style without uploading everything, similar to how they find inspiration on Pinterest.
I gathered some inspiration before starting my sketches.
The solution sketches are the result of multiple screen versions. I combined key details and features to create a final sketch that will guide my wireframes.
Key Solution Sketches
Prototype
Homescreen
Filter Page
Outfit Suggestion
These wireframes helped me conduct testing, gather feedback, and make quick changes early in the process.
Wireframes
Filter Screen
Outfit Screen
Homescreen
Test
After user testing, we gathered many insights on improving the experience. I’ll highlight some key changes we prioritized using a matrix that focuses on user value and low effort.
Feedback from users
“I didn’t know there were more options for the items; there’s no swipe sign or arrows on the sides of the clothes.”
“The icons are too small.”
“I thought the filters were for the jacket, not the whole outfit, which was confusing.”
“I didn’t change the filters since they already had a preset one. Shouldn’t say ‘apply filters’?”
Some of the steps were confusing due to unclear wording or poor functionality of the wireframes.
I wanted the app's name to evoke a female AI assistant vibe, similar to Siri or Alexa, but as a personal styling advisor.
To achieve my color choices, I conducted several color tests to ensure my app meets accessibility standards.
Branding: Styla
After defining the app's branding, I applied it to the design & observed user reactions to evaluate its usability & identity.
Prototype
High Fidelity
Feel free to reach out with any feedback about this case study at any stage!
When Improving—
As designers, we must first listen to our users to create useful tools. However, with so many opinions, it can be challenging to prioritize improvements.
Using methods like a prioritization matrix helps me focus on high- user value and low-effort changes first.
When Building—
Building things with intention is essential. When adding a button or feature, we need to ask why and determine if it's truly necessary for our users.
It’s important to revisit our “How might we” question & keep our “persona” in mind throughout the design process.
Next Steps
My Learnings
Gather feedback on the “results page” & make improvements.
Develop additional features & incorporate community options.
Test & refine the app.