Depop’s Newest Feature Lets You Visualize a Complete Outfit Assembled From Multiple Listings
Did you know that you can customize Google to filter out unwanted results? Follow these steps to improve your search results, including adding Lifehacker as your preferred source for tech news .
I love it when technology works in a way that suits my specific needs, and that’s exactly the case with this cool new tool I found on Depop, a resale platform I use almost exclusively as a buyer. One discreet little button lets you create a visual representation of the clothing and accessory sets featured in different listings.
What is the new Depop tool?
A few days ago, a little scissors icon appeared on every listing I was viewing, right above the Like and Bookmark icons I used to save items I wanted to look at again and maybe buy. Curious, I clicked on it and was taken to the My Outfits page, where I could remove the background from the listing photo and add it to a sort of vision board.
Here’s how it works: Let’s say you see a sweater you like while browsing, but you’re not sure what you’d wear it with. A little later, you see some jeans you like and start wondering how they’d look with that sweater. With this new feature, you can add both to the My Outfits tab, where the background of the listing photos is removed and you can drag items around the blank screen, helping you visualize how they’ll look together before you buy them. Your created outfits are saved to your account, and you can tap on them at any time to view or edit them, plus they link to the items they contain, so when you’re ready to buy, you can just go from there.
I love resale shopping because you can buy things that are unique and not everyone is wearing (or you can buy things that everyone is wearing for a lot less). I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had an idea for an outfit from a bunch of listings and tried to visualize it myself, and then given up when all the pieces arrived and I could try them on. This actually happened to me this week: I ordered a pair of pants and a top that I thought would go together perfectly. They did n’t . I usually take a screenshot of each item and then send them to a friend to line up on top of each other in our iMessage thread. It’s basic, but it gave me a vague idea of what the pieces might look like together.
With Depop’s new feature, you can create an outfit vision board with no restrictions. Add shoes, a bag, a hair accessory, a top, a jacket, and pants — even (or especially) if they’re from different sellers.
Several areas for improvement
A few weeks ago, I checked out Google’s Doppl app, which is supposed to help you visualize how clothes would look on your body using AI. I was so disappointed with the app that I wrote back that I’d like to see it expanded so I could put multiple items on my AI avatar to see how they would look together. Right now, Doppl just lets you “try on” one item, and the AI generates the rest of the outfit. It’s kind of useless! The new Depop feature just wipes the floor; but it would be worthwhile to add the ability to borrow Doppl’s feature that lets you dress up a digital version of yourself. I’d like to see not just an outfit, but an outfit on me, with my hair color, eye color, etc.
There are a few downsides that will be harder to fix. The biggest one is that the photos My Outfits uses are just photos taken by sellers. As a seller, I don’t always take great photos. Unlike many other sellers, I never use mannequins or studio lighting. If I feel like it, I’ll put an item on and take a selfie in front of the mirror, but that’s about all I can do, and a lot of people are like me. Many sellers take one or two shots of dimly lit jeans or shoes and call it a day. We’re not professionals, we’re regular people looking to make a little extra money. When it comes to My Outfits, that means you’re probably importing low-quality images and trying to figure out what an outfit will look like based on them. The quality of your My Outfit mockup is essentially dependent on the quality of the photos, and you have no control over that.
The other problem is the same one you always run into when shopping online: No matter how many measurements are listed in the description, you can’t really tell how the item fits until you try it on. Trying on a top over a skirt in My Outfits might tell you if the colors go together (assuming the sellers took the photos in good lighting), but you won’t be able to tell how high the skirt will ride on your torso or how low the hem of the shirt will sit. Will there be skin showing? Will there be overlap? My Outfits doesn’t list that; it’s determined by your body measurements and the garment’s measurements.
Still, it’s innovative and fun; I’ve been planning outfits for myself all week. I’ve told my friends about it, but even after updating their apps, it still doesn’t work for them, so it looks like it’s still in the process of being rolled out.