Playing dress up was the staple of many a childhood playtime, and I was born in the golden age of the website Stardolls, a cyber-version of the original paper dolls. There was something delightfully engaging about creating an outfit of your imagination and seeing it come to life on virtual females.
Transport to 2015 and Stardolls has grown up, graduating into Villoid, the new social style app co-founded by Style icon Alexa Chung. This dressing room at your fingertips is set to change how you view style – think Instagram meets Pinterest but with a “buy now” option.
Chung was inspired by the computerised wardrobe in “Clueless,” saying:
“I suppose that scene in Clueless where the computer puts an outfit together from Cher’s wardrobe really stayed with me. Clothes are fun, making mistakes is fun, being inspired is fun. Villoid celebrates the process of getting dressed and showing your friends.”
Villoid is foremost an app for creativity and sharing your style with other fashion-lovers. You produce style boards by uploading photographs directly from your phone or searching for specific items. People who dig your style will follow you, and there are endless style gurus, brands and even friends for you to follow back. In true modern social media style, items can be “loved” and this clever little app lets you immediately buy the ones you just can’t live without.
[Source: Villoid press release]
Alexa Chung joined tech entrepreneur Jeanette Dyhre Kvisvik and her team who had already been brainstorming similar ideas. The end result has been described by Dhyre Kvisvik as “the best dressed app on the market.”
Personally, I downloaded the app as soon as I discovered it, and I echo the words of Pixie Geldof, who has already dubbed Villoid as “the most addictive app in life.”
Inside the app
Within seconds of entering the Villoid world I was swiping my way to creating new and quirky looks, being inspired by others and realising you can never have too many clothes. It’s like having an endless catalogue of clothes right in the palm of your hand.
It’s easy to use interface, the springboard of default brands it automatically follows, and greed for getting “loves” makes this a dream app for the phone addict. Throw in the fact that names like Miu Miu are dangling their new shiny products in our faces for us to buy, and your bank balance may quiver in fear.
So, may this be a “note-to-self” for all you impulsive clickers.
We live in a generation of lazy shoppers; browsing very often wins over target buying. We would rather trawl through the “new in” pages on our favourite websites or dawdle around Topshop than go out grocery shopping style, list in hands.
This app caters to just that, with a fashion news feed filled with items and style boards of your own choosing. Whether you’re an Adidas, Alexander Wang or Cheap Monday’s kind of girl, now you can both visualise how an outfit will look and buy it from the comfort of your own bed.
I see Villoid as taking the technological world by storm, a way that an eye for style can be seen by people everywhere and who knows, you may just become the new Alexa Chung. Fingers crossed for a creation of a menswear version.
What do you think? Have you downloaded Villoid yet? Have your say in the comments section below.
