Style on the Go
The Best Fashion Apps for a Quick Dose of Style
Written by Felicia Ann Ryan
Women’s Fashion Editor, VC Magazine
VOGUE Runway
VOGUE is pretty self explanatory when it comes to fashion and style, however, VOGUE Runway differs greatly from the Magazine. Here you won’t find words but instead vivid images of the latest high fashion collections with an archive going back to BC. Okay, not that far in time, however, there are collections captured from back in 1991. Search by designer or season for the latest runway and still photography. There’s even a little spot to watch the latest interviews and behind the scenes. It’s clean and concise and ever classic.
M2M
Made to Measure (M2M if you’re searching in the app store) is for the absolute fashion and style enthusiast. Artfully created, M2M curates a masterpiece of fashion visuals left to the interpretation of the viewer. It covers the past, present and future of fashion through storytelling, including: documentaries, full length classic and modern fashion films, short interpretive fashion films and the latest runway shows. It’s an addicting dose of art meets fashion.
Mod Man – Style App for Men
Mod Man organizes every aspect of your masculine closet, clearly and concisely. Take photos of articles of clothing you currently own and the app saves them. This allows the user to schedule outfits on their built-in calendar to plan looks in advance for the next big meeting or weekend away. Shop in the app for current trends from your bookmarked favourite designers and see what is on sale in real time. There is even an inspiration section to pull outfit ideas from, with the ability to shop for the look – perfect for guys wanting their daily life organized right down to wardrobe.
The RealReal
The RealReal takes bargain shopping to the next level. With a library of thousands of authenticated high fashion and designer labels, it is an online consignment shop made of both current and vintage styles, with many in mint or new condition (with tags!). A little example of what you may find (taken from The RealReal App) – Listed: Michael Kors Crossbody Bag with tags still attached selling for $444, retail price $2 695. Making real designers a reality for those currently only lusting over them.
F Network
Didn’t get your exclusive invite to Paris Fashion week? Cue Fashion Network. Fashion Network (F Network as the App is called) is a straightforward live stream of all of the most relevant designer runway shows from Paris, London and Milan Fashion Weeks. It’s like having the best seat in the house without leaving your house.
Stylebook
Stylebook is a pay only closet organization app with rave reviews that helps you get the most out of your closet. Take images of items you own and add them to your online closet, mixing and matching garments to create a virtual wardrobe in advance that you can then reference when deciding what to wear on the fly. Add outfits to the visual calendar which will allow you to pre plan weeks in advance, taking the guess work out of remembering each item. Hit “shuffle”, and the app will instantly create new outfits from your existing wardrobe. Keep track of how many times you wear an outfit and see what you do and don’t wear so that when it comes time to spring clean your wardrobe, items can be tossed in confidence. There is also a packing section to assist with packing ahead of time, an inspiration library for when creative juices just aren’t flowing. This app will even tell you which items get the most bang for your buck, based on the cost of the garment and how many times you wear it. Packed with how-to and demo videos, $5.49 is a tiny price to pay for a virtual stylist.
Stylekick
Bill Cunningham says it best, “The best fashion show is definitely on the street. Always has been, and always will be”. So, to make it easier to obtain street style without tapping every stylish commuter on the street to ask, “where’d you get that?!” an app was created to shop for outfits from the busy streets of every city right on your phone. Stylekick includes a community of the most stylish civilians snapping images of themselves and telling you where they bought it, so you too can snag the items for yourself. The styles vary greatly, from dapper business casual to the extraordinary.
Polyvore
Polyvore is like having a personal shopper in your pocket, it chooses looks based on style preferences, remembering everything that you have bought or liked, with a selection that is usually bang on. The garments are categorized in a way that is easier to find exactly what you are looking for. Instead of the basic groupings, such as Jackets, Pants, Jewellery, etc., items are actually grouped into specific trends based on the season. This is particularly helpful when you just want to find a quilted jacket without looking through ALL of the jackets. Use the advanced search function to look for specific items like: white shoes, cropped flare pants or banana printed leather heels; your imagination is the only limit. One small con is that although the prices are listed in CDN $, a few of the shops are American based (but most have great shipping policies).