Thoughtful entries on style, sustainability and the fashion industry; we care about this stuff and think you should too
AI is Supercharging a Broken Fashion Ecosystem
Fashion, the most visible expression of our identity, is also one of the most potent polluters of our planet today. With the rise of artificial intelligence, this already fragile ecosystem is set to undergo a major seismic shift—one that could either revolutionize a more sustainable way to get dressed or supercharge more unnecessary consumption.
I Am Begging You to Start Styling Instead of Shopping
“Oh! So Indyx is kinda like Stitch Fix!”
I’ll nod my head and smile, and say “oh yeah, kind of!”. But internally, I cringe. It’s some of the most common feedback I get when I first tell someone about Indyx. And hey, you could very reasonably argue that if this isn’t the reaction I want then I need to change my pitch. Noted.
But I think this reaction also says a lot about where our collective heads are at right now when it comes to how we approach fashion and style - and, where we’re making a big mistake
What We Can All Learn From ‘Girl Math’
You may not have heard about “girl math” yet, but I’m willing to bet you’re already doing girl math at least as often as your (male) partner is thinking about the Roman Empire.
Maybe a friend has Venmo’d you for their half of a dinner you put on your credit card and you considered that “free” money. Or, you resisted an impulse purchase and felt like you just “made” the $100 you didn’t spend.
That’s girl math.
We Shop for Items, But Live Life in Outfits
It’s a seemingly unbreakable fashion maxim that the piece you love the most is the one that you’re *about* to add to your closet. It doesn’t even need to be a sparkly, impractical confection for this to be true - in all likelihood, the piece you’re currently coveting is something you think is actually quite practical.
You bring it home, and inevitably it loses its shine almost as soon as the tags come off.
This disconnect you’re feeling? It stems from the simple fact that we all shop for items, but live life in outfits.
You Don’t Actually Want an AI Stylist (Yet)
What only recently felt like a far-away fantasy suddenly felt very real. We all started asking: if ChatGPT is *this* good, why don’t I have an AI-assistant for every area of my life?
It’s clear that AI technology will massively impact our culture and - at some point - force disruption in every industry. But the truth is that AI styling just isn’t there yet. Let me explain why - and, what would allow us to get there in the future.
Gen Z Loves Fast Fashion. So…How Exactly Is That Sustainable?
If there is one thing that gets under my skin it’s the sneaking suspicion that we may be hypocrites. With all the hope put on Gen-Z to save the planet, it’s time we get to the bottom of why we continue to voraciously consume fast fashion in a very, *very* unsustainable way.
Why is the generation that considers nothing off-limits when protesting for climate action also comfortable showing up to that same protest in Shein? How can the most environmentally conscious generation also be the biggest consumers of fast fashion?
Fast Fashion, Explained
In the past, we knew to expect new clothing collections four times a year, one for each season. Nowadays, many fashion brands release up to 52 “micro seasons” a year. That’s one every week! With this unprecedented speed came the term: fast fashion.
But, other than the fact that it is faster than, say, regular fashion, what does it mean exactly? What is fast fashion? And, is it as bad as people say?
9 Revealing Questions to Help You Spot High-Quality Clothing
When shopping for quality, our knee jerk reaction is to associate it with certain brands and not with others: “X brand is high-quality, so you can confidently buy anything from it; Y brand is low-quality, so avoid it at all costs.”
But, does choosing to maintain a closet with high-quality clothes mean never buying from stores like Forever 21 and H&M ever again? Our short answer is…no! Our perspective on the issue is more nuanced that just making blanket statements for brands (spoiler alert: it gets slightly controversial *wink wink*).
Greenwashing or Genuine? How You Can Suss Out Dubious Brand Claims
What happens when looking sustainable is way easier than actually being sustainable? Greenwashing.
With greenwashing rampant in the fashion industry today, it can be hard to suss out what sustainability claims are genuine versus which are just clever marketing. Read on for our greenwashing red flags to help you evaluate brands for yourself and avoid the industry’s worst offenders.
What We All Have Wrong About Sustainable Fashion
Our take: you don’t need to buy a single piece of clothing from one of those “sustainable” brands in order to participate in sustainable fashion. True sustainable fashion is free, and something that everyone can participate in just by shifting your mindset towards your wardrobe.
Let’s unlearn and relearn what sustainable fashion truly is (and, isn’t) - and how exactly you can be a part of it.
De-Influencing: Navigating the Latest Influencer Trap
“Today, I’m going to de-influence you by spilling the tea on exactly which products not to waste your money on”.
While that sounds all good and merry - finally, a trend based around not buying things!- the key word is trend. As the old adage goes, we are all selling something.
In an ironic twist, the action being sold as a fight against corporate greed actually feeds right back into it. It’s not useful as an anti-consumerist campaign, and it’s not useful in building your wardrobe or being savvy in spending your money.
At Last, Cher’s Clueless Closet Is Finally A Reality
Cher’s glamorous laid-back California lifestyle is perhaps made most memorable by her digital wardrobe software that displays itself on a dinosaur of a dial-up desktop computer (ohhh, remember the ‘90s?) at the start of the film. Cher grins ear-to-ear as she scrolls through wardrobe until she finds a perfect combination—a black and yellow MacLeod-ish tartan skirt-suit that certainly is as bold as her personality.
Whether you first watched the iconic film when you were 5, 15, or 25, you’ve likely fantasized about having something so luxurious as a digital wardrobe that could effortlessly find you a new and exciting outfit every morning. Well, lucky for you—it’s finally here.
The Challenge of Putting a Personal Stylist in Your Pocket
We founded Indyx with a very specific yet nearly universal experience in mind: we’ve all opened our absolutely overflowing closets and still thought to ourselves: “I have nothing to wear”. We know it’s outrageous - of course there must be something in there. But all alone in our closets, it never seems to feel that way.
And so today, we’re officially launching a new feature and our first paid subscription offering aimed at finally solving this problem: the Indyx Style Feed.
Why You Should Hire a Personal Stylist
We all manage to get dressed everyday, but few of us have ever worked with a personal stylist. It is a little odd to think that many of us hire personal trainers for physical fitness or therapists for mental wellbeing, but when it comes to facing the behemoth that is style, we all seem to choose to fend for ourselves.
The truth is that we could all use some help from a personal stylist. Contrary to popular belief, no one is born with style - it is a skill that is built over time, and a personal stylist could be your secret weapon.
The Best Apps to Organize Your Closet
Without the help of the a closet app, we’ve all stood in front of our closets feeling totally uninspired and struggling to find the right outfit.
But what if there was another way? Imagine if you had a scrollable digital wardrobe that helped you get dressed every morning - just like Cher in the iconic 90’s movie, “Clueless”! That dream is now a reality, and you can now have your very own Clueless closet - or perhaps we should say, not-so-Clueless closet!
Let’s break down how closet apps work, how they make your life easier, and compare options so that you can find the best closet app for you.
Why We’re Over One-Size-Fits-All Capsule Wardrobes
While we love the *idea* of the capsule wardrobe, we hate what big fashion has turned it into. If you’re looking for a prescriptive “Capsule Wardrobe Checklist”, I’ll warn you now that you won’t find it in this article. But what you will find is our roadmap on how to build a capsule wardrobe - a flexible, easy wardrobe system - that truly reflects you and your personal style.
The Best Wardrobe Apps
Without the help of the a wardrobe app, we’ve all stood in front of our closets feeling totally uninspired and struggling to find the right outfit.
But what if there was another way? Imagine if you had a scrollable digital wardrobe that helped you get dressed every morning - just like Cher in the iconic 90’s movie, “Clueless”! That dream is now a reality, and you can now have your very own Clueless wardrobe - or perhaps we should say, not-so-Clueless wardrobe!
Let’s break down how wardrobe apps work, how they make your life easier, and compare options so that you can find the best wardrobe app for you.
The Best Personal Stylist Apps
Technology has transformed many industries, from hailing a cab to renting out your guest room. Platforms like Uber and Airbnb provide unparalleled ease for users to do things that were otherwise more cumbersome; they also disrupted traditionally high-barrier industries to democratize access and created new economies of their own.
Personal styling is undergoing the same technological transformation, and digital styling - commonly performed by personal stylist apps - is gaining popularity. Let’s take a closer look at what personal stylist apps are and how they could elevate your style.
The Hidden Harm of After-Christmas Sales
Those After-Christmas “SALE!” emails hit your inbox like clockwork every December 26th, but have you ever wondered why they are such a constant in this ever-changing world?
The answer lies in how the fashion industry is incentivized to habitually and intentionally over-order inventory, especially around the Holidays. These sales may seem like one last Holiday gift, but let’s dig into how they actually perpetuate the negative cycle of overproduction and overconsumption.
An Industry Insider’s Look at Black Friday
Inside brands and retailers, Black Friday is a make or break moment for the entire year, and so it is *very* closely orchestrated, all with one goal in mind: to get you to buy as much as possible.
This week, let’s pull back the curtain on exactly what happens behind-the-scenes inside the industry.