Frustrated with online shopping?
Meet someone who is doing something about it.
Many of my style clients struggle with online shopping, with fit being the biggest issue. Yet with limited inventory in-store, it can feel like the only option. Meet Sae, the creator of Unvarnished Clothing, a user-submission based apparel review blog aimed at making online shopping easier. I love people who find creative solutions to challenging problems, so I reached out to Sae to learn more about her project.
Q. How did the Unvarnished Clothing project come about?
A. I launched a photo blog a few months ago after yet another disappointing online shopping experience. My online shopping fails always fall into the following categories:
1. Wrong size - as a 5'6 135lb woman, I can fit into everything from size 2 to size 8 (!!!)
2. Weird fit - tall thin models look great in a paper bag; sadly for me, that's not the case.
3. Unexpected fabric, quality, or color. I've ordered a silk-like dress that was a lovely light peach color and it turned out to be horrendous orange color in cheap polyester.
I also fall into what I call the "Final Sale" trap—I buy something final sale from a designer that I've been coveting because the price is finally more reasonable, except I've never purchased from this designer before. Then I get the item and it's totally not what I was expecting. Oh and no returns. Yikes.
Online shopping should be really easy. The internet's been around forever. But it isn't. From my perspective, the biggest problem is the mismatch of fantasy (what the brands are selling) and reality (what the customer is looking for). I started this project as a way for my friends and I to see how items look in real life with short blurbs on fit, quality, and sizing with the hope that if any of us wanted to buy a specific product or brand in the future, we would be better informed.
Q. What is your mission and vision for how you'd like Unvarnished Clothing to grow?
A. At the very least, if women discover my blog from simply Googling the items that have been reviewed, I hope they find it to be helpful in informing their shopping decision. Long term, I would LOVE it if I could create some sort of "Tripadvisor for Clothing" where women can easily look up certain brands or products and see what others are saying. Another way the database can be used is if you could find women with similar stats and measurements and see what they're purchasing. And because the database requires photos and not just words, you can visually see what it looks like! I tend to fall into the rut of always buying from the same brands and would love to expand my designers, especially for smaller emerging brands.
Q. How can people contribute and what kind of contributions are you looking for?
A. Please submit reviews! This is really the number one way to contribute and I would really love to showcase a diverse set of body shapes and sizes. My focus for the blog is more on aspirational luxury or luxury designers but really I'm open to any designer that's not fast fashion. And needless to say, everyone is welcome. We do have a growing Instagram presence @unvarnished.clothing where we post new reviews. And of course, if you have any questions and suggestions, please share at hello@unvarnished.clothing.
When shopping for myself and my clients, I always look for reviews from bloggers or fit pics on instagram before making or suggesting an online purchase, and I would love to see this project grow into a database of fit pics. Imagine being able to search by a brand or the name of an item you're curious about and seeing how it fits on different body shapes and sizes. That’s why I contribute, and why Sae and I invite you to submit your own reviews. By sharing your new purchases, you can be a positive influence for others who experience the same challenges when it comes to online shopping.
