Comment by sonja | Hacker News Reader

Comment by sonja | Hacker News Reader

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Cletus,

Thanks for the rad feedback. I appreciate it. It'll make my product a lot better.

You're right, shopping online is different. But despite this, shopping online is a billion dollar industry that doesn't show any signs of being slowed down simply because it isn't taking place in person. I think if women (who, arguably, are more obsessed with fit/feel/etc. than guys) can shop online then there's definitely a way to make it work for men. That's what I plan on doing.

Also, great point about clothing serving as a symbol or a form of self-expression. I think you're spot-on about programmer types making the statement, "I don't really care about clothes," but a) it assumes everyone is making the same statement, which is problematic (we can't ALL have the same message to express since we have such a diversity of experiences in how we perceive the world) and b) it eliminates the possibility that a typical geeky dude never wants to look good, which I would argue isn't the case.

Nevertheless, great points and I appreciate them all.

as a geeky dude who does occasionally look good, when I started caring at all I found out what I should be wearing from a very analytical perspective. I first went to websites to find out what sort of colors, patterns, cuts of clothes I should wear based on my skin complexion, build, height, etc. Then I went to find what the current styles are and went to retail websites to find what the styles were that were currently being offered. Then I actually went to the store to try these things on to see how they fit and how well I wore them.

Buying something online really lacks any information on how the clothes will fit. There's basically that old saying and I don't see how it can be solved when buying online "wear the suit, don't let the suit wear you." If you could get the site set up to find locations near the user where these suggested clothes can be tried on/purchased then I think the site could be very useful.

As it is I was already interested enough to try to go to dress.me and sign up (only to find out it doesn't exist yet), however I wouldn't be willing to pay for it. If I could get a discount on the clothes the site suggested by being a paying member, then I may be willing to pay for it (but then it comes back to the conundrum I've already mentioned).

Vanity sizing doesn't help any, either. Sure, it might shrink a little in the wash, but some people are a little over-generous with that....

I realize that I'm an outlier, but to give you another perspective, I'm someone who shops online almost exclusively using communities like Superfuture.com and Stylezeitgeist.com to find new stuff. The site isn't for me but I'd still like to check it out just to see what surfaces for me once I answer the questions :D

Hey Sonja, I really like the idea, and I've linked to it from multiple sources. I really hope your site takes off like I think it can.

I only have one piece of constructive feedback, which I hope you will pay some heed: Men have fragile egos. You should be wary of saying "Because guys hate shopping" or suggesting in any way that men do not have a sense of style. Yes, many (maybe even most) guys do not have any sense of style, or might hate the whole shopping experience. But I guarantee that using this sort of language as your tag-line (or 30-second elevator pitch) will turn away just as many guys from your site as it catches.

My suggestion is that you simply tout the benefits of this suggestion-based shopping. It's an obviously great idea, which I am backing 100%. Sell them on the benefits without making claims which will hurt their egos.

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