The Best Apps to Organize Your Closet
If organising your closet and planning outfits feels like a struggle, these apps will make your life easierWithout the help of the best closet app, we’ve all stood in front of our wardrobes feeling totally uninspired and struggling to find the right outfit. You’re running behind, frantically trying on different combinations to try and find the right one - and all too often it still feels like you come up short, starting the day on a negative note and with a mess to clean up in your closet.
And despite feeling like we have nothing to wear, there is so much in our closets that go unused. Most of us consistently wear only a fraction of what we own, and the average item is worn only 7 times before being discarded.
But what if there was another way? Imagine if you had an oh-so-scrollable digital closet 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! - with the help of one of the best digital closet apps like Indyx.
In this article, we’ll break down how closet apps work, how they can make your life easier, and compare options so that you can find the best closet app for you.
What Is a Closet App?
A closet app helps you digitally organize your clothes. After you upload photos of your items, you can use it to track different attributes like the item’s cost or when you last wore it. You can also combine items into new outfit combinations to see how they look without having to make a mess of your closet. Many apps also offer simple analytics on your wardrobe data, and organizational features like packing lists to help you prepare for any upcoming trips.
Many digital closet apps cover these basics of organizing and outfit planning, but the best ones do much more. A closet app is infinitely more useful when it’s not just an isolated digital representation of your closet, but when it connects you and your wardrobe to relevant suggestions and additional services.
It’s great to be able to see your sweater on your phone, but wouldn’t it be even better if you also got advice on how to wear that sweater, suggestions on new items that would pair perfectly with that sweater, and were able to resell that sweater, all in one place? That is exactly the innovative vision of the best digital closet apps.
How Closet Apps Work
All digital closet apps start with the same step: cataloging your existing wardrobe. After you download the app, you upload photos of your items and input a few details like its size, brand, and category. Some apps include automatic background removal that makes these images much more visually appealing, especially if you are planning on using them to build outfits.
It can be a big job to get this done, and so some apps provide additional solutions to help make this process go more quickly. Some allow you to plug into your email inbox to search for any clothing receipts and automatically upload those images. Others actually provide a white-glove service for someone to come to your house and do it all for you, for a fee.
After the cataloging step is done, the real fun can begin! Depending on the exact feature set of the closet app you choose, you can start tracking what you wear, view wardrobe analytics, style outfits, get outfit suggestions or shopping recommendations, or resell your items.
An important and interesting thing to note is that there is a wide variety of business models among closet apps. How they are each making money will directly influence which features each app is most focused on, and which they most heavily push to users.
Pay-to-Use Model
This closet app business model charges either a flat fee to download the app or a monthly subscription fee just to access the core set of features.
The good thing about this model is that - in theory - these apps are incentivized simply to build features that people want to use. But, the downside is that you typically have to put forward your hard earned cash to even try them out. And since cataloging your closet is a significant investment of your time and energy, paying a monthly subscription just to access your own work can end up feeling a bit like your wardrobe is being held ransom.
These closet apps tend to have a more basic feature set, focused squarely around organizing your closet digitally and planning outfits - more of an outfit planner app than a fully integrated solution. But, if you’re looking for something that is very straightfoward with no-frills, then a pay-to-use closet app may be a good choice for you.
Affiliate Sales Commision Model
Similar to influencers or many media outlets, these closet apps make a commission on product sales. They will typically present shopping recommendations and if you buy something then they take a percentage of that sale from the retailer. They essentially fill the role of a salesperson.
And so, these apps tend to really push shopping in their features - which is okay, if your main goal is to add new items to your wardrobe. But, we think that one of the best things about closet apps is that they can help you make better use of what you already have, so focusing heavily on shopping is a bit of a missed opportunity.
It’s nice to be able to use the app for free, but the incentives of a sales relationship totally changes the dynamic. We’ve all experienced a sales associate in a store telling us how great something looks on us, but been left wondering if they *really* think that, or if they’re just saying it because they want us to buy. It’s the same with these apps. You will always have to wonder if the outfit they’re recommending actually looks good, or if they’re just looking to make a sale.
Advertising Model
Similar to Facebook or Instagram, this model depends on showing users paid advertising for other products or services. However, expect advertising in closet apps to be much less sophisticated and much more annoying than ads on Instagram. These are typically intrusive old-school pop-up ads without any kind of personalization or targeting.
Service Model
Closet apps with a service model make their money from selling add-on services like white-glove cataloging or personal styling. Typically, you can use all the core features of the app for free, but they charge for these extra human-powered services.
We think that this is the best model, because it takes the best qualities from the pay-to-use and affiliate sales commission models while avoiding their pitfalls. Users can get access to all the self-serve features for free, while still being able to offer some more sophisticated wrap-around services. And because stylists under this model are simply being paid a fee for their time rather than depending on product sales, their recommendations are much more unbiased and trustworthy.
How Virtual Closet Apps Make Life Easier
At this point, you may be wondering to yourself: “But why would I want a digital closet?”. There are a few reasons why a wardrobe app could be a gamechanger for your day-to-day life, but sometimes it’s better to show than tell, and Clueless’s Cher Horotitz does it best:
We all know what it’s like to be running behind and frantically trying on different outfits trying to find just the right one. With a Clueless closet app like Cher’s, you are able to plan outfits ahead of time so you’ll always have the perfect outfit ready to go, saving you time and energy. Even better, in 2023, this is possible all on your mobile phone rather than Cher’s clunky desktop computer, so you can organize and plan your outfits from anywhere!
Just like Cher’s Clueless version, many outfit planner apps will also offer outfit suggestions to help elevate your style. Many closet apps rely on artificial intelligence (AI) to create these combinations - but if you’ve ever spoken to an Alexa or Google Home, you probably already have an idea about how “intelligent” AI still isn’t. When AI today struggles to understand explicit instructions, how can we expect them to master something as subjective as personal style?
And so even in 2023, the best closet apps provide outfit suggestions from a real, human stylist. Unlike many other “styling” services that focus on shopping new, these suggestions are all out of your own closet, helping you get more style out of the things you already own. Ever be caught dead in a bad outfit again? As Cher would say, “as-if!”
Tracking what you are wearing (or, not…) can also help you identify patterns so you can shop smarter, reducing those ‘wardrobe regrets’ that you *thought* you’d wear all the time, but fail to live up to expectations. You can also use an outfit planner app to ‘try before you buy’, by uploading a photo of any item you’re considering and see for yourself how it fits in with your existing wardrobe. We all want to get use out of what we’re buying - it’s more sustainable, and it can certainly save you money - and the best closet apps can help you do just that.
Finally, the best digital closet apps go above-and-beyond Cher’s ‘90s Clueless closet, offering the ability to resell your items, right on the same platform. Reselling your items is much more sustainable than donating or trashing them, and can put real cash in your pocket. But reselling on standalone platforms like eBay, Poshmark, or Depop makes it a pain to take photos and write product descriptions when you just want to list. Reselling on a digital closet app is a total breeze, since all that information is already uploaded! You can create a listing to sell your items in just a few clicks.
How to Decide What to Keep, Donate, or Resell (And Do It Sustainably!)
Learn more about how to edit your wardrobe, and the best thing to do with your unwanted items
However, few closet apps have all of these features such that you can manage everything to do with your wardrobe all in one place. In the process of building Indyx, I have done extensive competitive research on all the existing closet apps out there, and so am well positioned to share the pros and cons of each to help you find the best closet app for you.
Indyx
Summary:
Catalog your wardrobe on your own with automatic background removal
Or, hire an Indyx Archivist to catalog your wardrobe for you
Build unlimited outfits and plan packing lists or other collections
Add your outfits to a calendar to automatically track cost-per-wear; track your selfies to remember how you looked and felt in those outfits
Weekly outfit recommendations from the real stylist of your choice for $25+ a month, or get a one-off Lookbook starting at about $100
Free to download, available on both iOS & Android
Indyx’s mission is to unlock the potential of what you already own, and that is certainly made possible with this app’s impressive set of integrated features. It is the only app to combine digital cataloging and human personal styling in one place.
Indyx is a free wardrobe app that makes it easy for you to catalog on your own with the easy to use interface and automatic AI-powered background removal that makes your digital wardrobe appear very clean and neat. But, if cataloging your wardrobe sounds like a chore, a unique service called The Catalog can send a professional Archivist to your home to do all the work for you (check the app for latest pricing).
Right away, you are able to plan outfits, track cost-per-wear of your items, and create packing lists for free. A fan-favorite feature is Indyx’s calendar, which allows you to not only track your outfits but also your outfit selfies. It’s super satisfying!
If you’re feeling unsure about your style, Indyx is a great choice as there is a real focus on personal style, taking the perspective that human styling is still vastly superior to whatever ChatGPT can throw together.
Take advantage of their Style Quiz to help articulate your style, go deeper with the free Style Workshop content series, or even work 1:1 with a real, human personal stylist to style outfits and receive handpicked shopping recommendations to fill the gaps in your wardrobe.
Most unique is Indyx’s subscription service, The Feed, which gets you weekly professionally styled outfits from your own closet along with optional personalized shopping recommendations, all from a human stylist and starting at just $25 a month. You can choose what stylist you subscribe to and even message them directly.
But if you’re more interested in a one-off refresh, The Lookbook will get you 10 new outfits styled entirely from your own closet or with a few suggestions of what to add to your wardrobe mixed in.
While this next feature isn’t live quite yet, Indyx has a larger vision to incorporate resale directly into the platform. Taking photos and writing product descriptions to list on Poshmark or Depop can be a pain. But, since you already have all this information in your Indyx digital wardrobe, you’ll be able to list items on their marketplace with just a few clicks. Genius!
In general, Indyx goes above-and-beyond other options to become one of the best wardrobe apps for outfit planning and improving your personal style. Indyx is the only wardrobe app to have solved the hurdle of digitizing your closet with their professional cataloging service. They’re also the only app offering expert advice from real personal stylists on how to best wear what you already own, or a few unbiased suggestions of what to add to unlock greater versatility.
Indyx is free and available on both the App Store and Google Play.
Whering
Summary:
Catalog your closet with automatic background removal and AI-assisted tagging
Build unlimited outfits from your own wardrobe for free, or use “Dress Me” feature to generate randomized outfits for inspiration
Schedule outfits, curate lookbooks of items, or build packing lists
Shop sustainable product recommendations on their built-in marketplace
No option for professional styling help or direct connection to resale
Free to download, available on both iOS & Android
Based in the UK, Whering has a fun, clean interface and covers all the basics of a good closet app for organizing and planning.
You build your virtual closet by uploading photos through their automatic background removal, and AI scans your photo to automatically tag it with attributes like the category and color. This can make the whole process feel a little magical, but can also be annoying when the AI gets wrong, and that’s most of the time.
After your virtual closet is complete, you can do a lot to organize your wardrobe including creating unlimited free outfits, scheduling them in a calendar planner, or building packing lists or curated lookbooks. They also have a “Dress Me” feature that will show you randomized outfits - a little like playing with a paper doll - for a quick way to come up with new outfit ideas. All of this is available for free.
But, if Whering is a free closet app, then how do they make money? Well, they also feature a marketplace where you can shop new items from brands they deem as “sustainable”, and make a commission on any sales here.
Whering also provides a directory of local services like repair, alterations, and dry cleaners. However, these are only currently available in the London area, and there is no option to book directly in the app - it simply directs you to these businesses’ own websites for more information.
Our opinion on Whering
Whering’s app feels pretty slick, but on the whole it comes off as only half thought through. They’ve built a very nice virtual closet - which is perfect if you’re just looking to scroll your wardrobe and build outfits on your own - but there isn’t much of a vision past that.
It appears that they’re playing with a few different ideas on how to further monetize, including AI outfit recommendations, connecting to services like tailors and dry cleaners, and selling new items from ‘sustainable’ brands, but none of these features as currently built are all that useful. Outfit recommendations from the “Dress Me” feature are basically random, recommended service providers are only available in London, and the marketplace is currently just like any other online shopping experience.
My personal opinion is that they will end up taking the path of least resistance to expand their affiliate sales commission model. While it doesn’t look like they’re doing it quite yet, I’d bet they will start making more ‘targeted’ and prominent product recommendations to try and get you to buy. And, I am inherently skeptical of any model that purports to help you be more sustainable, but is incentivized by product sales.
Stylebook
Summary:
Catalog your closet with the help of a manual background removal tool
Build, schedule, and track unlimited outfits
Create packing lists and view basic wardrobe analytics
No option for professional styling help or direct connection to resale
$4.99 to download, available only on iOS
Stylebook is an OG option that is pretty bare-bones and won’t win any design awards, but does the job of being a basic closet app for planning and organizing - and its loyal fanbase loves them for it.
Stylebook charges a one-time fee of $4.99 to download the app, but after that you will get lifetime access to its suite of features. Upload your photos, and you can use their background removal tool to create a clean virtual closet. It isn’t automatic, and can be somewhat fussy to use but it generally gets the job done.
You can style unlimited outfits, schedule and track wear, create packing lists, and view wardrobe analytics. Finally, the Style Shuffle feature allows you to select categories to shuffle together like a deck of cards to reveal new outfit ideas for inspiration.
Our opinion on Stylebook
Stylebook is a no-frills option if you just want some basic functionality to upload your closet, build outfits, and track wear - but similar to Whering, there just isn’t too much beyond that. The difference is that Stylebook knows what it is and doesn’t claim to be more. It’s good for organization, but doesn’t truly help you get any more style out of your closet or circulate any items you’re no longer using.
Save Your Wardrobe
Summary:
Catalog your closet with automatic background removal and AI-assisted tagging
Build, schedule, and track unlimited outfits
Create packing lists and view basic wardrobe analytics
Schedule local services like repairs, alteration, and dry cleaning (currently only available in London)
No option for professional styling help or direct connection to resale
Free to download, available on both iOS & Android
Save Your Wardrobe is similar to Whering in that it has a clean, snappy interface and covers all the basics of a good closet app for planning and organizing.
You build your virtual closet by uploading photos through their automatic background removal, and AI scans your photo to automatically tag it with attributes like the category and color. Again, this is great when it works, but even in 2023 simple AI like this leaves a lot to be desired and often makes mistakes.
Once you’ve built your virtual closet, you can accomplish all the same basic functions like planning outfits, scheduling them in a calendar, and building curated lists of items. One thing to note about the Save Your Wardrobe outfit builder is that it basically creates a mini-list of the items in the outfit rather than generating a true outfit board like most of the other best closet apps. This gets the job done in terms of organizing and tracking, but doesn’t quite scratch the same visual itch if that is important to you.
Similar to Whering, Save Your Wardrobe also attempts to connect you to local services like repair, alterations, and dry cleaners. It is more than just a directory, taking you through a matchmaking flow to learn about the type of service you’re looking for and then providing you with their best match provider and a cost estimate. However, these services are again only currently available in London.
Our opinion on Save Your Wardrobe
Our view on Save Your Wardrobe is similar to Whering: the app is clean, fast, and easy to use but really only has basic self-serve organizing and tracking functionality. It does not have a larger vision to truly support improving your style or supporting end-of-life circularity for items you no longer need.
The matchmaking with local care & repair services is an interesting addition, as this is one area where it does appear they are building out a greater ecosystem to get more life from your wardrobe. However, this is going to be difficult to scale - it’s great if you live in London, but for the foreseeable future it’s not much help if you’re located well, anywhere else.
Cladwell
Summary:
Get started quickly by using a pre-loaded ‘capsule wardrobe’ as a stand-in, and replace with photos of your actual wardrobe over time
For free, you can: build, schedule and track one outfit a day. You’ll also get one free algorithmically-generated outfit recommendation per day and 5 messages per month to “Ask Cladwell” (powered by ChatGPT)
Upgrade to $7.99 a month to get unlimited access to outfits, view wardrobe analytics, organize clothes into ‘mini-capsules’, and 50 messages per month to “Ask Cladwell” (powered by ChatGPT)
Upgrade to $49 a month to add access to a human stylist via text or email
Spotty background removal, and no connection to resale
Free to download, available on both iOS & Android
The Cladwell app has gone all-in on AI, using a ChatGPT plug-in to attempt to emulate otherwise expensive human styling services. It is also quite centered around the idea of having a “capsule wardrobe” (likely, as a way to help focus the algorithm…) so if that is an appealing concept for you, this may be a good choice.
Unlike every other wardrobe app, Cladwell doesn’t have you start with cataloging your own wardrobe. The Cladwell app heavily encourages you to select from one of over thirty pre-built “capsule wardrobes”, and your Cladwell wardrobe is automatically populated with these generic items. You can then replace similar items with those from your actual wardrobe by uploading your own photos.
But, even when uploading your own photos, the app continues to encourage you to select from a pre-existing library of “similar” item images instead! Cladwell *claims* that they have automatic background removal, but we struggled to get it to work properly.
Once you have created “your wardrobe” you can build, schedule and track one outfit a day for free, and receive one algorithmically suggested outfit from Cladwell based on the weather.
If you’re a big fan of Siri, you’ll also like Cladwell’s most recent feature: Ask Cladwell. Like a built-in Siri for your wardrobe, you can ask the ChatGPT plug-in questions like: “where can I buy the best linen clothes?” or “What should I wear to a date?”. A cool idea in theory, but there’s a bit of an execution issue (more on that later). You can send 5 messages a month with Cladwell’s free plan.
For access to all app features, such as unlimited outfit planning, mini-capsules and more AI generated outfits, you can upgrade to a $7.99 monthly subscription. If you would like a more human touch, you can pay $49 per month to reach a stylist by email or text.
Our opinion on Cladwell
Cladwell is placing its bet on the benefits of AI-generated outfit styling, which…we’re just not sure is much of a benefit. At least, not yet.
The problem as we see it is that style is more art than science - it’s very subjective, and very personal. And so, if we are often struggling to speak intelligently with Siri about the weather, is it realistic to believe that a machine can generate truly good outfits?
While ChatGPT has shocked the world with its early capabilities, it is also often wildly inaccurate - in all areas! ChatGPT was not trained visually on well-styled outfits, but rather on the collective group-think of generalized style advice from the internet. And, there is a lot of truly useless advice out there! Add to this the fact that it is trying to translate that advice onto your items given only a few basic tags (think: category and color) and…the outfit suggestions can leave a lot to be desired.
So while this technology can “style” many people for free, in the end it doesn’t really style anyone. There is no one-size-fits-all capsule wardrobe, nor is there any one-size-fits-all style recommendation.
Several users corroborate these shortcomings in their App Store reviews, complaining that most outfits don’t quite go together. Additionally, users have noted that the app seems to completely ignore some of the clothes in their wardrobe which - in our opinion - defeats the purpose of having a digital wardrobe to maximize what you own.
Pureple
Summary:
Catalog your closet with the help of a manual background removal tool, and ability to add items directly from the web or their database of items
Build, schedule, and track unlimited outfits
Create packing lists and view basic wardrobe analytics
Open your virtual closet to be styled for you by other Pureple users
No option for professional styling help or direct connection to resale
Users complain of bugs and frequent pop-up ads
Free to download, available on both iOS and Android
Pureple is another basic closet app with similar functionality to Stylebook but without the $4.99 download fee. It allows you to upload photos of your closet and build outfits, but app bugs and frequent pop-up ads make for a frustrating experience.
Pureple is free to download, and you can upload your photos using their background eraser, but users complain that - in addition to being manual rather than automatic - this feature is quite buggy and can take a few tries to get right.
Similar to Stylebook, you can style unlimited outfits, schedule and track wear, create packing lists, and view wardrobe analytics. The app also provides some algorithmic outfit suggestions. Despite offering a “thumbs up” and “thumbs down” option to rate the outfits, users are doubtful that this feedback influences future suggestions and suspect that outfits are simply randomly generated.
One interesting point of differentiation that Pureple offers is the ability to open your closet for others on the app to style outfits for you - but this is obviously hit or miss depending on who chooses to style you, and there is no ability to give these friendly strangers any guidance or feedback.
While Pureple is a free closet app, you ‘pay’ for the service through viewing pop-up ads. Users complain that these pop-ups are annoying and incessant, which is not the experience you want when just trying to get dressed in the morning.
Our opinion on Pureple
Pureple offers all the same basic features as Stylebook - and shares the same criticism from us in terms of lack of integrated wardrobe support. The difference is that you essentially have to pick your poison: spend $4.99 or be inundated with pop-up ads in perpetuity. We would rather skip a Starbucks once than deal with that daily annoyance.
Devon is a co-founder of Indyx and currently leads Growth for the company from San Francisco. She enjoys admiring other people’s gardens and sleeping in with her French Bulldog, Reggie.
