Cladwell vs. Whering
Ever since the moment we all saw Cher Horowitz (of the iconic 90s film, Clueless) effortlessly scroll through her very own closet on her dinosaur of a dial-up desktop computer, the concept of a digital wardrobe has been permanently stuck in our collective consciousness.
While the technology may have seemed a distant dream back then, almost 30 years later we now have several wardrobe apps to choose from that accomplish everything that Cher’s version did - and even more!
If you feel you have nothing to wear, or that nothing you own goes together…or, if you just tend to hit that snooze button five too many times, then you need a wardrobe app. But, which one to choose?
In this article we will be comparing two wardrobe apps: Cladwell and Whering. They have very different features so we recommend prioritizing what matters most to you. But if compromising isn’t really your thing, we might have something in the back for you.
What Is a Wardrobe App?
A wardrobe app is a platform that allows you to digitally organize your clothes. All wardrobe apps allow you to upload images of your clothes, usually through a DIY method but some apps also offer services to make this process easier. You can use your digital wardrobe to combine items into new outfit combinations to see how they look without having to make a mess of your closet, or pre-plan outfits ahead of time for no-stress mornings.
But, it doesn’t stop there! Most apps offer additional features beyond cataloging and outfit styling, but these features will vary from app to app. For example, Whering has a clearly Clueless-inspired feature to shuffle your clothes into new outfits while Cladwell gives you a ready made capsule wardrobe blueprint. Many apps also offer simple analytics on your wardrobe data, and organizational features like packing lists to help you prepare for any upcoming trips.
Why a Wardrobe App Makes Life Easier
Most of us are all too familiar with “the clothes chair”, or “the clothes corner”, or wherever it is that you leave the clothes that accumulate throughout the week as you try on an endless amount of outfits for every occasion. For any woman with a wardrobe app, this is but a distant memory. With a wardrobe app, you can effortlessly scroll through your closet and plan your outfits while laying in bed or drinking your morning coffee.
With all these ready-made outfits, it feels easy to find an outfit you like each morning. Say goodbye to not knowing what to wear because you have “nothing to wear” and say hello to not knowing what to wear because you have too many amazing options!
And if you ever run out of your own outfit ideas, many apps can offer you new styling suggestions. This can either be done by a computer generated algorithm or better yet, by a real stylist that can give you a fresh perspective on your clothes.
Beyond simple outfit planning, the increased visibility of a wardrobe app is also key to actually using your entire wardrobe - either by reminding you of all the great pieces you already have, or by nudging you to realize what items you aren’t wearing (but that someone else might!).
Cladwell vs. Whering: Compared
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.
Overall, it feels like a bit of a battle just to build a digital wardrobe of your own actual items! If this is important to you, then Cladwell may not be the best choice.
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.
Who Cladwell is for:
The Cladwell app could be for you if you greatly prioritize ease in getting a digital wardrobe up-and-running and are willing to take the good with the bad when it comes to AI-generated outfits. With its reliance on generic stock imagery and instant ChatGPT recommendations, it’s perfect for anyone looking for a wardrobe app that requires a minimum effort…as long as you’re okay receiving just about the same back.
Whering
Summary:
Catalog your wardrobe with automatic background removal and assisted tagging, or add items from Whering’s existing database
Build unlimited outfits from your own wardrobe for free, or use “Dress Me” feature for randomized outfit suggestions
Schedule outfits, curate lookbooks of items, and build packing lists
Shop new from sustainable brands and secondhand from Vestiaire Collective on a built-in ‘marketplace’
No option for professional styling or ability to resell items
Free to download, available on both iOS & Android
Whering is a UK-based wardrobe app that delivers a good user experience for anyone looking for the basics of a digital wardrobe: visualizing your clothes and building outfits.
You build your digital wardrobe by uploading photos with automatic background removal, and the app scans your photo to automatically tag it with attributes like category and color. This can make the whole process feel a little magical, but can also be quite frustrating when Whering gets it wrong…and that’s most of the time.
Once your wardrobe is digitized, 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. Whering also has a “Dress Me” feature that will show you randomized outfits - a little like playing with a paper doll, or pressing shuffle on an iPod - for a quick way to come up with new outfit ideas. All of this is available for free.
Whering encourages users to shop their built-in ‘marketplace’, which is populated with new items from a curation of “sustainable” brands and a limited selection of secondhand items from partners including Vestiaire Collective. They make it easy to style these shoppable items with your existing wardrobe to imagine how they’d fit in before checking out on the partner’s website.
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 to us as only half thought through. They’ve built a very nice digital wardrobe - 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 and it doesn't offer much more than what Cher had on her desktop computer almost 30 years ago.
Yes, the app itself is pretty seamless with a clean design, but without any styling services and a run-of-the-mill shopping platform you may find that the time investment of cataloging your wardrobe doesn’t quite pay off.
They have loads of features but few seem to really solve any problems. For example, the randomized wardrobe shuffle is as good as pulling things out of your wardrobe with your eyes closed. Their partnerships with repair and dry cleaning shops is nothing more than a list of suggestions you could find yourself on TikTok or Google.
Whering offers many features for free, but is monetizing off their shopping marketplace, meaning they earn an affiliate commission off any items you buy through their links. At the end of the day, do we really need another platform just pushing you to buy, buy, buy?
Who Whering is for:
If you always find something to wear and have no problem styling all the items in your wardrobe, then this is the app for you. The design of their digital wardrobe and outfit builder is one of the best out there. But if you often find yourself stressed figuring out what to wear, keep scrolling.
If neither of these options are sounding just-right for you, let us introduce you to a secret third option: Indyx (oh hey, that’s us!). We’re here to revolutionize how you get dressed by creating a holistic wardrobe ecosystem designed to help you maximize the pieces you already own through bespoke personal styling services combined with a built-in digital resale platform.
Introducing: Indyx
We built Indyx to solve your real, everyday wardrobe problems with one integrated solution. We’re not just a place to play around with outfit moodboards (although, we can definitely do that, too!) - we’re a platform where you can actually use your digital wardrobe to get 1:1 human support with curation and styling and directly resell whatever is no longer serving you.
Like every wardrobe app, the journey starts with digitally cataloging your wardrobe. You just can’t get around that. Our best-in-class background removal makes that relatively easy (dare I say, oddly satisfying?)…but let’s be honest that it can still be a big PITA. That’s why we offer a service to completely take care of this step for you.
While being able to build outfits from your couch is great, you know what’s better? An expert personal stylist building those outfits for you, and helping you thoughtfully build your wardrobe with new pieces selected just-for-you. All for $25 per month!
My personal favorite feature? Peeking into other people’s wardrobes. That’s right, you can scroll through friends’ or strangers' wardrobes and even put in offers for any pieces you really like. It satisfies all of our inner voyeuristic tendencies while also being an ideal system to borrow clothes from friends instead of buying a new dress for every work event or third cousin’s wedding.
Now, let’s get a little more objective on everything Indyx has to offer (or not).
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
Share your wardrobe with friends and browse other Indyx users’ Open Closets for inspiration
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.