When a quick search on Apple’s App Store reveals no fewer than 2,199 results for “style,” it can be difficult to distinguish one fashion app from another. Each claims to offer the best expert advice on outfit and beauty tips. Yet the growing success of the new app WeStyle, where everyday users become the experts, suggests that social style by group consensus may be what’s in this season.
Based in Lexington, the app is the brainchild of CEO Gregg Morton and COO Giovanni DeVita. Friends since second grade, these local grads (from the University of Kentucky and Western Kentucky University, respectively) first joined forces as co-founders of Investimonials. com and Movita Technologies. After giving up these ventures for “real” jobs, the duo later decided to invest in another innovative start-up.
Touting the tagline “style made social,” WeStyle is “more of a social app than it is a fashion app,” Morton said. The app is not just about building a wardrobe — it’s about building community.
WeStyle’s mission is to offer style advice, inspiration, and discovery options in real time. Though it bears resemblance to Instagram or Pinterest, it focuses on a narrower niche and avoids the barrage of broad content that is typically offered by these platforms. Moreover, with its easy integration onto Facebook or Twitter, the app promises to work with, rather than against, existing social media.
Launched in January, the app now has more than 10,000 followers, due to its wide variety of features. After creating a profile, users can browse the Discovery Feed, personalized to the interests of the individual. When posting content, users can either “ask,” “decide,” or “inspire,” sharing up to four looks at once. Users searching for style advice also can receive instantaneous feedback on one or multiple outfits with a Yes/No option, community votes and comments. Fashion-savvy individuals can inspire others to “like” their looks and suggest products featured in their posts with the new ShopTags feature, which tags products in WeStyle’s own catalog.
“Our groups of friends would frequently text pictures of themselves wearing multiple outfits, asking for feedback or ideas on what they should wear. We saw this as an opportunity to streamline this process,” DeVita said.
Thanks to its familiarity and networking opportunities, Lexington became the prime location for the duo’s newest venture. Contrary to the “build it, and they will come” belief held by some app developers, Morton and DeVita realized that they needed to plug into the right network and follow a focused market strategy in order to make WeStyle successful.
“We coupled this with the explosion in activity of image sharing and increasing disaggregation from traditional social networking communities,” DeVita said.
WeStyle’s co-founders see it as a promising social media niche and a timely opportunity for their business. Now that Pinterest has removed its official links to bloggers’ sites, for example, lost bloggers may fi nd a new home at WeStyle, where they might be paid to post as “microstylists” (though the focus will remain on everyday users). In addition, Morton and DeVita recently appeared at UK’s Gatton College of Business in order to select several student network coordinators, who will earn internship credit for promoting WeStyle on campus via hashtag campaigns.
What truly sets WeStyle apart is its collaborative relationship with retailers. With soon-to-be-implemented smart mirrors, users will be able to use the WeStyle app to influence their in-store purchases. With this technology (the MemoryMirror is a notable one), consumers stand in front of a digital mirror and “try on” multiple looks and colors without leaving the dressing room. By connecting directly with WeStyle, users can then tap into quick input on their fashion options from the WeStyle community before checking out.
With the help of WeStyle, these mirrors can connect online and in-store commerce, Morton said, creating a more immersive, integrated shopping experience. From Morton’s perspective, it’s a form of visual consumption – “you see it, you like it, you buy it.”
According to Morton, “brick-and-mortar will never go away.” Instead, the goal at We- Style is “to augment the brick-and-mortar experience and to bring the familiarity of online shopping into the store.”
Morton and DeVita are acutely aware of the challenges facing the burgeoning app market. For would-be entrepreneurs looking to launch their own apps, Morton advises some introspection before committing to the rollercoaster ride.
“You have to ask yourself – do you love what you’re about to do?” Morton said.
They should also understand that the biggest and most competitive challenge in the social media game is simply grabbing people’s attention. To do that, Morton said, businesses must be ready to not only engage with content, but also to actively generate it themselves.