FAQ - July 11, 2011
We’ve tried to make using Fashion-Ade easy and fun, but you may still have some questions. Here are some pointers if you run into trouble.
1. How do I build a closet? Where do I go? What are the steps?
From the Fashion-Ade Home Page, select the Large Orange Button marked “Build Your Closet” in the middle of the page. You’re now just 3 steps away from seeing what’s in your closet, waiting to be worn.
- Step 1: Choose your Fashion Flavor(s). We all have style influences that seem to dominate our wardrobe. Words like “Bohemian” or “Comfortable” may make sense to you – if so, just click the box or boxes (you can choose up to 2 flavors). Not sure about this? No worries – just take our simple three step quiz, and we’ll make a recommendation. Now, we know – we’re new friends, and it may be hard to choose just one answer for each question – but choose the one that seems most like you, and trust us (we get it right most of the time, but if we miss, you can easily restart the quiz). And, if we recommend (or you choose) more than one Flavor, we’ll ask you to tell us which Flavor is more essential to you – are you a little classic, and mostly trendy? Your answer will affect how our Outfit Engine combines the pieces you own, so this is a really important – but easy – step.
- Step 2: How can we help you with wardrobe inspiration? We all go different places – if you work in a formal office, you may need different inspiration than someone who’s just looking for some advice for date night. Now, we’ve assumed you’d like to see all the potential in your closet, but if some events don’t apply to your lifestyle, just de-select the ones that don’t matter to you.
- Step 3: Register! You can manually enter your information, or you can just use your Facebook Log-In to register – your call. We do ask for a bit of information you won’t have provided to Facebook, though:
- We’ll need your zip code – all the first official day of spring is around March 21, spring-like conditions may show up in your neighborhood around March 1 or May 1, depending on where you live – we can try to manage this for you by knowing where you are.
- We’ll also ask your size category – keeping track of current trends is one of the great things about Fashion-Ade, and we’re working with great retailers like Zappos, Saks Fifth Avenue and Dillard’s, to name just a few, to find items that will work with what you already own. We’ll show you how we can update your outfits with current pieces – no need to buy the whole mannequin anymore! - but first we want to make sure we’re mixing in things that will really fit you.
Once you’ve entered your information, we’ll send you an email confirmation, so we know you’re you. Click the confirmation link in the email, and the Outfit magic will start happening!
2. Once I build my closet, what happens next?
Now comes the exciting part. We’ve already connected with thousands of women, many of whom have Fashion-Flavors similar to yours. We know what they’ve told us they own, so we’ll give you a jumpstart by showing you the most popular garments chose by women with Fashion Flavors similar to yours. From here, you can:
- Delete the items you don’t own
- Add other items – we’ve populated a master closet with nearly 100,000 garment icons, which can “stand in” for the garments you actually own. You can use our icons, or if you’d rather upload photos you’ve taken of your favorite pieces, it’s easy to do that too.
- Get started viewing outfit recommendations!
3. How do I access my closet after I’ve built it?
Select Sign In (in the upper right corner) and enter your user name and password. Note: you most confirm your email address before using the site for the first time. You can do this by clicking on the “confirm my email address” link in the email we send to you after you’ve created your closet. (Please check your email spam filter for this confirmation email).
4. How do I get the most out of my closet?
You may have seen those editorial pieces in magazines –“5 Pieces, 30 Outfits!” But, chances are, you didn’t own those pieces. So we’ve taken what you DO own, and mixed and matched those pieces into thousands of our combinations for you.
If you’ve used our Starter Set of garments, you should see hundreds, if not thousands, of potential combinations. You can easily sort these using our filters, which you’ll find on the left of our Outfit page.
5. How do I add garments to my closet?
The more items you add to your closet, the more potential you’ll see – and the more customized it will be to your actual wardrobe. So, just like you didn’t buy everything you own in one day, you can easily add new pieces as you go along. Just log in and select the Add Garments tab. You can then choose from our Master Closet, or upload photos of your items.
- Use our master closet: Select the box on the left (Add Garments from our Master Closet). You’ll then see our Closet Bar, organized by garment category. Select a tab (for example, pants), then select a silhouette. Below it you’ll then see the item in 45 possible colors – select the one matching your garment, and drag it to the “My Closet” box on the right. When you’re finished, be sure to select “save” so your item is added.
- Upload my own photos: You can easily upload your own photos – select the box on the right (Upload your own garment images). Use the prompts to select a file from your hard drive, then use our drop downs to apply appropriate tags for color, silhouette, pattern, etc. This will allow our Outfit Engine to take advantage of your images.
We’re working on some other great ways to get your items in your closet – a bar code scanner is on our drawing board, and we’re working with retailers to make it easy for you to add the items you buy online. Stay tuned for exciting news on this front!
6. How do I delete a garment from My Closet?
After signing in, select My Garments in the top navigation, and select the category tab for the item I want to remove. Mouse over the item, and select the trash can icon to delete it.
7. Why are the garments in the master closet presented as graphics, not photos?
These garments, represented as icons, stand in for what you actually own. For instance, white button down shirts come in many styles, and we don’t know what yours looks like exactly, but by allowing you to use our white button down shirt icon, we can show you outfits which can take advantage of that white button down shirt. To get an actual representation of your actual shirt, you can always upload an image of that shirt. And, we’re working on other great ways to add actual images of the things you buy, so stay tuned!
8. I’d like to keep track of a specific garment – can I add notes about it?
Sure. After signing in, from the My Garments page, mouse over an item and you’ll see an “Add Details” link – you can note the date and place it was purchased, how you take care of it, even where you store it.
9. How do I find outfits using a specific garment?
Maybe your black pencil skirt is back from the cleaners. After signing in and selecting My Outfits, just type the item name into the garment search, and we’ll show you all the possible matches for your pencil skirt?
10. How do I find outfits using a specific garment category?
If it’s feeling like a jeans day, after signing in and selecting My Outfits, just select Jeans from our Garment Drop down menu to see all outfits using all your jeans, not just one specific pair.
11. I’m feeling kind of “pink” today – how do I find outfits that use a specific color?
After signing in and selecting My Outfits, select the pink color box – we’ll find the combinations that use your pink items.
12. I’m dead set on wearing something floral to that garden wedding – how do I find combinations that use specific patterned garments?
After signing in and selecting My Outfits, select eh floral pattern box – that will bring combinations using your floral pieces into view.
13. Lucky me – I’m headed to the tropics for a winter vacation – how do I view outfits that will work for the climate?
Using your zip code, we’ll automatically present combinations that work for your climate as of the current date. However, it’s easy to see combinations for other temperatures; after signing in and selecting My Outfits, select the season icon to find warm and/or cold weather outfits.
14. Can I view outfits just for certain events – what if I just want to see outfits for hanging out, or outfits for work?
After signing in and selecting My Outfits, under Events, select the relevant event to narrow to view combinations just for that event type.
15. You’ve presented the garments for an outfit in a row – how do I see the outfit as I would wear it?
After signing in and selecting My Outfits, scroll down to an outfit and select the “Try This On” Link next to the outfit – this will present the combination in layout similar to the way you would wear it?
16. Next to every outfit I see an item marked “buy” – what’s that all about?
We’re working with dozens of retailers to comb through their merchandise and find the items that work with what you already own. We take into account things about you - your wardrobe, your lifestyle, your size category – and things about the season’s current fashion trends to make recommendations on items you could add. And, because each outfit can be refreshed in lots of different ways, selecting “view all” let’s you see all the items that work to update the look you already own. Just click on the image and you’ll be taken right to the product page so you can make a purchase. Pretty nifty, huh?
17. Each outfit has an “Editor’s Rating” - what are the editor ratings for?
Our style director, Michelle Lynch, has worked with a whole team of stylists to come up with the rules for our Outfit Engine. In her many years in the fashion world, she’s learned a thing or two about what makes a great outfit, so she’s looking for things like color, pattern, texture and shine – the more of these qualities an outfit has, the more perfect she thinks it will be. So, she’s applied her rating accordingly.
18. How do I rate my own outfits? And, why would I want to rate an outfit?
You may or may not like what our Outfit Engine presents you – and your opinion counts the MOST. So, after signing in and selecting My Outfits, you can give each combination an outfit rating by assigning stars – 1 means “no way!,” 5 means “this is a signature look for me.” And, when you rate an outfit, we’ll pay attention, and future combinations we present to you will take your feedback into account. Love outfits with lots of accessories? Got it. Think dresses and flip flops are a dud? We hear you. Red and green together, is that Outfit Engine nuts? Just check the X and will delete that combination once and for all – and we’ll remember that’s not for you going forward.
19. How do I get friends to rate an outfit?
We all need a little feedback from time to time. So, if a combination seems promising but you’re just not sure, send it to your friends to get their input. Sign in, select My Outfits, and scroll to an outfit. From the Outfit combination, you can send a combination three ways:
- Select the Facebook icon to post a combination to your Facebook Feed and let your friends tell you what the think.
- Select the Tweet to post a TwitPic to your Twitter feed.
- Select the envelope to send an outfit via email. You can manually enter email addresses, or, if you have a regular set of friends with whom you share wardrobe notes, store them in “My Contacts
Yes – sign in, select My Outfits, scroll to an outfit, then select the “X” next to the outfit number. This will remove it from your closet for good.
Sure – just sign in, select My Garments, then drag and drop your pieces into the “Make my Own Outfit” combination pane. Assign the outfit to a season, and it will be stored in your closet.
22. How do I find the outfits I created?
Sign in and select My Outfits; using the “By Entries” filter, select the “Created by me” option to find all the outfits you created.
23. How do I Share my outfits on Twitter?
Sign in and select My Outfits. Scroll to an outfit combination, then select the Tweet icon above an outfit and follow the prompts. To use this feature, you’ll have to confirm this action with Twitter, and you’ll of course need to be logged into your Twitter account.
24. How do I share my outfits on Facebook?
Sign in and select My Outfits. Scroll to an outfit combination, then select the Facebook icon above an outfit and follow the prompts. To use this feature, you’ll have to confirm this action with Facebook, and you’ll of course need to be logged into your Facebook account.
25. How can I email my outfits to my contacts?
Sign in and select My Outfits. Scroll to an outfit combination, then select the envelope icon above an outfit, then enter the email addresses of the friends to whom you want to send the outfit. You can add your personal message if you’d like.
26. How do I see the feedback I’ve received for an outfit?
Sign in and select My Outfits. Scroll to an outfit combination, then click on the combination number/name to view all the ratings and comments you’ve received for an outfit.
27. How do I get friends on “My Friends List?”
Sign in and select My Friends. From here, you can import friends from your MSN or Gmail contact list, or you can add them manually by entering their names one by one. We’ll send your friends a note to let them know you’ve added them to your list, and they can then confirm.
After signing in, use the Wish List to create a virtual shopping list. You can select items you’ve been meaning to buy – an orange trench coat, a navy high-waisted pant, a gray platform sandal – and add them to your Wish List in the same way you’d add them to your closet.
29. What about the Public Closet – what’s in there?
Have you ever wanted to peek inside another woman’s closet? Here’s your chance! You can view the contents of a number of our users – and you can sort this by style type – want to see what other Classic Comfortable women own – maybe there’s something you should be adding? Or, headed to another town? Check out the zip code where you’re headed, and you can see what other women are likely to be wearing.
30. How do I get My Closet into – or out of – the Public Closet?
By default, your closet will be added to the public closet, but changing your privacy settings is easy – just visit your Profile (you’ll find a link to your profile next to the sign in link in the upper right hand corner of the site). There you’ll see a Privacy status box – just use the radio buttons to choose your preference, and be sure to save your changes by selecting the orange “save my changes” button.
31. How do I change my email address?
Sign in and visit your Profile (you’ll find a link to your profile next to the sign in link in the upper right hand corner of the site). Select the Change Email tab to enter a new email address, and select the “send confirmation” button. we’ll send a confirmation email to the new address; just click on the “confirm” link in to set the change.
32. How do I change my password?
Visit your Profile (you’ll find a link to your profile next to the sign in link in the upper right hand corner of the site). Select the Change Password tab; enter your old password, then enter the new password (two times, just to be sure we got it correctly!) and be sure to select the Save My Changes button.
33. What if I forgot my password?
Go to the “Sign In” page (find the link in the upper right corner of the home page), and select “Forgot my password” link. Enter your nickname, as well as the email address and zip code you used to create the account, and we’ll send you an email to let you reset your password.
Have a question we didn’t answer here? We’re happy to help, just send it along!
Happy dressing from the Fashion-Ade.com Team!
