One weekend, during a YouTube binge fueled by laziness and creativity, I stumbled upon this video by Safiya Nygaard. In this video, Safiya downloaded the Pureple app and allowed it to generate her outfits for an entire week.
Naturally, both the masochist and the fashionista within me were curious about this little experiment, so I decided to give the Pureple app a try. Not having an entire week myself, I decided to let Pureple choose my outfits for three days, and I was actually impressed with the results.
When I first opened the Pureple app, I was greeted by my empty closet, which sorts your items into categories like accessories, tops, sweaters, jeans, pants, etc. But before the Pureple app (which is entirely free, BTW) could offer me any outfit suggestions, I first had to input photos of my entire wardrobe, excluding my lazy day clothes and gym-wear. I also had to categorize, by hand, the types of clothing, colors of clothing, and what type of weather each item was appropriate for.
The first step of inputting my entire closet was tedious, to put it lightly, but as the challenge progressed and I began to generate my first outfits, I started to believe that maybe this adventure would be worth the trouble after all.
When generating outfits, Pureple asks you to select what items you want suggestions for, as in, do you want to wear a dress and jacket or a top and jeans? Then, you can swipe left or right on outfits you either like or hate so Pureple can get to know your taste in clothing. Basically, it’s like Tinder for your closet.
Unlike Safiya, who took the app’s first suggestion for every day of the challenge, I generated a bunch of outfits and saved them to my library so I could choose an outfit appropriate for what I was doing that day, whether I was going to work, class, or out with friends.
I did this for three days and photographed the results so you could decide for yourself whether or not to give this time-saving method a try… without the time commitment. Below, I’ll also rate each outfit based on its comfort, style, and potential (i.e. would I wear this outfit again?) so you can get a sense of how well Pureple got to know me over the course of this challenge.
Day One: Class to Work
For Day One of my Pureple challenge, I needed an outfit that could carry me from my 9:00 AM French class to my part-time job as an Office Assistant for the BU Dance Program. So, I chose this sweater, jeans, and boots combo recommended by Pureple that was both classy and comfy for the job.
Comfort: 3 out of 5 stars. This sweater is a bit small on me and shows off my tummy, which I’m often self-conscious about. My jeans were also a bit too tight, so I felt constricted and exposed while rushing from central to west campus for work.
Style: 4 out of 5 stars. This isn’t an outfit I’d usually choose for myself, which was kind of the appeal. I appreciated that Pureple took this sweater, an item in my wardrobe that I love but barely wear, and made it actually wearable with shoes and accessories.
Potential: 3 out of 5 stars. The comfort factor means I probably won’t be wearing this outfit again on a busy day anytime soon, but if I ever need a classy outfit for a day with minimal walking involved, this sweater and jeans duo does just the trick.
Day Two: Theatre Performance
On Day Two of my Pureple challenge, I needed an outfit to wear to my roommate’s musical (she was a co-choreographer for BU On Broadway’s Cabaret). I wanted to show her I cared about her achievement so much that I even put on real pants, without hating myself for wearing skinny jeans during the long periods of sitting involved in a theatre performance.
Comfort: 4 out of 5. A girl’s gotta love an outfit that incorporates leggings as seamlessly as this one does. However, I did feel more than a bit awk putting a tight jacket over a loose long-sleeve top on my way in and out of Tsai.
Style: 5 out of 5 stars. This outfit nailed my aesthetic on the first try. *cue golf claps for Pureple*
Potential: 4.5 out of 5 stars. There’s an extremely strong chance I’ll be wearing this outfit again, but quite possibly with my fuzzy black North Face instead of this cute faux leather jacket. What can I say? I’m a New England girl through-and-through!
Day Three: Rushing to the Pru
The last day of my Pureple challenge happened to fall on the day I have to rush straight from work in West Campus all the way to the Prudential for therapy. (Anxiety and depression squad, where ya at?!) I not only needed to feel comfortable enough to endure this outfit for the majority of my day, but also professional enough to not embarrass myself waltzing into work at 11:00 AM.
Comfort: 5 out of 5. Loose jeans and a baggy cardigan will never, ever disappoint me.
Style: 4 out of 5 stars. The outfit was a bit plain — which I don’t mind in an outfit, most of the time. Yet weirdly, I get the sense that Pureple could have done better and was holding back its true potential.
Potential: 3.5 out of 5 stars. I might wear this outfit again — and I might not. Next time I need a cute lazy-day outfit, I’ll definitely consider this cute combo, but might opt for something with a bit more flair than this monochrome palette.
So, after three days of letting Pureple choose my outfits, would I use this app again? Despite how long it took me to input my wardrobe, I actually think this app was worth the hype! It saved me so much time and energy in the morning by choosing my outfits for me, and took all the guesswork out of trying to look like a cute, functional human being for once.