Fall is a time of changing seasons, when the weather does whatever it wants to do. You wear a sweater in the morning, and it’s drenched in sweat by the afternoon. With the temperatures so flux, how do you know what to wear?
Enter DailyDressMe, a website dedicated to taking your local weather forecast, and customizing outfits that would be comfortable to wear on these days. The question is, does it work?
I set out to test this, by letting DailyDressMe dress me for a week. Can a website combat Colorado’s Fall Weather Fluxes? Let’s find out!
Day One: Monday
Accuweather Forecast: High 74, Low 52
DailyDressMe Forecast: High 78, Low 55, Mostly Cloudy
Overall Impression: Unconventional, but effective.
Today, DailyDressMe decided that I would be best suited in a linen jumpsuit, and strappy heels. As I woke for my first class at 10 am, and looked out at the gloomy skies, I was pretty skeptical. Both forecasts were wrong, because the temperature when I woke up was 45 degrees, far below the two estimated low temperatures. However, I donned my overalls and some heels, and set out on the town.
My first problem was with the shoes. DailyDressMe is not customizable. You cannot tell them that you tend to be cold in every environment, or that you walk approximately 2 miles a day for class. So, it was very reluctantly that I pulled some almost new heels out of the back of my closet. I also questioned their choice of such thin clothing. I cheated slightly and paired my overalls with a quarter sleeve rather than a tank top and grabbed a blazer style jacket that they stated was in style but didn’t specifically recommend for the day. What can I say? I HATE being cold.
However, during the day I began to see the logic of their decision. The extra effort it took to walk in these heels raised my core body temperature, meaning that I quickly warmed enough to discard the jacket. In chilly classrooms I was able to don my cheat blazer, which goes down to personal preference. The overalls were quite thin, as linen tends to be breathable, but the dark coloring let the little sunlight warm me as I walked, and later on as the day warmed, allowed me to feel cool.
It didn’t make my feet feel any better though, but I did sign up for this.
Day Two: Tuesday
Accuweather Forecast: High 77 Low 56
DailyDressMe Forecast: High 78 Low 59
Overall Impression: Windy but fun
Today was the most dreaded day of all. After using this site for a while, I noticed that they enjoy suggesting dresses and rompers. And so they did today, with a gray t-shirt dress, and sneakers. Nevertheless, I jumped into the shower, shaved my legs (a struggle in and of itself,) and donned my dress for the day.
As I got ready, I noticed that once again, it was very gloomy today. I had cracked my window during the night, and had awoken to a freezing cold room. As I grabbed my backpack, I remembered that dresses tend to ride up in the back where the backpack lies. Fun. However, as I walked out of my apartment, I noticed that it was a lot warmer than I anticipated. A jacket was still necessary, but it was overall pleasant, and my outfit was not overly annoying. I also enjoyed the early 2000’s punk-esque twist of converse and a dress.
Once again DailyDressMe surprised me, which was interesting to say the least. This is not an outfit that I likely would have chosen, mainly because of the nasty bruise on my leg and my disinclination to dresses as a whole but is one that I did not regret. I do still wish that the site was more customizable, but it is meant to be a suggestion rather than a template.
I also noticed on this day that I had a hard time finding a pair for the outfits DailyDressMe showed me. The color was not an exact fit, nor the style, and my sneakers were nothing like the models’. Because the outfits (and weather) change daily, it’s not possible to purchase them in advance. If you really like the pairing, you have to email Nina in order to be given the applicable links. The websites are also curated through Nordstrom, meaning that none of them can be called affordable by any means, should you be able to find them.
Put simply, it wasn’t ideal for my purposes. But unless you’re planning on building your life around this site, it’s probably fine.
Day Three: Wednesday
Accuweather Forecast:
DailyDressMe Forecast: High 83 Low 47
Overall Impression: Yass, they know me.
To be entirely honest, this is an outfit that I have worn before, and will wear again. I’m a simple girl – when I see Burks, I wear Burks. Same for jumpsuits that allow me to go sans brassiere. On this particular day, my back to school cold was hitting me very hard, and I had to struggle very hard to get out of bed. This comfortable outfit was right up my alley and allowed me to wear my new necklace.
The sky was a lot brighter today, and the expected highs a little higher, so I decided to forgo the jacket (I definitely didn’t forget it because I was late, it was a conscious decision.) This was for the best, because even with my exposed arms, I was sweating as I walked to my first class. It was a warm day, and I was glad for the lighter outfit.
I also got quite a bit of compliments on my appearance while wearing this, despite the fact that my hand was shaking as I winged my eyeliner, and my hair was haphazardly tied up. The outfit highlighted my jewelry and my collarbone tattoo, and it was a lewk.
This outfit is definitely the closest to my day to day style, and I was very appreciative of it.
Day Four: Thursday
Accuweather Forecast: I forgot to look and I’m sorry
DailyDressMe Forecast: High 69, Low 50
Overall Thoughts: Immediate Regret
Remember how I decided that my grey pea coat would act as my cheat coat? Well, I haven’t needed it the past few days, which meant that I forgot it today. It was COLD when I left my apartment, and I seriously considered climbing the four flights of stairs to grab it, even though I was late.
But I didn’t, and that was, again, a mistake.
I was happy to see that this outfit included full pants – black slacks to be specific. However, the only black slacks I have are pin striped, and my only blue tank top has horizontal stripes. So, I supplemented black yoga pants, and went on with my day. They were comfortable, warm, and a close enough fit.
I tend to not wear tank tops unless it is incredibly hot, not just because all breezes tend to find me and bring me chills, but I also like being mostly covered. There was too much arm showing too many times this week, and I was not okay with that aspect of the experiment.
This was also the first outfit that had an accessory – a white envelope clutch. I don’t carry a purse during the school year, because my wallet is attached to my keys, which are thrown in my backpack. So, I didn’t make use of this suggestion, but if I had needed a purse, it may have been a good choice. It seems small for daily use, as the website claims to offer styles for, but I may not be fashionable enough to know.
To adapt a popular saying, fashionistas don’t get cold. But I do.
Day Five: Friday
Accuweather Forecast: High 69 Low 41
DailyDressMe Forecast: High 71, Low 42
Overall Thoughts: I Cheated Guys
Okay, if I’m entirely honest, I did not follow the rules this day. My sweater and pants had switched colors, my shoes were not even sort of similar to the ones in the photo.
But the worst part, is that I didn’t have class on this day, so after taking the photos for this article, I definitely changed into pajamas. And remained in pajamas, even after going out into the world. But, on the way to take these photos, I was fully dressed in the outfit.
And, my primary thought on that, is that it was far too hot to be wearing a sweater of any kind. The sun was out, the wind was low, and it was WARM. So, this was the first day that I was boiling in the outfit that DailyDressMe picked for me.
Later in the day, however, it did get pretty cold. In that instance, this would have been a good choice, but it’s hard to stick with a heavy outfit after a warm morning.
Overall, I would not recommend that you let DailyDressMe dress you. The idea is admirable — that you can just look at they recommend you wear, and get an idea of how to dress for the weather. That’s definitely something I need in my life. But with the inaccurate forecasts, the lack of customization, and the general lack of understanding of how my human skin reacts to the climate around me (hint: not well,) this website simply needs a little more work.
So, the fall weather struggle continues on.