#perhaps i’ll send it on my lesser used social media app?

[tes-sah]

“Downloading from App Store...”

If you have a smartphone, you have apps. And if you don’t have a smart phone... what are you doing? There’s probably an app for non-smartphone users to find their perfect smartphone. Either way, apps are now a part of every day life and there is one for everything. 

Magazines are still printed, but they may be a thing of the past. (Sorry, Teen Vogue.) With Texture, it’s easier to make that happen. Texture is a paid-subscription based app for all magazine reading needs. You can simply select your favorite, and flip through the pages without the paper. They even keep tons of past issues, so instead of looking through your box of old magazines (or maybe that’s just me), you can simply scroll through a magazine’s library to see them all. I have actually been using Texture for a while, and I do really like it. It really is cheaper than buying magazines off newsstands or even by monthly subscriptions. My favorite part about texture is the ability to search for any magazine, and then add it to your favorites. That way, you never have to search for one again, and by clicking the title you can access that magazine’s entire library. Previously I only had a subscription to about two different magazines, and finding old issues when I wanted to look at a certain article or fashion spread was a hassle. Now I can just flip through Texture, and save time, money, and space in my closet! An added bonus is being able to screenshot the pages, especially if you see a piece you like that you want to shop for, instead of trying to find it online or carrying a physical magazine.

Like I said, there is an app for everything and fashion is no exception. There are plenty of fashion apps, and although I may not use most of them, they are still very useful. Perhaps my favorite fashion app, because I am a frequent user, is Covet Fashion. I have been using this app for about 3 years, and I love it. It uses real brands and real items, but makes it into a styling game, where you enter challenges and compete for top looks. The competition is fun, but I really love digitally “owning” so many pieces, and being able to style the pieces. Not to brag, but my closet value in the app is $4.3 million, and if only that were real. It’s fun because in reality I can’t afford half of the items, so at least I own them digitally, right? The app also offer links to the real items, in case you can afford them, and lets you know when they are on sale. Also, it’s always funny to see the items in person because they obviously appear differently when digitized to be styled one of the dolls. It’s definitely a fun app and great for passing the time... or satisfying a shopping urge!

Image: http://www.covetfashion.com/

Apart from Covet, I don’t use many fashion apps, unless you count Pinterest. I researched a few different ones and found some that sparked my interest. PS Dept, short for Personal Shoppers Department, looks like my dream. I can’t tell you how many times I have needed a specific piece and suddenly, I can’t find it anywhere. With the app, you say what you’re looking for, and a personal shopper will contact you with recommendations and where to find them. Yay, no more asking clueless associates or visiting twenty stores! I will probably use this app all the time, more often than I need to. Although I can’t quite rate it yet for user-friendly and experience, for concept it gets a 10. Already thinking of my first requests...

And finally, Pose seems like a great app as well. It does what I use Pinterest for, but better. It’s like Instagram, except its only fashion. You can see how bloggers style certain pieces and brands, or just get fashion inspiration in general. I usually just search Pinterest for outfit ideas but this is definitely better, especially if I need an outfit centered around a certain piece. It also seems like the best place for style inspiration, if Pinterest isn’t helping or if it’s too much work to find different style Instagram accounts. Out of all the apps I looked at, I also believe this app would be helpful for where I intern, which is a PR company. We are always looking for brand mentions and tags, and this would be an easy way to find them! We can usually find mentions from bloggers or celebrities, but this app could help us find those lesser-known ones, or ones that may not have been tagged on other social media accounts. It could also help us look at competing brands and how those brands are styled, or who they are worn by. We could then send our brands to the people that own competing brands, and promote the brands that way. It could also show the style of certain bloggers or influencers so we know who wears what, and who would be more likely to wear one of our brands. I know my company probably has better ways to do this, or maybe they’ve tried it before, but it could always be a suggestion, or it could help spark another idea. 

In the meantime, I’ll be reading my paper-free magazines, sending requests to my personal shopper and enjoying the technology life, because that’s where the fashion is!