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Stylebook – The Original Closet Organizing App
Jess Atkins and her husband Bill launched their closet organizing app in 2009.
The Stylebook app helps people organize their wardrobes, plan outfits, and save money by making the most of what they own. Launched 15 years ago, it stands out for its practical tools like the packing list. Built by a small family-owned company, it helps anyone who values organization, creativity, and sustainable fashion. Read below our interview with the founder Jess!
What led you to launch the Stylebook app initially?
When I was in college, I interned at Vogue Magazine, where I worked in the fashion closet organizing the clothes. They used a physical binder system and I felt like there must be a better way to do this digitally. I convinced my boyfriend (now my husband) to make an app that would help organize clothes, but we modified the idea to be applicable to a normal person’s wardrobe. I had no clothing budget and needed help remembering my outfits in the morning. At the same time, I noticed that editors were planning their outfits in advance by taking Polaroids. While talking to my mom about it she also mentioned planning outfits with a notebook. These experiences sparked the idea for a virtual closet organization and management system. Organization is the key to building a good wardrobe without going broke.
Since your launch, how has the landscape in which you operate changed?
When we started developing the app, we were the first closet app and one of the only fashion apps. Since then there have been dozens of companies that have tried to make something similar, but I think we’re still the best!
Stylebook has an easy to navigate interface – it appears simple, but contains a surprising number of powerful organizational tools. If you’re looking for a serious organizational tool, it’s for you. We prioritize software quality and longevity. Documenting your closet is a big project, and we want customers to know that Stylebook’s functionality will remain consistent for the long run and be available for years to come. We’ve already been around for 15 years, and many customers have been with us for years.
We take customer privacy seriously - your entire closet is private to you, we don’t sell your data to advertisers or push a lot of products on our customers to try to meet our bottom line. I think the amount of clothes you own, how much money you’ve spent, and how often you repeat items is very personal and it should stay private. It’s also nice to have something that’s just for fun and free of the constant competition of living online through social media. We truly want customers to fall in love with the clothes that they own and to help them build a sustainable wardrobe.
Who should use an app like Stylebook? What are the benefits?
Stylebook is for people who want to save money on clothes, embrace their own creativity, and explore their personal style. It’s a tool to keep all your ideas together and notice patterns in your habits that otherwise could be overlooked. So many of our customers write to us and rave about how much money they’ve saved because they feel like mixing and matching what they have is easier because of the app. I’m also proud that a lot of people who work in creative fields, like musicians, artists, and actors use the app. That tells me that our tools are doing their job and letting people find their unique wardrobe vision using our tools.
What would you say to people that think cataloging your wardrobe is too much work and takes too much time?
Well, cataloging a wardrobe isn’t for everyone. There are some people who just get it, the idea clicks with them right away and they wind up being customers for years. Stylebook is for someone who sees the benefit in organization and enjoys being creative. Some people don’t like that kind of thing, and that’s ok - the app isn’t for them.
Through emails, social media, and reviews, we’ve heard from thousands of customers who have improved their personal style while saving time and money thanks to Stylebook. Like many goals, it will take some amount of effort, but I think it’s worth it and doable. You only do a big import once and we’ve introduced several tools to make it as fast as possible. You even don’t have to take photos of your clothes at all, since you can easily add products from websites or even generate an image from text using the new AI import tools. Once you have your closet uploaded, you’ll only add new items here and there as you purchase them. Plus, you’ll save time each time you get dressed, and avoiding the stress of getting dressed in the morning is worth it on its own.
How do you personally like to use the Stylebook app?
One of my favorite things to do is to plan outfits at the beginning of the season. I used to go shopping in March and September every year. Instead, now I look through trend reports and challenge myself to make looks that have a similar vibe with what I own. I don’t know why, but it’s just so satisfying to me. This process helps me identify wardrobe gaps so I buy fewer, more high-impact pieces.
What are Stylebook’s most popular features?
Customers love the packing list! I can’t even count how many people have said they can never go back to packing without Stylebook. It helps you make a packing list based on the outfits you want to wear on the trip, which makes your suitcase super efficient. You only wind up packing clothes you need and that is a huge help, especially with baggage fees.
How have you spread the word about your app?
We’re lucky that word of mouth has played a big part in Stylebook’s success. It’s so important to me that Stylebook does exactly what we promise. I honestly think trying our best to make the app the best it can be has played a big role in people talking it up to their friends, which I’m really grateful for.
Plus anything else you would like to mention about Stylebook!
Stylebook is a small, family-owned company. A lot of people don’t realize that because we’ve been around so long. That doesn’t mean what we do is easy though. We’re just very scrappy!
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