I was never one to think about “fashion” or “dressing nice” or “image”. (All air-quotes) Last year, a co-worker told me that he has paid a personal consultant to help pick out a wardrobe. The truth is: he looked good! I looked at myself in the mirror and it struck me:
- My clothes don’t fit well.
- The material was poor quality.
- I didn’t look good.
- I wanted to look nicer.
I really didn’t know where to start. I didn’t have much fashion sense. I found Trunk Club, which seemed compelling. They do a skype with you and a consultant and send you a truck of clothes. You keep what you want and send the rest back. For some reason though, I never followed through with it.
Then a co-worker volunteered to go with me to the Stanford Mall and shop. She had good fashion sense, so we gave it a go. We went to Nordstroms and Macy’s. I basically was a mannequin, but I did my job well. I didn’t get impatient or frustrated. This is impressive (to me) because it was a 5 hour marathon.
In the end, I spent about $2,000 on clothes which should last me (hopefully) a year. Although I heard I might need to do it a little more frequently. The clothes fit. They are made of better materials. I look good. When I got back, I put my old clothes in a box for Goodwill.
OK, here is the UX part. I feel so much better when I walk around. I feel better when I see myself in the mirror. My chest sticks out a little further. My mind does not get distracted with thoughts of how I look. I just feel more confident.
I didn’t expect this. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure how the new clothes would affect me. The end result for me was an significant change for the better. I don’t think I am ready to shop for myself, but having the new clothes has been great. This has been the first time in my life that I have done this. Call it a mid-life crisis, but it seemed to work. Also, it was cheaper than buying a sports car.
Whatya think?