Your virtual closet care of Miss-Match

Sometimes being a girl can be such a drag. Unlike our male counterparts, women are expected to look put-together and perfect even while doing the most mundane things.

I find myself standing in front of my closet dumbstruck with what to wear and I wish that somebody would come up with a virtual closet organizer just like the one Cher Horowitz had in the ‘90s movie classic, Clueless — a computer that helps you mix and match everything in your closet before even trying them on.

Finally, the moment has arrived. What started as a film-based fantasy has become a reality with the launching of the first Filipino style networking site Miss-Match (http://www.miss-match.com.ph/) and just like Cher’s closet computer, it allows you to put together looks for every occasion.

This virtual closet is brought to you by FashionLab Inc., a family corporation composed of Albert Labrador, Pia Labrador, Toto Labrador, Pierra Calasanz-Labrador and Chinggay Labrador.

All are fashion insiders with a vast network and invaluable experience in the local industry.

The website was born out of Chinggay’s own fashion serendipity.

As Pierra shares with On the Radar, Chinggay was having a dilemma on what to pack for her Tokyo trip, so she took photos of items in her closet and asked her friends and family to help her mix and match them to get the most perfect travel combinations.

Soon enough, the wheels of creativity and entrepreneurship started turning.

FashionLab took this opportunity, seeing an upsurge in recent years of a bolder and more adventurous style streak in Filipinas and thus, Miss-Match was launched to fill a void in the local fashion scene.

The site offers a virtual window-shopping portal and fashion guide rolled into one, geared towards young, Web-savvy and stylish locally based women.

Miss-match users can be inspired by browsing through store merchandise and create their individual looks.

Apart from virtual styling, the site also offers style ideas, dressing dilemma solutions, a wish list, contests, style quizzes and polls, a store directory, perks and promos.

You can also share your looks with friends on Facebook and on Twitter.

A sneak peek into Miss-Match reveals a plethora of options for budding stylists, from international brands such as Zara, Muji, Gap, Fred Perry, Bobbi Brown to local standouts like Bleach Catastrophe, Regatta, Penshoppe, and House of Laurel.

I started out a little slow as it took me a while to navigate through thousands of choices but after several attempts, I started creating looks and got hooked.

You can go through apparel and cosmetics on a “per brand” and “per category” basis. I love the “drag+drop” option that makes styling easy.

I was quite impressed with the variety, although the lack of a “see all” button slowed me down for a little bit.

If you’re like my friends and I, we have Internet ADHD and hate scrolling and clicking to look for stuff. Think of it as a “Steve Jobs” philosophy — the fewer clicks, the better!

My favorite part about Miss-Match is, unlike similar websites based abroad, your looks can actually become a reality because you can shop for the stuff you picked out at your nearest mall.

Another big plus for me is the virtual gift registry under the guise of the “My Wishlist”. All the merchandise on the website show the corresponding prices of each item, plus the brand’s branches can easily be located via the store directory section.

If you’re as busy and lazy as me, this practically makes buying gifts for friends and family a little less painful especially with the holiday season just around the corner.

When asked if Miss-Match will be catering to men any time soon, Pierra replied that although originally they thought guys would not be interested in creating looks, they’ve received a lot of requests to add a men’s section.

Apart from the end-user experience for people like us, Miss-Match also aims to become a one-stop portal for locally available apparel and cosmetics brands, allowing international and local labels unlimited exposure to a wider audience. This interactive platform should help create a more dynamic brand identity.

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Visit http://www.miss-match.com.ph/.

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Grace Velasco blogs at http://www.divasoria.ph.