Men hate shopping for clothes and think it’s a waste of time.
That’s the narrative perpetuated by the countless personal shopping and subscription clothing startups that have popped up over the past few years.
But most of these startups require customers to spend time engaging with a stylist before they even receive a box of threads. So essentially you’re still spending time shopping, just not going to an actual store.
Thats why the mens’ subscription clothing startup Lewk caught my eye. Instead of having customers talk to a stylist (a la TrunkClub) before getting your clothes, they have fully embraced the technology side of their business by relying on an algorithmic decisioning engine to decide which clothes you’ll like best.
When signing up, users do a quick survey asking them questions like what is their preferred fit, colors, and styles. Then, the service gets a little abstract, asking things like what city inspires you and what are your job aspirations.
The service takes all these data points and uses them to choose items of clothing to send you each month. The packages range from 2 items/month or $79, to 4 higher-end items/month for $399.
The startup sources and manufactures its own clothing, working with up and coming designers to give members one-of-a-kind pieces from around the world. These pieces are also offered on the site on an on-demand basis, so you don’t technically need to sign up for a monthly box to take advantage of Lewk’s custom made clothing.
One downside? The site doesn’t accept returns.
But if you’re someone who hates shopping and has decided that AI and algorithms will one day run our lives, you might as well start now with your closet.