Closet apps or wardrobe managers are my jam! I use them regularly and I love talking about them and recommending them to anyone who’ll listen. So, what I’m talking about today shouldn’t come as a surprise to you… the latest wardrobe manager app to come across my path – Cladwell. In the past, I’ve talked about my favourite closet apps Stylebook and Pureple which you should check out if you haven’t seen them yet, but today’s post/video is all about Cladwell!
Cladwell has been around since before 2015 when it was predominantly a men’s personal shopping tool. Erin and Colin Flynn took over the app in 2019 and have made some great changes and advances with the app since then. I’m fairly sure I tried it out back when I was first looking for closet apps and found it to be a little underwhelming but I’m back to give it another try because I feel like it’s come a long way since then.
Cladwell actually reached out to me to try out the stylist’s version of the app a few months ago but at the time I didn’t want to invest in it. Them reaching out put the app back on my radar and made me want to try it out again. So, I signed up for the free 7-day trial and I want to share what I think about it with you all. I ended up using the app for a few weeks before writing my opinions and doing my 10-day challenge because I wanted to give the app a chance to learn my style and I wanted to really get a feel for it and all that you could do with it before giving my review.
PHILOSOPHY BEHIND THE APP
Cladwell is one of the only apps I’ve come across that actually has an overarching philosophy behind the app that isn’t of a consumerist nature. They believe, “The most sustainable wardrobe is one where you love and wear the clothes you already own, a capsule wardrobe.” The app has been made to help you work towards this goal of having a capsule wardrobe and get the most wear out of the clothes you already have. But even if your goal isn’t to have a capsule wardrobe the app can still work well for you.”
PRICING
Cladwell works on a subscription service model. It’s $4.99 a month or $4.17 a month if you pay annually which works out to about $50 a year. Apart from the 7-day free trial there is no free version. It’s pay or nothing! Which I’m not going to lie, sure adds up! If you choose to purchase this instead of purchasing more clothes then there is a saving in money but there’s no guarantee that buying the app will ensure you won’t buy any more clothes for the whole year.
Something that’s good to note is that it still keeps all your clothes and data in storage if you don’t sign up after your free trial so you can always go back in the future without losing anything. You don’t need to enter any payment details when you sign up for the free trial either which is great! I hate having to remember to cancel something before my free trial renews and it automatically charges you but that is not the case here thankfully.
FEATURES
Cladwell has five icon tabs down the bottom; Home, Your Closet, Looks, Shopping List and Style Analytics. These are the main features you can use within the app. I’m going to go through what you can do in each of these tabs and this should give you a very clear idea of how Cladwell works.
HOME
The home tab is pretty basic. It gives you your next steps to work on for your wardrobe. Things like “review your outfits” which in a tinder swiping like fashion you swipe left or right for some randomly generated outfits it comes up with for you so that it can start to learn your style. Then you have “Find your cost per wear” which helps you input the price of each item in your closet so that, “you guessed it” your cost per wear can be tracked over time. “Review your items” allows you to rate each piece in your closet out of 4 hearts so that the app can generate better outfit recommendations for you using the pieces you love. Each of these next steps only takes you through 30 pieces/looks each day so that it’s not too overwhelming and you can build on it over time.
CLOSET
The Your Closet tab is what you’d expect, a place to see all the clothing items in your closet. At the bottom on the left you can toggle between different view options. You can either scroll to the left to see the items in each category or scroll down. I find this very useful to go between. The first is a good option to see an overview of your wardrobe but the second is good if you are looking for a specific piece within a category. At the top, in the middle, there is a drop-down menu that lets you see your different capsule wardrobes like Office vs Casual or one for each season. It’s up to you what capsules you want to create.
To add your clothing into the closet you can either go to the plus icon at the top right or the plus icon at the end of each category. If you have photos on hand of your clothing pieces you can add custom pieces from your camera and enter in all the details of what the piece looks like, or you can search through Cladwell’s extensive clothing catalogue and find something that is similar to the pieces you own. This can be a good fast option especially for all your basics. If your pieces are a little unique though it’s best to add your own photos. Cladwell has only recently added a section for accessories which was highly requested and an excellent addition. At the moment, all accessories are lumped together. So, it can be a little tricky to find exactly what you are after.
Top Right there is a box icon which shows you the clothing you have in storage. This is a good first step before you remove something from your wardrobe. You can test out not having it available and see if you miss it. You can always bring it back out of storage, or you may find you are happy to donate it. This could also be used for out of season clothing.
Within each clothing item you can name it, rate the quality, the fit and your love of it, enter the price and the brand as well as see outfit possibilities with that piece. I love this feature if you love the piece but are struggling to style it. You can also see which capsule wardrobes it’s in.
OUTFITS
In the outfits tab you can scroll through outfits suggestions for your day that are expertly styled from the clothes already in your closet, personalized for your weather and activities. Within your profile you can set your location so the app will display outfits that are suitable for the weather of the day. It also displays the max and minimum temperatures and the forecast for the day in the top left.
You can favourite outfits you like by pressing the heart in the bottom right corner. If you find one that’s not quite right, you can edit it or simply just choose an outfit for the day. You can also schedule outfits in advance by changing the day up the top. After using Stylebook, I find the interface a little strange in that you can’t see the whole calendar or all the outfit options you come up with. You can make your own outfit from scratch by pressing the plus button in the top left but it doesn’t automatically add it to the day which I find funny.
The outfits the app suggests do usually look quite cohesive, like there is a styling algorithm that has been thought out well. It doesn’t include your accessories in the suggestions though. You can add them in later once you choose an outfit for the day. I have found that the suggestions can be quite safe or even boring though. Maybe that’s just how it starts off before it really knows your style. Can anyone comment on that who has been using Cladwell for a while? I’ve also found that it won’t style some of the trickier items at all. It definitely gravitates to the basics which are most likely to be found in a capsule wardrobe.
SHOPPING LIST
In the Shopping List you can add items you are thinking about buying to your shopping list so that your purchases are more thought out and intentional. Again, you can go through Cladwell’s library of images or you can add your own photo if you have a specific item in mind. You can then test out the versatility of the items in outfits with pieces from your wardrobe before you buy them. This is a very handy feature that I haven’t seen in this form in another app.
STYLE ANALYTICS
Cladwell have a style quiz that you can take to help clarify your style direction. It includes questions about your favourite shoe styles, location aesthetic, whether you prioritize style or comfort and lots more. It doesn’t take too long to complete though – like 5 mins I’d say. I loved that there were photos of women of various sizes and ethnicities as the answers within the quiz! The results of that quiz are displayed at the top of your style analytics. As you can see mine are Chic, Elevated, Creative.
The first word is your theme. It encompasses your style’s personality and overall way of life in relation to the colours, patterns and tone of your wardrobe. It’s best described by a place and a general aesthetic. The second word is your dress code. It suggests how formal your outfits should be based on your lifestyle and activities. And the third word is your preference. It determines what type of clothing items and silhouettes that you are typically drawn to. This is a clear and concise way to keep your wardrobe cohesive and working towards a style that you love.
Under that it shows the percentage of your closet that you wear. This is another great stat that I haven’t seen in this form in other wardrobe managers. The average person only wears 20% of their closets so this stat encourages you to wear all your clothes! Within style analytics it also has your total items, your unworn items, the total worth of your capsule and the average item cost.
I haven’t put in all the items from my wardrobe because it definitely is time consuming. I wanted to be sure I would continue to use it before dedicating that amount of time. The items I have put in, don’t all have prices attached to them either, so my capsule worth isn’t accurate. Below all that there are little pie charts to show you what colours, patterns, neckline and sleeve length you own verses what you wear as well as your top item types. At the top you can switch between your different capsules and get the different stats for each of them too.
CAPSULE WARDROBE PROGRAM
If you’re looking for even more help getting your wardrobe under control, they also offer a 6-week guided capsule wardrobe program to help you move, “towards a smaller wardrobe and a bigger life.” This is $19.99 a month for a year and also covers the cost of the app. Through the program you’ll receive a custom ideal closet size, recommended signature items, and a detailed style assessment for your habits, body type, colors, and personal style. If you’re interested in me trialling that out for you guys and sharing my experience, I might be persuaded. Let me know!
10-DAY CHALLENGE
Now that you have a good idea of how the app works in theory we move to the practical application of using the app. To do that I have decided to take on the 10 day challenge. This is a challenge that Cladwell itself sets out which is basically to let Cladwell style you for 10 days. My self-appointed rules for this challenge are for the first 5 days, I’m going to wear the first outfit it suggests for me but then for the next 5 days, I’m going to enable myself to scroll through the options it has and pick out one I like.
For my workdays I will go into the office capsule I’ve created. I’ll go to my casual capsule for every other day so I shouldn’t have to worry about anything being inappropriate. Since it doesn’t suggest accessories, I will just accessorise the outfit how I see fit. I think that’s all that needs saying so let’s get onto day one.
Day 01:
This outfit wasn’t a bad way to start. It’s not something I ever would have paired together but I don’t mind it. I accessorised with a choker necklace and pink ball earrings to match the flats. The long sleeve shirt di leave me a little warm up top. I mostly didn’t think about the outfit much throughout the day.
Day 02:
I kind of regretted putting this skirt in my casual capsule. It wasn’t the most practical for my Tuesday with Naomi. I accessorised with cream rose studs and a polka dot headscarf which helped the outfit look more intentional and exciting. Before the accessories, I wasn’t really feeling the outfit. It just goes to show how much of a difference they can make.
Day 03:
My first work outfit and it came up with jeans which I found funny. The outfit didn’t look particularly office-y to me and yet all the pieces could be appropriate for my work. The boots didn’t really go well with the length of the jeans though. I tried cuffing them to see if that helped and I just didn’t like it either way. For this outfit I paired it with yellow hoops, a black cross-body bag and my pink suede jacket which I realise is a clothing piece but I get freezing at work ok? I needed some kind of outerwear and it never seemed to suggest warm enough outfits for me at work.
Day 04:
This was a very basic outfit with an all black base and tan heeled shooties. This was one of my favourites, especially after I accessorised. It may have been cheating a little though. Again I added an outerwear piece to prevent myself from freezing in the air-con at work. The pleated trench coat which I added kind of made the outfit. I also added a thick gold chain necklace, a tan handbag to match the shoes and small gold hoops from my academia mystery box.
Day 05:
Another all neutral outfit! I’m pretty sure I have worn something like this combo before. I guess that means it’s a good outfit suggestion. For accessorising I added, my normal work handbag, some pearl drop earrings and a basic black blazer for warmth once again. Ok but nothing to write home about.
Day 06:
Back to more casual wear and for the first day I could actually scroll and pick my outfit from the options suggested, I ended up picking this very plain outfit. Again it was very boring until I accessorised. The reason I picked this one was because this was a new top I thrifted and hadn’t worn yet. I added a layered rose gold necklace, pink plaid headband and colourful statement earrings and suddenly it’s actually really cute! If nothing else this challenge has improved my accessorising game.
Day 07:
Another really short, tight skirt for hanging with Naomi. It’s kind of funny that this is the one I chose. It’s not that practical! I’m just feeling like I don’t have a good occasion to wear my short, tight skirts any more. Another pretty good outfit. The top was a little short for tucking in but I think that’s because it’s shrunk in the wash. I added red geometrical hoops and a long black crystal sweater chain necklace for the accessories for this one.
Day 08:
Today’s outfit was a nice, simple outfit that worked well for my casual day. I just added some gold hoops and it served me well. Shorts and slides are often my go-to for when I’m home with Naomi.
Day 09:
Back in the office and I chose this combo which actually included a blazer this time in the suggested look. I accessorised with a tan bag, gold layered chain necklace and black stud earrings. An ok outfit but I’m not really sure the boots really go with the dress though.
Day 10:
My last outfit and it’s another all neutral outfit. That is the majority of what they suggested. Silver hoops and a leopard print clutch were mny accesories for this outfit. Generally, I wouldn’t tend to pair these boots with these pants being the same colour. I don’t like things to matchy-matchy but I know keeping your shoes and pants the same colour elongates your legs. I don’t think they quite worked together though.
Final Thoughts:
I wasn’t really a big fan of any of the outfits it suggested for me. Even on the last 5 days when I got to scroll the options, I wasn’t finding anything I really liked. They were ok but just a little boring and all the interest came with the accessories. If definitely seems to prefer neutral colours which I am also a fan of but something to note if you are a fan of colour.
I did start to notice that as I logged specific pieces I felt it used those same pieces in the suggested outfits more often. It makes sense in that it knows you like wearing that item so it suggests it to you more often. At the same time if the goal is to wear all of your wardrobe that’s hard to do if it’s suggesting clothing you already wear. It would be more helpful to me to suggest pieces that I haven’t worn.
Some other things I noted down as I was using the app; you can’t add more than one outfit to a day. If you wear something during the day and change to go out at night you can only record and plan for one. Same thing if you wear two different pairs of shoes in the one day. There is only those 4 slots to fill each day so it doesn’t allow for much layering. One day I tried to add an outfit with a turtle-neck, sweater and blazer and couldn’t add the blazer. Those negatives aside, it is really addicting wearing more and more of your closet and trying to get the percentage of your closet worn up. I also really appreciated the next steps portion to slowly add all the data in without getting overwhelmed.
I do think it’s a very well made app with a great algorithm for suggesting outfits. The best algorithm I’ve come across. There are improvements that I would love to see made though. It doesn’t have some of the features I like that Stylebook has and the ongoing fee to pay for it is not ideal. So taking all that into consideration, Stylebook will still be my main go-to closet organising app. If a comparison of Cladwell to the other closet apps like I did with Stylebook and Pureple would be helpful to you, let me know. I might be able to get onto that in the future.
