TILTS: Digital closet brings out the sharp dressed man in me
Have you ever been stuck in your closet trying to figure out what to wear? All of the usual questions cross your mind. Is it warm enough out for this shirt? Does this shirt go with these pants? Didn't I just wear this a couple of days ago?
This week's technology I'd like to see solves all of this. It's a digital closet. Think of a big database that stores all of the information about your clothes that can be accessed using a touch screen panel with a built-in scanner in your closet.
I think I'd start by tagging all of my clothing with some sort of bar code that could be discretely sewn into the inside of each clothing item. This way, whenever I wanted to reference a specific clothing item, I could just scan the bar code and find out important pieces of information about the clothing item such as:
- When I last wore it
- What other clothing items in my closet match the one I just scanned (complete with pictures of course)
- How this shirt rates by not only me but my friends, family and co-workers as well
That last item is my favorite. Say I wear a new shirt to the office one day and a co-worker says "Hey, I really like that new shirt!" With my new digital closet, I would be sure to go home that night, re-scan the bar code on my shirt and enter a 5-star rating for the shirt. Or if the person that said that has no taste in fashion whatsoever, I might just do the opposite and give it a 1 or 2-star rating.
The power of the digital closet
This of course leads to the more fun aspects of my digital closet. You could create tags (categories) for certain pairings of clothes. So when you have that big important meeting with the CEO you can just tell the digital closet to show you your best 5-star or "power" outfits.
And let's not forget complete integration with the current or predicted temperature. This is an obvious inclusion so my digital closet doesn't suggest my favorite sweater in the middle of July.
I could go on and on with more enhancements but instead I'd love to hear yours. What would add to or integrate with the digital closet? Leave a comment below and let me know.
Disclaimer: Technologies presented in the TILTS series are based on my original (and sometimes delirious) thoughts. I present them here to the public only because I can not afford to implement any of them myself. If you steal borrow one of my ideas and end up filthy rich because of it, please remember where you got the idea and throw a little love my way. Something like a BMW or a big fat check would do just fine.
12 comments for this blog post so far...
October 20, 2008 at 7:25 am
Michelle Hartz
This is brilliant!!! I love it! I’d add a virtual model, so I could tell in advance whether two items go together. And the ability for my husband to rate the clothes. Then he wouldn’t have to actually tell me that my butt looks big in those jeans, he could just go in and rate them with 1 star. (As long as he doesn’t tag my lingerie to show up in every search...)
October 20, 2008 at 1:39 pm
asudduth
I think this would need to have a web-interface. So 1) I could update the information (5-star when co-worker commented) from my desktop at work, or cell phone, etc—otherwise I might forget by the time I got home 2) Also, allow OTHERS to rate your clothes. Perhaps a web-cam near the touch-panel interface where you could click a picture on your way out the door so you could document things and people could leave comments and have pictures to reference.
Additionally perhaps the database would have a field for events, and not just dates worn. (i.e. Your wore this same suit last easter, or you had this shirt on last time you went to the BMV, etc)
October 20, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Patric Welch
@Michelle @asudduth You two are awesome! After reading your comments now I want one of these more than ever. Made me realize that I should probably have an API for the digital closet as well so 3rd party developers can write plug-ins or themes. Hitting the club tonight? Switch to the club theme!
October 20, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Michelle Hartz
Oh oh oh!! And a tie in with major retailers. You buy an item and it’s automatically added to your closet! Have nothing to wear to the club? Get suggestions from local stores based on what’s already in your closet. (And, here’s a way to generate revenue.)
October 20, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Patric Welch
@Michelle This just keeps getting better and better. Soon, we’ll have Google delivering ads at the top and right side of our flat panel display!
October 21, 2008 at 11:22 am
y0mbo
While RFID tags may be controversial due to privacy concerts, these would work better than barcodes as you’d have nothing to scan. You could even get an RFID reader in your closet *and* laundry room… it could tell you if the clothes are clean or dirty (based on location.
October 21, 2008 at 11:24 am
Patric Welch
@y0mbo And we’d finally be able to find where all of those missing socks go!
October 21, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Kristie
This is a great idea Patric! It could have an option for logoed apparel and if something is dirty or you one needs to be ordered for a particular event, it could do the ordering for you. Your favorites could already be programmed in and the particular one needed could be ordered as needed! Or else a request could be sent to you embroidered (http://www.kristieskreations.us) and we could get it going for you! Great idea!
October 21, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Patric Welch
@Kristie Great idea… and way to get that plug in there :)
October 21, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Kristie
I hope that was OK. I still think it is a great idea! If only I could have one!
October 21, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Patric Welch
@Kristie No problem. But if I start seeing banner ads in your next comment, I’m going to get a little worried! lol
January 09, 2009 at 4:27 am
Closet
Thats brilliant!! This is something I never heard of. With such a technology, apart from its own advantages, you can also find your closet organized all the time. I too think of having something like this for everything I use, especially when I cant find them. Thanks for the information, Patric.
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