Polyvore Brings Fashion to the People

Call it a sophisticated version of paper dolls or, as one fashion exec does, “the cyber equivalent of the inside of a school locker door”: Fashion site Polyvore is the Web’s latest craze. The interactive site allows users to put together sets—think Agyness Deyn in a Michael Jackson-inspired outfit, paired with a studded blazer from Topshop, a purple leopard-print skirt, and perhaps a fun caption—which they then share with other users.

“Our mission is to democratize fashion,” one exec tells the New Yorker. “To empower people on the street to think about their sense of style and share it with the world.” The site is not yet profitable, but it is nursing partnerships in the fashion world and, perhaps more important, gathering invaluable data on what trends are hot. Some high-end designers worry about their pieces being paired with “junkier” brands, but, as one user says, “I don’t think particularly about the label. It’s the ‘wow’ that’s the first priority to me.”
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