There’s a lot of subpar clothing available, and the rise of fast fashion catering to rapid trends can make it tempting to max out your credit card on trendy, low-quality items. Following fashion fads can be a losing battle, especially with limited closet space and budget. So, I’m turning to artificial intelligence to help me build a timeless wardrobe.
A quick Google search reveals a competitive landscape of AI tools designed to guide fashion enthusiasts through today’s vast offerings. Style DNA, for instance, promises to “assist with your everyday style dilemmas” using facial and item recognition to help you dress for your body type and different occasions. Stylee uses AI to generate specific looks and complementary color palettes, while Aiuta offers direct purchasing for its recommendations.
These tools are great if you’re unsure about your personal style and need basic advice on how to dress, but I already have a clear idea of what I’m looking for. Capturing the nuance of my diverse style is a challenge I believe only one tool can handle: ChatGPT.
ChatGPT, launched by OpenAI in 2022, was recently updated with improved writing, math, and logical reasoning skills. Its training data now includes information as recent as January 2022 for GPT-3.5 and April 2023 for GPT-4 Turbo. While not quite real-time search, it’s getting closer. (You can also check out our reviews of Gemini, Claude, and Microsoft Copilot on CNET’s AI Atlas resource page.)
This freemium AI tool uses conversational — sometimes complex — search prompts to return results from its training data. It’s like a chatbot that pulls information from limited internet access rather than a preprogrammed set of responses.
You can make a limited number of requests each day for free, or pay $20 to $25 a month to upgrade to ChatGPT Turbo and increase the number of requests. It depends on how much you want to chat.
For the guidance I seek from ChatGPT, I have some specific criteria:
- No plastic clothing. The creation of polyester blends has become a major issue for conservationists, who criticize the use of plastics in fast fashion. I aim to eliminate plastics from my wardrobe, largely due to a bad experience during an important pitch meeting where my non-breathable polyester top caused me to sweat profusely. Therefore, I want items made of at least 90% natural fibers.
- Timeless styles. To create a wardrobe that will outlast fleeting trends like low-rise, mom-jeans, wide-leg, skinny-pants, and bold prints, I want items that will look just as good during my elder millennial years as they will when I’m an actual elder telling AI-generated teens to get off my virtual lawn.
- Affordable options. While I have enough funds for this experiment, I’m not wealthy enough to splurge without limits or inherit a fortune from a distant relative. Therefore, I’ll be setting a budget for ChatGPT.
- Versatile pieces. My job takes me from the classroom to content shoots, across the country for talks and workshops at conferences, and to boardrooms for marketing pitches. On weekends, however, I transform into a top-tier couch potato. These clothes need to be comfortable enough for lounging and resilient enough to handle a little wine spill without causing stress.
Does ChatGPT grasp fashion?
I began my AI-assisted fashion journey by explaining to ChatGPT what I wanted, including my specific criteria, some of the items I already own, and notes on my color palette.
ChatGPT responded with a variety of suggestions, price points, and recommendations on where to buy the items.
Screenshot by Rachel Kane/CNET
This was a good start, but plain white tees and versatile cardigans are quite generic. So, I decided to take a bolder approach and asked ChatGPT to role-play as celebrity stylist Law Roach, known for creating some of the most iconic looks of the past decade with Zendaya. Plus, I recently watched Challengers, and Zendaya’s chic, country club-adjacent outfits have been on my mind.
Match Points
With Roach’s perspective in mind, ChatGPT repeated its suggestions with more detail, including styling tips like high-waisted trousers and slightly oversized fits for cashmere sweaters.It was getting closer to what I wanted, but I still needed advice on accessories and how to integrate the new items with my existing wardrobe. I asked for suggestions on pairing my current clothes with the new pieces.
This is where ChatGPT excelled.
The updated queries produced practical and stylish looks that complemented my current wardrobe and provided working links for items within my budget that met my criteria. This was quite impressive for a tool that had previously been unreliable in my experience.
Screenshot by Rachel Kane/CNET
The Verdict on AI as a Stylist
If you have specific criteria for shopping, I recommend giving ChatGPT a try. The tool saved me a lot of time I would have spent searching the web for suitable items, and it ensured that the items were mostly made from natural fibers.
Having the tool adopt the perspective of a known stylist with a distinct viewpoint was especially helpful in figuring out how to make different pieces work together attractively.
As for actually looking like Zendaya in these outfits, that’s a challenge AI can’t help me overcome. At least not yet.