This article was published on April 11, 2016

Now you can even have your clothes chosen by algorithm


Now you can even have your clothes chosen by algorithm Image by: Lewk

It is a rather outdated iPhone commercial that popularized the pretty cringy mantra ‘there’s an app for that’ back in 2009.

Increasingly though, there’s now an algorithm for ‘that,’ and in this case, as spotted by TechCrunch, it’s clothes shopping.

There are many subscription services out there and there are even ones for men’s clothing. But Lewk is pretty special in that it asks a few simple questions and then gets the computer to work on picking two or more items for you, starting at $79 per month, so you don’t have to.

The company has boiled the world’s men down into just four ‘looks’ that you can choose from: ‘classic,’ ‘heritage,’ ‘rock n’ roll’ and ‘startup.’

It then asks whether you’re either a monochrome guy or one who likes a bit of color, whether you like ‘fitted’ or ‘classic’ shaped clothes, then goes slightly off piste…

Lewk cities
Credit: Lewk
Screen Shot 2016-04-11 at 17.16.11

After that, it grabs your all-important vital stats and a package will soon be on its way.

One huge flaw in all this is that if you don’t like what the computer thinks a rock n’ roll, Miami-loving, stay-at-home-dad looks like, you can’t return the clothes. Which is surely a bit of a barrier to put in front of folks who are just keen to try the service.

But Lewk sources and makes its own clothes, no cheap venture, so it also has them for sale if you want to try one of their garments before you sign up for a monthly delivery.

As our lives get annexed by apps, bots and AI doing things on our behalf, it’s a wonder anyone has any decisions left to make at all.

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