Around here at Brit + Co, were quick to applaud fashion risk takers, those who wear cutting edge trends without hesitation, fill their wardrobes with the season’s most unusual colors and who slip into a striking silhouette just because it’s Wednesday. It’s these women we often make our style muses, but PIOL says we’re looking for style inspiration in the wrong place. At least, for the kind that will *actually* look best on your unique bod. According to the custom fashion website, your assets alone — not taste, trends or It girls — should determine your go-to style.
Enter the you think you know, but you have no idea real world of PIOL, where style is something completely objective, because it’s all about what colors and shapes actually flatter you best. Achieving style zen through PIOL is a pretty simple four-step process, and one that will yield you a perfect dress, according to color theory and math. First, you select your hair color, skin shade and eye color to determine which hues will make your features pop most. One’s ideal colors fall on a limited spectrum that incorporates different neutrals (including black or white) and varying tones of more vibrant hues, which are translated into your choice of fabrics. This palette, or “color aura” as the site calls it, come in both solids and patterns. Next, you choose one of five easy-to-wear silhouettes, to which you can add sleeves and switch up neck + hem lines, then you wrap up by plugging in your measurements.
If you’re really set in a certain style, the resulting designs can be like that moment on What Not to Wear when the makeover nominee is like “Stacy, Clinton, I’d never…” And much like the hosts, the website insists you trust it, after all, it promises that the dress “will make you feel attractive and successful throughout your day,” and isn’t that what style is, at its core, about?
Priced at around $500 per dress, the made-to-measure garments + their design process are godsends to those who hate to shop. Rather than feel overwhelmed by choices or fear the fitting room, one calculated splurge lands you a wear-everywhere dress that makes you look (and feel) your best and fits like a glove. But for those who use their clothes as a form of expression or who view daring design as an art, PIOL’s restrictions may prove to be infuriating. Though we’re kind of obsessed with the idea of color auras. We just miiiight be keeping those hues in mind the next time we pick a nail polish or lip color.
Would you let PIOL play your stylist + tailor? What color palettes do you stick to — or what fashion rules are you bent on breaking? Tell us in the comments below?