Indyx vs Stylebook

and which one I've decided to use!

I’ve been using Stylebook since 2020, and until recently, I’d recorded an outfit every single day. (I had a devastating loss of about two years worth of outfits when upgrading my phone a couple years ago, as Stylebook’s data is stored on your phone, but I’m coming up on another two years of daily records now.) When I started using Stylebook, I was working at a school, and I left for work at 7:00 AM. Planning my outfits the night before made my mornings significantly easier. It pressed me to think about what I brought into my wardrobe, and to notice what I didn’t end up wearing as often as I thought I would. I also used Stylebook to plan packing lists for countless trips (including my trip to Peru earlier this year).

However, I grew curious about Indyx as I kept noticing chatter about it here on Substack—and once I found out about the social functions (you can see into other people’s closets! my dream!), I decided to try it out. For research, of course! I used a few very hot, very slow, end of summer days to start re-adding my wardrobe to Indyx. Here’s what I’ve noticed so far…

[Important caveat: right as I scheduled this post, Indyx introduced Indyx Insider, which is a version of the app with additional functionality (for a small monthly fee) that includes some of the things I had mentioned wanting to see as potential upgrades (image size, more control over display and sorting, etc.) Here’s what the Indyx official statement says about the app, but keep that in mind as you read this! My review of Indyx is based on the free version, but I’ll likely do the 30-day free trial of Insider and update this post if it feels useful.]

-General UX: It takes fewer steps to create outfits and collections on Indyx—you can select multiple, deselect, select from multiple categories, etc. You can also manually edit how many times you’ve worn something on Indyx. However, Indyx won’t let you skip inputting certain information when uploading (size, brand, etc.). There’s an archive feature on Indyx that also seems helpful for things you’ve sold or donated. On Stylebook, I just created a different folder to store them in, but it’s cleaner to be able to archive.

-Size of the garment photos: Pretty self-explanatory. I think I’m gonna go Goldilocks on this one and say that I’d prefer something between the two—small enough that I can get a glimpse of a collection or capsule as a grouping but big enough to actually see what I’m packing. In the same way ability that you can choose how many photos across are displayed within your Photos app on an iPhone. [Now an available feature on Indyx Insider!]

-Image quality: The background disappear function on Indyx is lightyears ahead of Stylebook, and it makes even self-shot photos look good. It’s less intimidating to think about populating an entire closet when you don’t have to find exact/similar product shots of everything you own and can just photograph yourself. (Sometimes the photos look blurry post-upload on Indyx, though? Anyone else have this issue?)

-Calendar: You can view a calendar of selfies or a calendar of outfits on Indyx, and it allows you to attach an outfit to a selfie for future reference. However, one advantage of Stylebook is the ability to add just one article of clothing, rather than a whole outfit, on a specific day. If you are a completionist (as I am), and don’t like to skip a day of anything, that allows you to still keep a daily record even when you don’t wear a full outfit (or at least one you want to record for posterity.) [Seems like the selfie calendar will be limited in some ways on Indyx unless you are using Indyx Insider, which I don’t mind, but if that is a draw for you, you may want to upgrade. Stylebook doesn’t have any feature like this.]

-Outfit generator: This is one of my favorite parts of Stylebook, and has helped me break out of a rut or figure out a new way to wear something that had started to feel stale. I would love to see something similar on Indyx!

-Extra features: The extra features on Stylebook feel a bit superfluous and outdated (there’s a book club section that’s still active, but hasn’t been updated since 2020.) The extra features on Indyx (style quiz, workshop, etc.) aren’t necessarily things I’m making use of, but they’re up-to-date and make sense, especially as a way to draw you into using their styling services. (Nothing against these styling services! I think it’s really cool and a great way for this app to make itself available for free without ads to most users. There are also some fun videos linked in the Indyx app of people sharing the results of their styling sessions. I might even be persuaded to try one out for research...) [Well, now we know how they plan to make some more money! I’m not mad about it. I still think the basic version of the app is really valuable, and I’d rather pay for a slight upgrade than deal with ads].

-Packing: Both Indyx and Stylebook have some smart functions re: creating packing lists, but it’s more intuitive on Indyx. Also, when creating an outfit, you can limit yourself to the items on a specific packing list (rather than having to manually move all of your items to another category temporarily, which you would have to do on Stylebook.) Above, you can see how Indyx lets you filter by 'collection’ while creating an outfit. I like to plan my packing lists around items first, not outfits, so this feels more intuitive to me.

-Social features! This doesn’t exist on Stylebook and was the main reason I wanted to try Indyx. I’m not sure how these people were picked (obviously they’re all creators or influencers on different platforms, but not sure how Indyx is rotating through creators, if they are slowly adding more people, etc.) I’m using

Heather

’s enviable open closet here as an example! You can ‘pin’ people’s closets on the other tab. It’s strangely intimate, and I really like it. I already have several closets pinned—two from the featured section, and two from people who have shared their links with me. Curious how the discoverability will evolve with this feature.

-Stats: Stylebook does have a very comprehensive stats section, but it’s separate from looking at your closet, if that makes sense. In the basic version of Indyx, you can filter/sort by some of these statistics rather than going to a separate tab. [It looks like Indyx Insider will have an even more comprehensive and detailed stats section.]

Final verdict: Stylebook walked so Indyx could run… I think I’m gradually switching over to Indyx. Sorry, Stylebook! I find Indyx easier to use and more intuitive, I like that it’s still evolving, and I am so excited about being able to peer into more closets for further inspiration. My biggest want would be an outfit generator or randomizer! I would also love to see a ‘wishlist’ function, and maybe a little more ease in discoverability for other peoples’ closets. [Edited to add: one of the founders of Indyx left a really thoughtful comment on this post letting me know how to create a wishlist: Go to Collections > Wishlist and you can create collections in this folder that hide the items in them from your main wardrobe. Re: outfit generator function, she said, “we're still placing our bets on humans (in the form of YOU as well as our expert stylists) as the best and most creative outfit generators” which I really loved the phrasing of!] I’m also interested in how they eventually end up structuring the resale element. I still think the basic version of Indyx is fully satisfactory, and includes the most important functions (plus the social ones). I’ll do the 30-day free trial of Insider and report back. 🫡

P.S. Please DM me your Indyx links if you wanna share closets! Or comment them in the chat if you’re okay with other people seeing them as well. =) Here’s mine!