I like the concept - most of these kinds of posts are done completely ad hoc and are distributed across all of the various men's fashion forums - but the URL made me think this was going to be a breakdown of famous outfits worn by characters in TV and movies (e.g. The Driver's outfit from Drive).
Also, most of the outfits you picked are pretty stale. Go for one that are more exciting or with pieces that would be more difficult to figure out.
Thanks for the feedback. I definitely appreciate it. The reason for these outfits being more "normal" is because our goal is for most people to actually be able to wear these outfits.
But we do plan on doing some crazy outfits in the future. Thanks again!
I feel the same way. I think that "CelebrityOutfits" as a domain would suit the content of your site a bit better. Because when you say "FamousOutfits" It makes it sound like the outfit is famous not the person wearing it. "Oufits Of the Famous" would work too I suppose but it's not as catchy. "FamousX" will probably remind a lot of people of "Famous Footwear" which you may or may not want to be associated with.
I was expecting memorable/recognizable outfits instead of "clothes that famous people wear".
For example:
Pinstripe Suit with hat = Mobster
Red plaid shirt suspenders Jeans and boots = lumberjack
Khaki shirt and shorts = Crocodile hunter
studded leather jacket + jeans/camo fatigues = Punk rocker
matching tracksuit shoes and hat = Slavic youth
Good news is the domain is probably the easiest part to change!
On the other hand, that's a whole lot of extrapolation from the domain that could be cleared up simply by visiting the website. There was a discussion here recently about not spending too much time thinking about your product's name. I don't think it's worth setting up a new domain.
Thanks for the feedback. We choose this particular domain because of availability, but we are also currently building out another aspect of the site that will tie into the "famousoutfits" name better than "celebrity".
We do have an email newsletter. You can sign up on the footer :) Thanks! And we definitely want to keep doing what we are doing with the "affordable" looks.
I own staroutfit.com and celebrityoutfit.com because I wanted to build something similar but never found the time to do so.
If anyone is interested in these domains let me know. I think one could build something interesting and profitable.
Since you asked, something wonky is going on in Chrome on Nexus 7. Your site seems to fall back to almost no CSS, with plain links where a menu should presumably be. No tooltip functionality. It also disables any zoom and defaults to a really awkward level where I can see one side of the clothes images and about half the main picture at a time.
That's on the way. We have applied to a few different places and just got approved. Definitely don't wanna clutter the pages with ads. Thanks for the comment.
come on, these look nothing like wayfarers. you're pushing it with that jacket, too. i realize you have to match on a budget, but details matter here. that will help build credibility and authority in fashion.
i didn't mean to nitpick or sound too cynical, i think it's a great idea. good luck.
Thanks for the feedback. AS you notice, we want to keep it afforable. Same overall look, but different because of price. Will work on being more accurate though. Thanks!
That's definitely not the Levi's trucker jacket that Efron is wearing, either. (His jacket has buttons on both sides, and what looks to be a sheepskin or fleece collar, and the breast pockets have hidden buttons. And so on — it's completely different.) People who care about fashion care about details like these.
Personally, I find it disingenuous. I like the idea, but associating these outfits with glamorous celebrities doesn't make the products automatically better. At the very least you should offer a choice between the real item and, if it's expensive, offer a cheaper item as an alternative.
Thanks for chiming in. In our footer you'll find this "Famous Outfits is not just another site that finds the latest in celebrity men's fashion. We take it a step further by showing you how to achieve the same look affordably." They key here is the "look." We don't say that we're going to exactly identify every piece of clothing the celebrity is wearing. If you look at Robert Pattinson's outfit on the site, he's actually wearing a $3000 Gucci jacket. We link to a jacket that has a very similar look for $30. The audience and niche we're aiming toward is more in line with the $30 price range.
I leave you with this: "very similar" is subjective. most people who actually care about fashion would not find these items "very similar".
I definitely see the use case for "so cheap it's nothing like the original", but you need to provide a service for people who actually care about fashion. because if you don't care about fashion you wouldn't be on this site in the first place.
this is why i recommend "forking". show me 10 jackets that are "very similar" of varying prices. so I can match on budget but also on how particular I am.
even if I were not privy to fashion- my first reaction would be "these are not the same sunglasses."
I could find sunglasses at my local grocery store that are cheaper and look more similar to zac's than the pair you recommended. what do I need your site for? rebuilding a look for cheap is not the problem. rebuilding an authentic look for cheap if the problem.
Very nicely done. If you did this for Indian celebrities, VCs in India would throw eight figure sums to buy you out.
As an immigrant, I'd say Americans are relatively more rational ie. not so celeb-crazy as to completely remodel themselves after a celebrity, though teens, especially teen girls tend to be an the outlier in this aspect. But if you look at celeb-crazy countries like India, you have grown men & women in their 20s,30s,40s...who will ape celeb dresses, celeb haircuts, celeb behavior even. I have had the unfortunate experience of sitting through entire 3-hour Bollywood films where all the audience did was take notes on what the lead heroine was wearing so they could go home & purchase those exact outfits.
In Italy (I bet more generally in EU) I see more the use case of knowing what a celebrity wears, but have a couple of alternatives to do a good match, without looking exactly the same... food for thoughts :) Great work btw!
That's a fantastic idea! We encourage commenting on individual outfit pages. Our focus is community at famousoutfits.com. We already working on some new features to make community involvement even better. Thanks again!
Thanks so much for the kind words and insight. Why would you say the trends are like that in Italy and EU? Also, how "close" would be a "good match?" We really value your thoughts, thanks again!
Fantastic idea. I've seen similar sites, but 99.9% of them focus on fashion for women and I felt this market was undeserved for men. I'm not suggesting you maintain only one gender, but I appreciate that you are showing male outfits. Really love the notion of a daily (at minimum) outfit as well. Perhaps, in addition to Facebook/Instagram/e-newsletter, you could add a link for RSS? Keep fighting the good fight, love the site.
I was saying Italy as I'm Italian and by comparison with the parent comment on India. How "close" and what specifically to change is a good question... My requirement as a user would be that I should be inspired by the celebrity that I'm seeing, but I shouldn't feel like I'm copying his style. No idea on how to be more specific, beside doing a test.
Also, by reading other comments, I wouldn't be too strict in finding too cheap matches. Men that like fashion have no problem spending money. (but again, maybe it's just a cultural thing.)
>>I have had the unfortunate experience of sitting through entire 3-hour Bollywood films where all the audience did was take notes...
As an Indian I find this strange, when and where did this happen?
I know we are Bollywood crazy nation, and we tend to over do celebrity worship. But going to a movie just to take notes? That's a little going too far.
I'm wondering too. AFAIK the culture of entertainment/fashion channels, celeb journalism and tabloids are much more rampant than US than any other nation, which is confusing too, since I haven't seen anyone pick up those magazines when waiting in line for grocery checkouts :/ Something is not right
Thanks for the kind words about the site! I would disagree that American's are "not so celeb-crazy." I think many American's are very in tune with celebrities. Not just their clothing, but every aspect of their life. Though some people might not want to duplicate an exact look, we feel many are looking to celebs for the latest fashion inspiration. Thanks again!
Hmm... love the idea, and it'll probably make money, but the problem with anything like this (even magazine ads) is that cut is paramount and people come in different shapes and sizes. Clothes fitting properly matters much more than what they look like on the rack, and more often than not, cuts at discount stores are either atrocious, or they are designed for fit models (those lucky jerks).
I can go to uniqlo, i can buy a shirt that fits my sholders great, at target? Forget it. Back at the uniqlo, i may try going to their jeans section, but nothing fits me, nothing. I have to get levi's because i have odd hip/leg ratio and they are the only firm that can sell me that cut for under $100. I am limited excessively by this... and we are only talking about basic blue jeans.
The celebs look good because they have the time and money to buy stuff that fits, and looks great together. Imitation may be a great way to same the time, discounted imitation may be a way to save the time and money, but i think that in neither case you'll look good.
The best thing to do is to get into looks as a whole, and once you have decent taste, buy thing that work for your body. It's not easy, and it may not be as cheap as these places try and get you to believe you can do it for, but at the end of the day, you'll look good, instead of a crappy version of Zac Efron.
There's a lot more to fit than BMI - body shape, for example.
And in fact matching the right Colours to your skin tone and style will have a greater impact on how you look (and feel) than the right fit, although both are important.
If Uniqlo fits you well, try any of the Mossimo shirts at Target, v-necks or crew necks. Cheap and good enough quality. (Gleaned that from /r/malefashionadvice.)
Otherwise, for the shirts and pants that almost fit, find yourself a good tailor and have them adjusted to your body. It's not expensive at all for basic adjustments.
Also, please find some less perfect celebrities. I can go on reddit's male fashion advice and find things that fit skinny people all day, and I can even find things to make Chris Farley look good (because there are only two sizes on MFA, skinny and fucking huge), but try to find fashion advice for a Zack Galifianakis. Doesn't exist.
When you're skinny, it's not hard to look good or copy styles. Little more difficult when you have a few pounds.
Seconding many of the other comments regarding the similarity between Uniqlo and Target. I have a few oxford dress shirts from each (Merona brand at Target) and they appear to be so similar in cut, fit, and quality to be from the same factory. There are subtle differences in the collar styling, but they aren't noticeable unless you hold them up next to each other.
But if you found a shirt at uniqlo, haven't you already found a cheap shirt?
Pants are easy to shorten, so if you find some that fits at uniqlo, except for being too long, have them shortened. They provide this service in-store at uniqlo in japan, I don't know about the US.
I was going to respond in a snarky tone about the absurdity of there being such a thing as personality rights. Fortunately, I googled it first: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personality_rights
Not to mention the copyrights of the photographers who took the photos, assuming these haven't been licensed.
The companies and freelance photographers who focus on the celebrity market are some of the most aggressive you'll encounter in protecting their rights.
Thanks for posting and checking out the site. From the article that was linked, it sounds like reason for the suit was a refusal to remove the photos after a cease and desist. We are actively looking for the best solution.
It's called licensing. Knowingly using photos that you don't have the right to use will eventually catch up with you. If you think that waiting for cease and desist letters is a long-term strategy, I would strongly suggest that you speak to an attorney who can explain why that won't work.
He/she is also infringing on IP rights. For example they are photoshopping out the model from Amazon and Lord and Taylor product pages and reusing those images without permission. Even though it's not for profit as soon as it gets large enough for those companies to notice the creator can expect a cease and desist letter.
Thanks for your insight. We're doing our best to represent the brands we link to positively. In fact, we've already had two of the brands we link to reach out to us and ask if they could be of help in any way.
This looks pretty neat and you did a great job with your Pin It buttons. You may wish to consider adding this META:
<meta name="pinterest" content="nohover"></meta>
... to the HEAD of any page that already has a Pin It button aboard. This will tell the Pinterest browser extension not to bother showing hoverbuttons on this page.
RS is great. My wife runs a fashion blog and it's the best affiliate platform out there right now. It makes monetizing your links a cinch.
However, I have had problems with performance. I think they are just struggling to keep up with the growing scale. Resolving redirects through bit.ly to rstyle to finally the product can be very slow at times. And their image widgets are also pretty slow. I think they need to improve their CDNs. And iOS app is pretty buggy.
Nice execution. We had a similar idea called http://www.pinchthelook.com but for women. The feedback was great and people 'loved' the site but ultimately we couldn't get to a scale where there was enough traffic and clicks to make it worthwhile. Engagement isn't fantastic since it's more of a quick browse and if I like something click away from site.
Perhaps this idea will work better for Men as they probably need a bit more help in piecing together a look (more often than not) ;)
Nice looking site. As far as traffic goes, perhaps you might want to re-consider your page titles/headers as well as include more content with targeted keywords. I can't imagine many people are searching using terms like "short and sweet". Also, your content is quite sparse when it comes down to it, which means there's really not a whole lot for search engines to index.
At a guess, people that think that if they dress like celebrities they'll be more attractive somehow.
I couldn't care less what a celebrity wears but enough people do that I think it might work, judging by the reactions here he's found a bunch of takers already.
Funnily enough, asos.com, which is something like the third biggest UK Internet company now (according to some slightly dubious stats that were posted here a month or two ago), actually started out with a similar premise: they don't mention it much these days (a tiny link in the footer which leads to a page looking like it needs a bit of love [0]), but the acronym originally stood for "As Seen On Screen", and you could buy near-replicas of clothing worn by stars both on and off the screen. Back when I was young and impressionable, I bought a leather jacket much like one of the ones Brad Pitt wore in "Fight Club".
Also, if you liked that site + you would like to do money with it, check out http://www.seedtag.com/ it's like the big brother idea of that site. I see an incredible potential on it.
Thanks for commenting! We think what we're offering is unique to lookbook. Lookbook is almost all women (and almost everything similar to this concept is too) and a small percentage of their photos are breakdowns of where to purchase. We also have a few ideas that we are woking on that involve community engagement that lookbook is not offering either. However, seedtag looks promising. Is it in Spanish only?
i'm so out of style, but I can take away one thing from that first page : crotch depth in men's pants is too low now. I know fashion is cyclical, but it feels like we're about to witness the re-emergence of 80's style high-waist jeans.
Great-looking site, but did you license the images used? Celebrity photogs won't take kindly to usage without permission. I've even heard of blogs being sued for similar.
You'll want to take care of it quickly. Google turns up numerous cases where sites used images without permission, received a cease-and-desist, took the images down immediately and then still got sued. It's the photographer's livelihood.
This is a great idea. I would be careful going too cheap on the recommended pieces. For example, on the Theo James, there is no way I would buy a Haynes T-shirt. If super-cheap is your target market, then great. But, you could also go thewirecutter style and have "Get this look for under $100" and "A more expensive version". Good luck on the execution!
Thanks for the feedback. Our aim is "affordable." Unfortunately, that's pretty subjective. So, we try to appeal to a broad audience under that umbrella. We could link to a GAP shirt one day and a Hanes the next. With that said, we are definitely going to feature "Get this look for $_____" like you suggested. Great idea.
204 comments
[ 3.6 ms ] story [ 248 ms ] threadAlso, most of the outfits you picked are pretty stale. Go for one that are more exciting or with pieces that would be more difficult to figure out.
But we do plan on doing some crazy outfits in the future. Thanks again!
I was expecting memorable/recognizable outfits instead of "clothes that famous people wear".
For example:
Pinstripe Suit with hat = Mobster
Red plaid shirt suspenders Jeans and boots = lumberjack
Khaki shirt and shorts = Crocodile hunter
studded leather jacket + jeans/camo fatigues = Punk rocker
matching tracksuit shoes and hat = Slavic youth
Good news is the domain is probably the easiest part to change!
Consider using Star or Celebrity instead and Duds or Getups.
If I were doing this site I'd probably call it "Stylebiter" it's Catchy and could apply to more than just celebrities.
Doh. it's taken: http://stylebiter.com/
And I love the site! Nice writing of product descriptions too. If you had an email newsletter I'd definitely subscribe.
http://carboncostume.com/
And since you mentioned it, the Driver:
http://carboncostume.com/driver/
similar problem on http://famousoutfits.com/dress-like-blake-griffin/
I took a couple of screenshots: http://imgur.com/LFulxvD http://imgur.com/eTgyjwV
would be cool if you had mechanisms for swapping out similar items. so you could "fork" a look, if you will.
Hmmm... Great thoughts. Thanks. Will definitely keep that in mind as we scale.
come on, these look nothing like wayfarers. you're pushing it with that jacket, too. i realize you have to match on a budget, but details matter here. that will help build credibility and authority in fashion.
i didn't mean to nitpick or sound too cynical, i think it's a great idea. good luck.
Personally, I find it disingenuous. I like the idea, but associating these outfits with glamorous celebrities doesn't make the products automatically better. At the very least you should offer a choice between the real item and, if it's expensive, offer a cheaper item as an alternative.
I definitely see the use case for "so cheap it's nothing like the original", but you need to provide a service for people who actually care about fashion. because if you don't care about fashion you wouldn't be on this site in the first place.
this is why i recommend "forking". show me 10 jackets that are "very similar" of varying prices. so I can match on budget but also on how particular I am.
even if I were not privy to fashion- my first reaction would be "these are not the same sunglasses."
I could find sunglasses at my local grocery store that are cheaper and look more similar to zac's than the pair you recommended. what do I need your site for? rebuilding a look for cheap is not the problem. rebuilding an authentic look for cheap if the problem.
South Korea is much more flashy, celebrity-looking like fashion with huge sunglasses.
....Said nobody ever :)
http://famousoutfits.com/feed/
Also, by reading other comments, I wouldn't be too strict in finding too cheap matches. Men that like fashion have no problem spending money. (but again, maybe it's just a cultural thing.)
As an Indian I find this strange, when and where did this happen?
I know we are Bollywood crazy nation, and we tend to over do celebrity worship. But going to a movie just to take notes? That's a little going too far.
This is our new mockup - https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/18011058/Mockup%2015.jpg
Current site is http://www.JanjuaClothing.com
Please let me know where to find VCs in India who would throw eight figure sum on us.
You glorified it way beyond it is. I am from India and there is nothing like this :-)
I'd order straight away and pay a premium to save the hazzle. A logistics challenge for sure, but you'd have at least one customer right here.
No affiliate links?
I can go to uniqlo, i can buy a shirt that fits my sholders great, at target? Forget it. Back at the uniqlo, i may try going to their jeans section, but nothing fits me, nothing. I have to get levi's because i have odd hip/leg ratio and they are the only firm that can sell me that cut for under $100. I am limited excessively by this... and we are only talking about basic blue jeans.
The celebs look good because they have the time and money to buy stuff that fits, and looks great together. Imitation may be a great way to same the time, discounted imitation may be a way to save the time and money, but i think that in neither case you'll look good.
The best thing to do is to get into looks as a whole, and once you have decent taste, buy thing that work for your body. It's not easy, and it may not be as cheap as these places try and get you to believe you can do it for, but at the end of the day, you'll look good, instead of a crappy version of Zac Efron.
And in fact matching the right Colours to your skin tone and style will have a greater impact on how you look (and feel) than the right fit, although both are important.
Otherwise, for the shirts and pants that almost fit, find yourself a good tailor and have them adjusted to your body. It's not expensive at all for basic adjustments.
When you're skinny, it's not hard to look good or copy styles. Little more difficult when you have a few pounds.
you don't get your pants fitted at uniqlo? it's free and only takes 30 minutes or so.
I would, however, love to be wrong.
Pants are easy to shorten, so if you find some that fits at uniqlo, except for being too long, have them shortened. They provide this service in-store at uniqlo in japan, I don't know about the US.
The companies and freelance photographers who focus on the celebrity market are some of the most aggressive you'll encounter in protecting their rights.
http://petapixel.com/2013/06/29/nytimes-photographer-sues-pe...
Interesting to note that all the major online gossip rags appear to have links to outfits already.
The personality rights probably have no bearing with respect to paparazzi photos.
Still, I love the "do this but for Bollywood" suggestion.
It's called licensing. Knowingly using photos that you don't have the right to use will eventually catch up with you. If you think that waiting for cease and desist letters is a long-term strategy, I would strongly suggest that you speak to an attorney who can explain why that won't work.
Source: I work at Amazon and am working closely with product imaging at the moment.
<meta name="pinterest" content="nohover"></meta>
... to the HEAD of any page that already has a Pin It button aboard. This will tell the Pinterest browser extension not to bother showing hoverbuttons on this page.
However, I have had problems with performance. I think they are just struggling to keep up with the growing scale. Resolving redirects through bit.ly to rstyle to finally the product can be very slow at times. And their image widgets are also pretty slow. I think they need to improve their CDNs. And iOS app is pretty buggy.
http://famousoutfits.com/dress-like-david-beckham/
Perhaps this idea will work better for Men as they probably need a bit more help in piecing together a look (more often than not) ;)
I couldn't care less what a celebrity wears but enough people do that I think it might work, judging by the reactions here he's found a bunch of takers already.
Funnily enough, asos.com, which is something like the third biggest UK Internet company now (according to some slightly dubious stats that were posted here a month or two ago), actually started out with a similar premise: they don't mention it much these days (a tiny link in the footer which leads to a page looking like it needs a bit of love [0]), but the acronym originally stood for "As Seen On Screen", and you could buy near-replicas of clothing worn by stars both on and off the screen. Back when I was young and impressionable, I bought a leather jacket much like one of the ones Brad Pitt wore in "Fight Club".
[0]: http://www.asos.com/asos-as-seen-on-screen/cat/pgehtml.aspx?...
That's extra funny because his character in that movie more or less directly argues against such behaviour!
Also, if you liked that site + you would like to do money with it, check out http://www.seedtag.com/ it's like the big brother idea of that site. I see an incredible potential on it.
i'm so out of style, but I can take away one thing from that first page : crotch depth in men's pants is too low now. I know fashion is cyclical, but it feels like we're about to witness the re-emergence of 80's style high-waist jeans.
god those were uncomfortable.