Pin & Tucker Is Here To Give Us Outfit Advice

Remember the days of group texting your girlfriends for some much-needed outfit approval or, in some cases, the red flag of disapproval? Well, now there’s an app for that. Pin and Tucker is the Smartphone app that provides a second opinion on a potential purchase or ensemble option. So whether you’re shopping solo or just cannot decide what to wear, Pin and Tucker’s got you covered.

Naturally I had to test this out and give you guys the scoop. My best friends and I are all on different schedules and my mother is not exactly retail's BFF, so shopping solo can be tacked onto my list of cardio-options-of-choice. I say that not only because walking around the mall is a workout in itself, especially if there are multiple sales, but it’s totally a form of exercise if you end up leaving empty handed, which is pretty much my life. I may work in fashion journalism, but I accept outfit feedback almost as much as I give it.

It was only a matter of time before our Smartphones became our shopping buddies — and quite honestly, I am pretty jealous that I hadn’t thought of this application myself. All it took were a couple of women by the names Anthula Nunes and Tracie Wagman to come home with shopping bags full of regret to sit down and come up with an answer to every shopper's most dreaded question: to buy or not to buy?

Here's how it works!

Step 1: Make A Profile

After you've downloaded the app, create your personal profile. Enter a user name, your first name, and, if you have a personal website, you can throw that on there too. Shameless self advertising for the win!

2. Choose Your Next Move

What's awesome about this app is while you get outfit advice, you can offer your opinion on someone else's ensemble as well. You can explore a list of Pin and Tucker users who find themselves in the same boat as you are. The more you participate in the fun on other people's accounts, the more responses you'll rack up on your own photos. Who knows, you may even find a friend!

3. Connect Before You Upload

This step is super important. I missed this option the first time, and pretty much missed the point of this entire application. When you upload a photo of a potential buy, your followers will vote on whether its a "yay" or "nay." Gaining followers is a similar process to making friends outside of cyber space. First, you have to connect.

So, you have three options here. Click the "Facebook" option to post your fashion do-or-dont poll on Facebook where your friends and family can click on the link and vote on whether or not you should go through with the transaction. If you're not on Facebook and prefer the wonderful world of tweeting, choose the "Twitter" option. And if you're the queen of social media, go wild and click both. The more followers, the more votes. Make sense?

Also, don't forget to provide a brief description of what it is you're looking to purchase. If we can't see the tags, how are we supposed to know if your debating those gladiator sandals or neon cotton crop top? The answer: we wont.

4. Upload and Let The Voting Begin

Click that inviting "share" button luring you in above and then the fun can commence. You'll receive notifications when followers have voted on your ensemble. Pin and Tucker's Twitter account also puts in their two cents, commenting on the outfit in question. And if the app approves, you know you've got yourself a winner.

Once you've made your final decision, let your followers know if you passed or made the buy.

5. When In Doubt, Pin and Tucker It!

Pin and Tucker comes in handy in the dressing room as well as in the bathroom before you have to go out to any and every event.

Before heading out to his cousin's birthday, I took a quick pic of my outfit in my boyfriend's bathroom and uploaded it to the app, captioning the image of my black and white striped short and blush pink button down combo with the question "to wear, or not to wear?" Instead of "I bought this," the green button became "I wore this." The "I passed" option obviously still applied. As you can see, the vote was unanimous.

Basically, whether or not you find yourself shopping alone regularly or are just looking for an extra opinion every once in awhile, this app is a saving grace. Head over to the app store and download Pin and Tucker for free. You wont regret it, especially in a time of retail crisis, which I can guarantee will happen when you least expect it.

Images: Julia Horniacek