by Jess Atkins, Stylebook Co-Founder

I’ve been using Stylebook to track my closet for years, and it has completely transformed the way I approach my wardrobe, saving me time and money. The app has recycled my closet inventory in countless ways - including cost-per-wear data, an outfit calendar, packing lists and over 20 statistics on how I use the clothes I own. Here are my favorite benefits of tracking my wardrobe:

1. I know exactly what clothes I own at all times

I love being able to see my closet whenever I want. When I decide to buy something, I check my closet to make sure the new clothes fit in with what I own. I quickly import the item from the store’s website and try to make at least 3 outfits with the clothes I have. I also avoid repeat purchases by doing a quick check in Stylebook to see if I own something similar before I check out. Since my entire closet is on my phone, I can do this even when I’m not at home. This has helped me to only add new clothes that will enhance my current wardrobe.

2. I found my personal style

The Most Worn statistic in Style Stats helped me determine what clothes work for me, which made it easier to create outfits and add complementary pieces to my wardrobe. I feel more confident in my personal style and I don’t feel pressure to chase trends. It’s also a great way to determine what to splurge on. When I saw I wore my favorite jeans 182 times before they wore out, I knew if I splurged on an expensive replacement I’d get my money’s worth.

3. My old clothes still feel exciting

I stay excited about my clothes by saving inspiration images that use clothing similar to my own. If I’m browsing blogs, Instagram, online stores, etc. and I spot an outfit I could make with what I have, I always save it. I just quickly paste the URL into the app with the Paste import option. I also snap photos of store windows, magazine pages, books or whatever inspires me. It’s really fun to recreate my style inspirations using what’s in my closet already. I always save all my outfit ideas as soon as I buy something new - otherwise, I forget my ideas.

4. Dressing for tricky situations is way easier

Before parties, work outings, bridal showers or other events, I feel as if I need to shop for a new outfit. I used to always buy something new, and then forget what I wore the next time a similar situation came up. Now I try to restyle my party pieces in the app when I’m bored and save my ideas in custom event categories. For example, now I have categories titled Casual Dressy, Work Events, Date Night, etc. I save sooo much money from this and I mark on the calendar where I wore what, so I don’t repeat looks in front of the same people. It’s actually crazy how different styling can make an outfit look. See how I wore my favorite LBD 10 ways.

5. I like my clothes more and I get more wears out of them

Before Stylebook, one of my biggest challenges was actually using everything in my wardrobe. I had a lot of clothes I liked, but wound up wearing the same thing all the time. The calendar makes it easy to keep track of how often I wear certain items and outfits; as a result, I get more wears out of all my pieces without getting bored. I used to be afraid that I was repeating outfits too often, but now I can see the exact day I wore it last on the notes page of an outfit. I don’t mind rewearing the same outfit, but I try to repeat outfits only once a month - Stylebook makes it easy to do that.

6. I get dressed quickly every morning and I dress well more often

I use Stylebook to pick my outfit every day. I used to try on about a zillion outfits in the morning, trying to invent something new on the fly, but now I just accept that I’m not creative first thing in the morning. I usually ended up late and I didn’t even like what I was wearing. It’s much easier to schedule my outfits for the week on Sunday evening with the calendar. If I don't have something scheduled, I'll just flip through my saved outfits the morning-of too. Basically, I don’t ever worry about stressing over my outfit because I always have a good one waiting for me. My real closet stays a lot neater, too!

7. I make better clothing purchases

The Style Stats feature has completely changed how I view my personal style. It’s made me realize that what I love in the store doesn’t necessarily translate to what I love to wear everyday. I use the Least Worn stat to determine which types of clothes to avoid purchasing in the future. I always try to give unworn items a second chance, but if I just can’t work them into my clothing rotation, I learn from the mistake. I also use the wishlist feature to save items that I’m thinking about buying. I’ve seriously curbed impulse shopping since I started my Stylebook closet and now I only shop when I find something that truly enhances my wardrobe or when something wears out.

8. I’ve overcome some shopping frustrations

Thanks to my recorded sizes, I’ve realized that I wear 11 different clothing sizes, depending on the brand. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it’s true. Knowing my size by brand and my body measurements has made shopping - especially online - way easier. I used to order “my usual” size automatically and was frustrated when it was often too big or too small. It’s insane that clothing sizes can vary so much, but Stylebook helped me realize it’s the clothes, not me! Now I always check my saved sizes and I don’t stress about the number on the tag. Size is just a number.

9. I pack super efficiently

I use Stylebook’s “pack by outfit” method to pack for trips super efficiently. Basically, I just choose the outfits I want to wear and add them to the packing list. Then, Stylebook automatically generates a list of individual clothing items I need to pack. I take a few minutes to cut down on anything that is too similar (like two different pairs of skinny jeans), I add the outfits to the calendar from the packing list and I’m done. At the end, I have a checklist and a list of outfits to wear. I also save particularly successful packing lists and I reuse them. I’ve reused the packing list I made for my trip to Hawaii 3 times!

10. I have fun with my wardrobe without the pressure to shop

It used to be so easy to get sucked into buying clothes when browsing Instagram and Pinterest, but now I’ve shifted my focus to trying to recreate the outfits I like with the clothes I already own inside Stylebook . I LOVE clothes, but I don’t have unlimited funds or gifted clothes, so getting creative with my wardrobe in Stylebook gives me a budget-friendly alternative to have fun with fashion instead of constantly shopping.

There is so much more to love about Stylebook, but those are my favorites. Stylebook gives me a flexible view of my wardrobe that can be customized and reused in countless ways. Documenting my closet has given me more organizational options, a realistic view of my wardrobe and a creative outlet to have fun with my clothes. I entered the information once and then used it for years. I saved money by using my clothes longer, avoided bad purchases, saved time by getting dressed faster and packed for trips in just a few minutes. As I like to say, a little organization goes a long way.