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Have you ever seen a random stranger wearing something — shoes, a coat, a blouse — that you really, really love but have no idea where to buy? Sure, you could try to ask her where she got it, but what if you don't want to yell across the subway platform, or you don't have time — or you just feel sort of awkward about asking? Aside from posting a Missed Connections ad on Craigslist (W4C?), how can you track down clothing or accessories that you happen to see on the street? Reader C wonders how to find a specific piece of clothing…
I was out to brunch a few weeks ago and saw a woman wearing a gorgeous cardigan — white with a pattern of bars in different shades of blue. I'm kicking myself for not going up to her to ask where she got it, and since then I've desperately been google image searching to no avail. Any suggestions for how to find this cardigan-that-got-away?
Interesting question, and I'm curious to hear readers' responses about how to track down mystery pieces of clothing. (For the record, I am sorry to say I have no idea which cardigan she saw!)
How to Find Clothes by Description
Here are a few tips that come to mind on how to find a specific piece of clothing:
Shopstyle. Shopstyle.com can be a great way to find what you're looking for — type in “purple plus-size wrap dresses,” for example, and you'll see a bunch of options that are on the market right now. For Reader C's missed connection with the sweater, I would type in “cardigan” and then narrow by “blue.” If the woman was obviously plus-size or petite, put that in because it narrows the range considerably. If you can narrow the color of blue (ocean, cobalt, Tiffany blue, etc), give it a try.
If you can think of a brand that has similar patterns (Missoni on the high end — Nic and Zoe on the more affordable end), that can help. If you can think of how the product might have been described — paintstripe! vertical stripes! brushstrokes! — that can help. Pinterest also works!
Image search. There are enough outfit bloggers out there that odds are good, of all the sweaters made that Reader C saw, SOMEONE, somewhere, has photographed it and wanted to describe it.
In my experience, Bing seems to have the best image search. Again, you get a ton of options — it is both a pro and a con that the sweaters you're looking at may not be on the market right now. Pro: it's a broader search, and you may find it (after all, she could have bought that sweater 10 years ago!). Con: It's a bigger pool to look through.
Reverse Image Search. If you can either a) snap a picture of the clothing when you see it, or b) find something kiiind of similar, you may be able to deal with a smaller haystack. You can upload photos to Google Images to do a reverse search here; you may also have an option on your phone to search Google Images. (This may only be an option if you have Google installed on your phone.) For example, I found this old Nic + Zoe cardigan that looked like it MIGHT be similar — running a reverse image search on the cardigan netted a lot more patterned blue cardigans than the other searches.
Ladies — have you found any better methods to track down clothes you've spotted on women without asking? What would you do to find a specific piece of clothing?
lsw
You might consider asking Dana from Possessionista to weigh in on this topic!
Anonymous
Worn on TV has a lot of info about the wardrobes of characters on TV shows.
jim Bob
OMG this is the dumbest freaking category ever. I can’t take the stupid. This is Duggar level stupid. Out of post topics obviously.
TNTT
OMG another complainer. If you don’t like it, leave!
Miss Behaved
That’s funny. I like this post. I’m always trying to find something in particular. Maybe not something this specific, but sometimes stores just aren’t selling the item you want. And while I’d seen ShopStyle, I didn’t know this is how it worked…
Ellen
Yes, me too. I often see women wearing stuff I can NOT find anywhere, and the onley way I can find out is to ask. So I do. That is a good thing b/c the peeople I ask are alway’s flattered that I am askeing b/c I always say how cute they look in it (even if they dont).
The lesson here is that you always have to be positive to get what you want. The same goe’s in court and the same goe’s with boyfreind’s. You can NOT just say no or just say FOOEY when the bench make’s a request of you, nor should you deny your boyfreind a littel pleasure if that keeps him happy. This way, you will ALSO get what you want. As my dad say’s: SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND!!!! YAY!!!!
Anonymous
You seem like a lot of fun.
Anon
Do you mean topic, not category? Also, wouldn’t it be that you can’t take the stupidity, not “the stupid?” Sometimes what we criticize most is the trait we hate in ourselves. Ahem.
L
So I reported this comment, but apparently it doesn’t qualify. Let me say this. Equating a fashion question to sexual assault in ANY way is disgusting. I hope for your sake you’re trolling all of us because if you really think this is appropriate, you should reconsider a number of things about the way you choose to treat others.
anyanony
I think this is a good topic and agree with “L” that the complaint is inappropriate.
shopping challenged
You have got to be kidding!!! I am SO glad to see this topic, because I heard somewhere that it is rude to ask where a person got something, so I never do. I am forever noticing people wearing exactly what I want (probably 3x last month), looking for it in stores, and coming up empty. Part of that is probably that I’m losing weight and doing a bit of a style change. I don’t know exactly what I want now until I see someone wearing it, but I can’t find it in my usual places, because that’s the point–it’s not my usual thing.
BTW, I just left a smug, self-satisfied little blog that likes to call itself one of the most polite blogs on the net. I left for many reasons, but one of them is the tendency of a few (yes, more than one) regulars to post in exactly that rude tone, and the refusal of others to notice. So I appreciate all the folks who have already commented on the disrespect that comment shows.
susan
I don’t think it’s rude to ask someone where they got something. I’m always flattered when someone asks me that and love to share my favorite stores (especially if they’re smaller/independent). If it’s someone you see quite often (a co-worker, someone in your social circle), you might want to be a little more … oblique? when inquiring so the person isn’t concerned about ending up “twinsies.” I might ask them more generally about where they like to shop and then ask if they got that specific piece there. (“I’m having trouble finding things I like in my usual haunts. I love your style … where do you like to shop? … That green sweater you wore the other day was just lovely … did you find that at store x?”) And with your recent style transition (congratulations!!) it’s the perfect opportunity to ask!!
Wildkitten
You feel awkward talking to people about how much you love their clothes but you don’t feel awkward photographing strangers in public? One of the things I am working on is holding my tongue when I have not-nice things to say and not-holding-my-tongue when I have nice things to say. So I would just engage in a conversation with someone wearing something awesome…
Walnut
Along this line, it totally makes my day when a stranger complements something I’m wearing. I’m more than happy to share the details.
Diana Barry
Totally! I am always happy to share. :)
scandia
I have a coat I just love. One day when I was not wearing it, I met a woman who had the same coat. So I went to her and told her she had a great coat. I know how much I would love it if somebody told me that.
shopping challenged
Maybe I should feel more free to ask.
Wildkitten, I doubt she means walk on up and take a photo. But there are all kinds of examples of “selfies” that really aren’t–people take them so they can get a pic of the person behind their shoulder. A little cropping and you’re good to go! Or you could take a “crowd scene”, landscape pic of a view with just a few people in it, etc. I’d have a hard time not being detected, but some folks are sneaky.
Anon
Honestly this is really creepy…
anon a mouse
There’s a subreddit called Female Fashion Advice that might help with this, given a good description of the item.
Possible cardigan
I don’t know if this is what Reader C saw, but I really like this blue striped cardigan
http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/86822?feat=503657-GN2&page=marled-cotton-cardigan-sweater-stripe&attrValue_0=Blue%20Heather&productId=1449170
Jessica
Check out the Style Thief app. Does exactly this.