COD: 99Dresses.com gives women a free infinite wardrobe. Really.

I've made several posts about the fashion world because it appears as if digital is really upending the status quo in that industry. 99dresses.com is definitely part of that disruption.

This site is essentially a barter community where fashionistas put up clothes they no longer want, and other fashion mavens acquire them, without an exchange of cash. Instead, the clothes are "sold" for a special virtual currency called buttons. You earn buttons for your unwanted togs, and spend them on items you do want that are posted by others.



Now this is really cool. From the site:

99dresses is the brainchild of 19-year-old Nikki Durkin who was inspired to provide a solution to this problem when, at the age of 16, she noticed that 90% of her wardrobe remained unworn. After living in an all-girls boarding school for 6 years, Nikki noticed that girls would borrow and swap each other's clothing all the time so that they had something new to wear to parties. Each girl in the boarding house therefore had access to 20 closets instead of just their own.

This gave Nikki the idea of harnessing this ad-hoc behaviour and giving women a structured web platform whereby they could collaboratively consume fashion together with millions of other women. The result was 99dresses.com - the world's first peer-to-peer online wardrobe that will, once and for all, solve the problem of women having 'a wardrobe full of clothes but nothing to wear'.

Here's Nikki herself explaining the site:



Digital innovation has long been pretty exclusively a "pickle party." It is so magnificent that this young woman and many other women are now bringing their ideas to this digital industry.

Goods on offer range from couture to KMart. Naturally, the number of buttons required to purchase something depends upon its actual dollar value. You can search for specific type of item or browse items by category like bags or skirts.

You sign up by linking the site to your FB account. From there, it's all about getting your trade on. Traders ship goods themselves, and an intuitive rating system a la eBay and Amazon helps encourage honesty and great business practices.



The site is partnered with digital investors at Pollenizer, a concern that makes investments in Australian start-ups with really innovative offerings and approaches. I'd heard of them, but hadn't really explored their offerings until now. Expect to read more about Pollenizer companies in the future!