Helsinki-Based StyleLoving Gives Users A Social Fashion Shopping Platform

    Helsinki has another Fashion startup popping up within its borders. StyleLoving is a new social startup that helps you collect the fashion items you find in one place. It feels close to Pinterest, in the sense that members collect items and follow friends, but is more focused towards clothing, accessories, and the fashion blogging community that surrounds it.

    StyleLoving was created by Helene Auramo, co-founder of Finland’s most popular blogger community, Indiedays. “I needed a convenient place to store my online finds. I also wanted to share my finds with others and talk about them,” Auramo explains. “As we are inspired by style finds of bloggers and other fashion forerunners, I wanted to see pictures of their outfits on the same platform with the products.”

    After logging in, members can collect clothes, accessories, and shoes by searching for them, or by using StyleLoving’s bookmarklet. If a product has been tagged by a fashion blogger, you can find thumbnails and links back to that blog post – giving you a chance to see the product in action and maybe find new fashion bloggers.

    Bloggers and designers can be featured, letting trendsetters and brands find a wider audience and lead them to products. This hook makes products an easy sell if you stumble onto them. If that pair of shoes you’re looking at has a thumbnail of a fashion blogger wearing them, you’re assured you have good taste.

    But considering that the vast majority of these products haven’t been documented by bloggers, it’s more focused as a social shopping list of articles of clothing to buy online. Users can discuss the fashion finds, ask for opinions, and compare prices – which are displayed with the current price information and link to the store.

    Like all social communities, it’s a rough road to build up a userbase. I could see a lot of people using StyleLoving if a lot of people are using it. But it looks like Auramo has the network to bring in the right brands and bloggers to promote and use the platform. Auramo was the co-founder of Indiedays, one of Finland’s most popular blogging communities, and it looks like her network will lead their followers to join.

    I noticed Jenni Rotonen from ‘Pupulandia’ has done so, likely driving some initial traffic. “StyleLoving is a great way to note my online shopping finds… This is a great inspiration for me,“ explains Rotonen in the press release.