MyShape Gets More Sociable

Pasadena, Calif.–based e-tailer MyShape (www.myshape.com) has relaunched its e-commerce site with a number of new social shopping features aimed at taking the online shopping experience to a new level.

MyShape launched about three years ago as a concept that takes a lot of the guesswork out of online shopping by providing visitors with clothing suggestions based on their body shapes, measurements and other personal data.

President Louise Wannier calls it a “me-commerce” site in that it acts as a personal shopper, stylist and style coach, offering choices from more than 200 brands, including California labels such as Trina Turk, Paige Denim, Sanctuary, Tadashi, Eva Varro and Ed Hardy.

Since launching a beta version about three years ago, MyShape has garnered more than 600,000 members.

With the growth of social online communities such as MySpace and Facebook, Wannier and crew decided to offer more interactive and social features. The new features help members build a wardrobe head to toe; get input from friends, family and the online fashion community; and get information on the latest trends and happenings in the apparel world.

“It’s a completely fresh look. We’re really trying to help women with rich content as a personal stylist would do,” Wannier said.

MyShape hired Giovanni Russo from creative agency No11.com for the relaunch, which went live on Aug. 10.

The company has also added new style editors to assist creative director Patty Fox, who is a former Academy Awards fashion coordinator. Among their projects will be the new Style Me section, which offers members information on runway trends, capsule dressing, style stories and health news.

The new Ask a Friend section, built into the personal shopping spaces of members, is akin to taking a friend to a mall, Wannier said. Members click an “Invite” link and can receive input on shopping selections from friends and other MyShape members. There’s also a new Outfit Builder feature, which enables visitors to play stylist by experimenting with different looks, mixing and matching items to create looks for the entire MyShape community to view.

Wannier said more than 1,000 outfits have been created since the feature went live three weeks ago.—Robert McAllister