At a Glance
Overview
Alison Lumbatis partnered with Valere to create the original Outfit Formulas and work on the latest version which transformed it into an AI-powered fashion platform that significantly simplifies daily wardrobe planning for women. The app evolved from a passive content delivery system offering one outfit per day into an interactive personal styling assistant featuring AI-powered personalization, user-generated content, location-based recommendations, and an integrated affiliate marketplace.
The Challenge
Version 1 validated the business model transition from Facebook groups to a paid mobile application, but users complained about limited value: “I’m paying to receive one outfit per day, but I cannot personalize anything and it is too expensive for just one outfit per day. I cannot do anything else with the app.” The platform needed to evolve beyond one-way content delivery to justify its subscription price, address decision fatigue for the 40+ demographic, provide personalization capabilities, and create engagement features that would increase session length and daily active usage
KPIs & Solution Implemented
Valere engineered a comprehensive transformation featuring an AI-powered chatbot (the most popular feature) that provides conversational outfit customization trained on Outfit Formulas’ proprietary styling methodology, location-based weather integration for context-aware recommendations, user-generated content capabilities allowing users to share their “Outfit of the Day” implementations, an enhanced viewing experience with zoom capabilities and detailed item tracking, an integrated affiliate marketplace generating additional revenue streams, and a sophisticated admin panel with role-based access control and live preview functionality. The solution prioritized accessibility for the 40+ female demographic with dynamic text sizing, optimized color contrast, and intuitive interaction patterns while maintaining high availability for the paying subscriber base.
About the Company
Outfit Formulas simplifies the process of choosing what to wear by empowering users to maximize their existing wardrobe while reducing decision fatigue. Drawing from Alison Lumbatis’s personal struggle with decision fatigue and loss of routine while working from home, the company’s mission perfectly encapsulates its value proposition: “meal planning for your closet.”
Unlike competitors that prioritize luxury or complex customization, Outfit Formulas focuses on inclusivity, affordability, and practicality. The platform serves a predominantly female user base aged 40+ with a subscription model offering cost-effective access to seasonal style guides, personalized AI recommendations, and a supportive community.
Alison Lumbatis (CEO & Founder) started Outfit Formulas from an engineering background, creating a structured system to solve her own daily dressing challenges. Her approach combines practical problem-solving with a deep understanding of her target audience’s needs, creating an authentic brand voice that resonates throughout the app’s AI interactions and community features.
The Challenge of Transforming User Value
KPIs & Solution Implemented
Version 1 operated as a one-way content delivery system where users could only consume daily outfit suggestions without any interaction. Expert-curated outfits couldn’t be customized to individual preferences, style requirements, or weather conditions. Users had no ability to share their own outfit implementations or engage with a community of similar users.
Primary user feedback centered on perceived value. The subscription model required stronger justification through additional features and interactive capabilities.
Accessibility Concerns for 40+ Demographic
The predominantly female user base aged 40+ required specific design considerations for visual impairments and accessibility. Previously, increasing text size through device settings would break layouts, hide information, and make components unusable. The app needed to support maximum text size settings from iOS and Android system preferences while maintaining visual functionality.
Accessibility Complex Payment Platform Integration for 40+ Demographic
Legacy users from pre-app Facebook groups paid through the original platform while new users paid through in-app purchases. The system required seamless synchronization across multiple payment sources with Single Sign-On implementation across different authentication methods, free trial management, and unified user management maintaining single user profiles.
The Partnership Approach
Alison Lumbatis selected Valere to transform their vision into a scalable AI product based on several distinguishing factors:
- Technical Depth in AI: Valere demonstrated expertise in engineering AI-driven systems that synthesize complex domain knowledge into user-friendly experiences, particularly for consumer mobile applications.
- Product Development Partnership: Rather than simply executing specifications, Valere collaborated closely with the founders to translate fashion methodology into digital workflows. The team treated the project as shared ownership, proposing ideas like location-based weather integration that aligned with user needs and business goals.
- Transparent Communication and Feasibility Assessment: Weekly meetings with the client product team focused on discussing features, feasibility, and ROI.
The engagement model emphasized close collaboration characterized by mutual respect, transparency, and shared commitment to app success.
The Solution
Valere designed and developed Outfit Formulas and released the latest version as a comprehensive platform that transforms passive content consumption into an interactive, AI-powered personal styling experience. The system integrates conversational AI, evidence-based styling recommendations, community engagement tools, and monetization features while maintaining exceptional accessibility.
Core Platform Capabilities
AI-Powered Personalization Chatbot (Most Complex Feature)
The conversational AI chatbot became the most popular feature.
Functionality:
- Trained on Outfit Formulas’ proprietary PDFs used for outfit creation, ensuring recommendations align with the brand’s styling methodology
- Generates both text responses and visual outfit suggestions for customization requests
- Implements guardrails to ensure responses align with brand voice (speaks “as Alison”)
- Provides context-aware recommendations based on user preferences, occasion (casual vs. formal), and missing wardrobe pieces
- Designed to feel personal and approachable, reflecting Alison’s interaction style on YouTube and social media
Example Use Case: User requests: “I want to change my blue top for something more formal.” Chatbot provides text suggestions AND generates an image of the recommended formal alternative appropriate for their current weather conditions.
Location-Based Personalization (Valere suggestion)
Real-time weather integration affects outfit recommendations, ensuring suggestions remain practical and contextually appropriate. If it’s raining in the user’s location, the chatbot won’t suggest a t-shirt but will instead recommend weather-appropriate alternatives like coats or layers.
User-Generated Content & Community Engagement
Users can upload photos of their “Outfit of the Day” implementations with public or private sharing options. This feature significantly increased session length and daily active usage as users engaged with both creating and viewing content.
The community feature strengthens the sense of connection, letting users discover new ways to style the same outfit and encouraging natural interaction and participation. As the design team noted: “We wanted users to get inspired by others and feel part of a community. The app used to feel a bit distant, so by allowing users to see how others customize their outfits, we made it more engaging and social.”
Enhanced Outfit Viewing Experience
Users can now zoom in and out on daily outfit recommendations, view individual items in detail, track item usage across multiple outfits throughout the month, and access direct purchase links via affiliate partnerships. This enhanced experience transforms the viewing interface from passive consumption to active exploration and planning.
Integrated Marketplace (Affiliate Model)
The shopping experience feels like a natural extension of the wardrobe planning process rather than advertising. The marketplace allows users to browse partner stores within the app, click through to external stores via referral links (no in-app purchases), and shop only when it genuinely makes sense for them. This feature creates a significant revenue stream through affiliate commissions on referred purchases.
Sophisticated Admin Panel
The redesigned admin panel streamlines internal management with role-based access control for Marketing, Outfit Specialists, and Admin roles. Features include live app preview embedded in the dashboard, real-time visualization of changes before pushing to production, comprehensive content management for outfit curation, and user feedback survey collection capabilities.
The Results
Version 2 delivered transformational results across user engagement, business metrics, and technical performance. Users went from complaining about lack of features to embracing the app so enthusiastically that the most popular feature (AI chatbot) became a “good problem” due to usage costs, a testament to product-market fit achieved through comprehensive enhancements.
Key Outcomes
Business Growth & Revenue
- 567% revenue growth from $150,000+ to over $1 million in annual subscription revenue
- Platform expansion from 5,000 active subscribers to 10,000+ Android downloads with an even stronger user base among Apple users, with 1,000+ App Store ratings to date
- Additional revenue stream through integrated affiliate marketplace generating commissions on referred purchases
- 800+ five-star ratings on the Apple App Store demonstrating strong user satisfaction
User Engagement Transformation
- Session length increased significantly as users spent more time with interactive features versus passive V1 consumption
- Daily active usage marked improvement driven by AI chatbot, user-generated content creation, and community engagement
- User sentiment transformation from V1 complaints (“Too expensive for just one outfit per day”) to V2 engagement with personalization features and active content creation/sharing
Technical Performance & Accessibility
- High availability maintained despite scaling from 5,000 users to substantially higher concurrent usage without major incidents
- Zero-tolerance downtime achieved for paid subscription service through rigorous QA processes and thorough testing
- Complete design system overhaul supporting dynamic type with components adapting seamlessly to different text sizes and device configurations
- Accessibility optimization ensuring 40+ demographic can use maximum device text size settings without breaking layouts or hiding information
- Unified user management seamlessly handling multiple payment platforms (legacy Facebook group subscriptions + in-app purchases) with Single Sign-On across authentication methods
Product-Market Fit Validation
- #150 ranking in Lifestyle Apps on the App Store demonstrating competitive positioning
- 30% growth in active subscriptions over the past year demonstrating sustained momentum and market validation
- 85% click-through rate on daily outfit suggestions showing strong engagement with core content
- Visual transformation impact exceeded initial expectations according to client leadership, bringing to life “even more than what they initially imagined”
Conclusion
Our latest version of Outfit Formulas represents a successful transformation, driven by user feedback, technical innovation, and strong partnership between client and development team. The app evolved from a one-way content delivery system to an interactive, AI-powered personal styling platform. The combination of personalization (AI chatbot), community engagement (user-generated content), monetization strategy (subscriptions + affiliates), and accessibility-first design created a sustainable business while maintaining high user satisfaction and engagement. Looking forward to 2026, Outfit Formulas is positioned to further leverage AI capabilities, transitioning from manual expert curation to AI-first content generation.
