Fashion item analysis method and system based on user ensembles in online fashion community

Abstract

In an online fashion community system (100) users provide personal image content, such as digital user fashion images (104, 700) that include users themselves modeling multiple fashion items as an ensemble, as the basis of community interaction. Users also provide information about the multiple fashion items, including information linking (108) to a provider of each fashion item and fashion data (106) such as brand, color, style, etc. User interface system (116) allows users to search among, access, and interact about the user fashion ensembles.

1 . An online, computer network-implemented fashion community method, comprising:
 receiving from a first user over a worldwide computer network a first fashion image that depicts the first user modeling plural fashion items;   receiving from the first user over the worldwide computer network information about at least one of the plural fashion items in the first fashion image, including information linking to a vendor of the at least one fashion item;   obtaining fashion data regarding each of the fashion items in the first fashion image and storing in a database the fashion data, access to the first fashion image, and the information linking to the provider of each fashion item; and   providing the first fashion image over the worldwide computer network to a community of users, together with access to the fashion data and the information linking to the vendor of each fashion item.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  in which the fashion data includes one or more of a clothing category, color, and brand of the fashion item. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  in which the obtaining the fashion data includes accessing under computer control a network link to a vendor to obtain fashion data for a corresponding fashion item. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  further including obtaining validation from the first user of the fashion data obtained from the network link to the vendor. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  in which obtaining the fashion data includes receiving fashion data from the first user. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  in which the database includes access to plural fashion images of plural users and providing the first fashion image to the community of users includes displaying the first fashion image together with at least one of the plural fashion images that has selected fashion data in common with the first fashion image. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6  in which the selected fashion data include one or more of a clothing category, color, and brand of fashion item in the fashion images. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  further including receiving from a second user over the worldwide computer network an indication of affirmation of the first fashion image and subsequently providing the indication of affirmation with the first fashion image over the worldwide computer network to the community of users. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  in which the information linking to the vendor of each fashion item includes a retail link to a retail service from which to purchase the fashion item. 
     
     
         10 . An online fashion community method, comprising:
 receiving from each of plural users over a worldwide computer network a corresponding user fashion image that includes each respective user modeling plural fashion items together as an ensemble;   receiving from each of the users information about the plural fashion items in the ensemble of the user, including information linking to a vendor of each fashion item in the ensemble;   obtaining fashion data regarding each of the fashion items in each ensemble and storing in a database the fashion data, access to each of the user fashion images, and the information linking to the vendors of the fashion items in the ensembles, plural ones of the user fashion images having a shared fashion datum; and   providing over the worldwide computer network to a community of users the plural ones of the fashion images in which fashion items have the shared fashion datum, together with access to the fashion data for the fashion items in each fashion image and the information linking to the vendor of each fashion item.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  in which fashion items in the ensembles of plural ones of the fashion images share different fashion data and the method further comprises:
 generating a fashion correlation mapping that indicates an extent of correlation of fashion items in different ensembles that share fashion data; and 
 providing over the worldwide computer network to the community of users a graphical display of the fashion correlation mapping, thereby to indicate an extent to which fashion items are worn together by the plural users in ensembles. 
 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  in which the fashion correlation mapping includes extents of correlations between selected pairs of fashion items shared among the different ensembles. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11  in which the extent of correlation of fashion items in different ensembles that share fashion data is expressed as a percentage of ensembles that share the fashion data among the of plural ones of the fashion images. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10  in which the shared fashion datum include one or more of a clothing category, color, and brand of fashion item in the fashion images. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10  further including receiving from a viewing user over the worldwide computer network an indication of affirmation of a selected fashion image and subsequently providing the indication of affirmation with the selected fashion image over the worldwide computer network to the community of users. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10  in which the information linking to the vendor of each fashion item provided to the community of users includes a retail link to a retail service from which to purchase the fashion item. 
     
     
         17 . An online fashion community system, comprising:
 a fashion community database having stored therein access to plural fashion images received from plural users over a worldwide computer network, each fashion image including a respective user modeling plural fashion items as an ensemble, the fashion community database further including a link to a vendor of each fashion item and fashion data regarding each fashion item, fashion items in the ensembles of plural ones of the fashion images having a shared fashion datum; and   a computer network site that provides to a community of users over the worldwide computer network plural ones of the fashion images in which fashion items have the shared fashion datum, together with access to the fashion data for the fashion items in each of the plural ones of the fashion images and the information linking to the vendors of the fashion items.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17  in which the shared fashion datum includes a clothing category, color, or brand. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17  in which the fashion community database further includes indications of affirmation of selected fashion images received from community users over the worldwide computer network and the computer network site further includes indications of affirmation provided with the selected fashion images over the worldwide computer network to the community of users. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 17  in which the computer network site further includes a user interface system a fashion community upload interface including a user fashion image upload interface to receive from each of plural a fashion image that includes a respective user modeling plural fashion items as an ensemble, and a fashion information upload interface to receive from each user fashion information about the fashion items in the ensemble.