Google's new app lets you shop outfits you see people wearing in the street

Google has just released the app we’ve all been waiting for: ‘Style Match‘ allows you to photograph people’s clothes and shop for them there and then.

The fashion gods have answered out prayers.

Forget plucking up the courage to ask the woman in Sainsbury’s where her cute jumper is from, with Style Match you can take a sneaky picture of it from the next aisle (creepy, right?) and it’ll immediately tell you where it’s from, as well as suggesting similar items.

After a couple of uses, the app can even recognise your own personal style, and will offer clothes based on those learned preferences.

The new technology is part of Google Lens and is a built in feature, available on Google Assistant.

At the moment, it’s only available to people using Android phones, but apparently iPhone will soon catch up, and everyone will be able to use this whizzy, little gizmo.

Other phones that currently support Google’s Style Match feature include LGE, Motorola, Xiaomi, Sony Mobile, HMD/Nokia, Transsion, TCL, OnePlus, BQ, Asus, and of course the Google Pixel.

The clever thing about Style Match is that it works in real time, using image-recognition technology, which basically means you can take a picture of someone’s shoes, find them online and purchase them in mere seconds.

Of course, everything has to be purchased via Google Shopping.

It’s a shopping addicts dream, and will make street style fashion more accessible.

If you think photographing a complete stranger is an odd thing to do, you might be taken with the home decor capabilities of the app. Shoes and jumpers might not be your bag, but if you’ve been lusting over a friend’s new sofa, you can snap and search for it straight away.

This could be particularly handy when visiting chic, boutique hotels where they source independent interior brands, not commonly found on the high street.

But the app doesn’t come without some problems: won’t it just encourage us to use our phones more?Isn’t there something sinister about photographing a complete stranger without their permission? Do those photos save on your phone forever?

And what of the sanctity of personal style? Everyone has a friend that constantly copies what they wear, and it becomes a real slog trying to keep your wardrobe and favourite shopping haunts a secret.

This app will be shopping candy crush for some people: instant shopping without social interaction and fuss.

But for those who like to look different, this app could be their nemesis.

Will you be using Style Match? Let us know in the comments below.

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