Using Daydream for Hyper-Personalized Fashion Discovery

If you've ever felt the frustration of endless scrolling through online stores, desperately trying to find that one specific thing but getting lost in a sea of irrelevant results, you're not alone. As a hijabi & modest fashion enthusiast, I need pieces with long sleeves, high necklines, no cutouts, and maxi silhouettes. These aren't wild demands, yet traditional filters rarely get specific enough, leaving me sifting through countless items I'd never consider purchasing.

That's why I was excited to hear about Daydream, an AI-powered, large language model based shopping platform that just launched its beta version this week. It changes how we online shop by allowing you to chat directly with an AI assistant to find exactly what you want, rather than relying on clunky, limited filters. I signed up for an account today, early enough to snag the username @lizzy. I don't think I've ever been this lucky before.

At its core, Daydream transforms online shopping from a frustrating endless scrolling experience into a fluid, natural conversation. Instead of clicking through dropdown menus, you simply "chat to search" with their AI assistant, telling it precisely what you're looking for. It then leverages its advanced AI to understand your intent and scour its vast catalog of over 8,000 brands to find the closest matches. It's like having a genius, lightning-fast personal shopper who understands your most nuanced preferences. When you find items you like, you can save them to collections which feel a lot like Pinterest boards, allowing you to easily return to make a purchase.

Putting Daydream to the Test

The conversational chat to search approach is where Daydream truly shines, especially for shoppers with specific requirements like mine. To put it to the test, I started with a challenging query that would typically break any standard e-commerce filter

I did a text-based search with 5 different limitations: dress, long sleeve, maxi length, high neck, and summer. This is pretty tight--most retailers/brands don't have filters that let you get this specific.

The search results were good and appeared VERY quickly! Some of the top options were less summery than I would have hoped, but perhaps that's because summer was the last thing I listed in my original search and could have been ranked as less important than the modesty restrictions.

Most retailers would not allow me to get this specific, offering short-sleeved maxis or low-back long dresses. Daydream, however, immediately understood the combination of my modest fashion requirements.

The search results were genuinely impressive! Many of the top options immediately fit my criteria. While some of the dresses leaned less 'summery' than I might have hoped--perhaps 'summer' was weighted lower than the core modesty restrictions in my initial prompt--the sheer accuracy on the other four elements was a breakthrough. It felt like the AI was listening to my needs, not just keywords.

At this point, I wanted to push it further. I often encounter sheer fabrics or overly clingy fits that compromise my modesty preferences, even if the cut is right. So, I continued the conversation:

To refine my search, I entered, "I need something opaque that's not too tight." Here's where the AI started having some issues--I think there were too many limitations and not enough possible options to accommodate them. I started getting shown a lot of options for plus sized dresses with low necklines toward the top of my results, even though Daydream has my size recorded in their system. However, I was impressed with the original results given they're in beta testing mode, still adding new brands every day!

Daydream Beta Review: Pros and Cons

Every innovative platform, especially in its beta phase, comes with its strengths and areas for growth. My experience with Daydream highlighted several key advantages that  set it apart in the crowded e-commerce landscape, alongside a few points where there could be future refinements.

The Pros of Daydream AI: Unlocking Smarter Shopping

• Hyper-Personalization at its Core: Unlike traditional filters, Daydream's chat to search feature interprets intricate requests like "long-sleeve, high-neck maxi dress for summer, but no sheer fabrics," delivering results with surprising precision. This is a LEAP for personalized online shopping and a game-changer for anyone with specific fashion requirements. Daydream also understands complex restrictions like formality and occasion, making finding winning pieces significantly easier.
• Simple and Intuitive UX: The search and collections tools on the site are easy to use and don't need to be explained. If you enjoy using Pinterest, you'll enjoy using Daydream--the products pop up in a way similar to a Pinterest feed, and the collections are similar to Pinterest boards. The "say more" feature is truly special--it allows you to let Daydream know exactly what you like or don't like about a certain piece to improve the search results.
• Significant Time Savings & Reduced Frustration: By quickly narrowing down options to relevant items, Daydream reduces the frustration of online shopping and transforms it into an enjoyable discovery process. 
• Inclusivity by Design: Perhaps its most impactful pro is its inherent inclusivity. Daydream directly addresses long-standing pain points for underserved markets. While I focused on modest fashion search, its capabilities hold immense promise for petite clothing, tall sizing, and plus-size clothing, making fashion more accessible for everyone.

The Cons of Daydream AI Beta: Room for Growth

• Nuance in Complex Multi-Attribute Searches: While the initial results for my modest summer dress query were impressive, the "summer" aspect seemed to be slightly less prioritized than the modesty restrictions. This suggests that with highly complex, multi-faceted requests, the AI is still refining its ability to weigh all attributes equally, an area common in AI algorithm development during beta. 
• Occasional "Misses" with Too Many Constraints: When I pushed the system further by adding "no sheer" and "no tighter dresses" to my initial query, I observed some initial "misses," including irrelevant plus-size dresses with low necklines despite my size preferences being recorded. This indicates that at the current beta stage, there might be a threshold where too many specific limitations, combined with certain product availability, can lead to less precise results. It highlights the ongoing process of AI model refinement and expanding its understanding of niche preferences.

The Future of Shopping: My Hopes for Daydream's Evolution

Daydream has already laid a compelling foundation for the future of online shopping, particularly for those of us with highly specific needs. Looking ahead, I envision several exciting directions this AI-powered shopping platform could explore to further revolutionize the way we interact with fashion.

• Deep Integration with Existing Wardrobes: I'd love to see features that allow for wardrobe integration, enabling searches like "find a top to match these specific pants I already own" or "suggest a hijab to match this dress in my current collection." This would move beyond mere product discovery to true AI-powered styling, helping users maximize their existing wardrobe.

• Advanced Fabric & Fit Nuances: While Daydream already understands basic fabric types and fits, I'd love to see it delve deeper into nuances like "breathable but opaque," "drapes softly but holds shape," or "suitable for a seated fit." This level of detail would be revolutionary for niche markets, particularly those with narrow preferences like sensitivity to textures or modesty requirements.

Daydream represents a significant stride towards a more personalized, efficient, and inclusive future for online fashion. Its continued development holds the potential to truly transform how we shop, making it an exciting space to watch. I'll be using Daydream regularly from now on, and I can't wait for the app to launch later this summer!