Wardrobe Setup: Building a Useful Catalog

How to photograph, categorise and prune your wardrobe so Manifest OOTD makes recommendations you actually wear.

A wardrobe app is only as good as the wardrobe inside it. Most users upload too many pieces in the first week and then never trust the recommendations again. This guide walks you through the opposite approach.

Photograph what you actually wear

For the first pass, only upload items you have worn in the past four weeks. That single rule cuts most wardrobes by 60% and dramatically sharpens early recommendations.

Lay each item flat on a neutral surface (a bed, a wood floor) in natural light. Crop tight. Avoid hangers — they distort silhouette detection.

One photo per item is enough.

Categorise by function, not by aesthetic

Tag each item by its functional category: top, bottom, outerwear, shoes, accessory, one-piece. Style tags are secondary.

Add the dominant color and, if you know it, the element (we offer auto-detection in the app).

Prune quarterly

Every three months, mark items you have not worn as "rest". The recommendations will skip them but they stay in your archive in case you change your mind.

This keeps the active wardrobe small and meaningful — usually 35–50 pieces for most users.