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Bill Slawski at SEO By the Sea talked about a very interesting concept today regarding a social fashion search engine in which you would submit measurements and create a 3D model of your body to create a profile. You would then more easily be able to shop for clothes and shoes online based on a variety of variables.

It turns out that Slawski's story just happens to be that of a patent filed by Yahoo for "Method for Search and Marketing Fashion Garments Online." The Patent Abstract Reads as follows:

A method of generating clothing recommendations for a potential purchaser uses user-specific information to generate a list of suggested garments for the user and displays a graphical representation of the garments. The user-specific information may include recommendations from one or more friends, fashion experts, or other purchasers, optionally including information based on purchasing history or shopping history of other purchasers. The graphical representation may include a three-dimensional representation. Recommendations may be prioritized based on ranking.

Gamers will equate the concept of the 3D model to creating their " Miis " or their own players on a variety of sports games. Only the principle has a practical use in this scenario, beyond just entertainment.

If you don't feel like wading through the technical mumbo jumbo of the patent filing, Slawski lays out key points in an easy to digest way. I don't claim to have much of a fashion sense, but being relatively tall, I do often find it hard to find clothing that I like in stores, and a concept such as this one sounds appealing if it can truly eliminate the typical inconveniences of online clothes shopping.