Geek meets chic as Google launches new fashion site

Boutiques.com is "curated" by celebrities, designers and fashion bloggers; new search technology helps visitors avoid mismatches.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Boutiques.com 311 (photo credit: Screenshot)
Boutiques.com 311
(photo credit: Screenshot)
Geek met chic on Wednesday, as Google launched Boutiques.com, a shopping site made up of online "boutiques curated by taste-makers."
The boutiques feature clothing, shoes and accessories chosen by celebrities, stylists, designers and fashion bloggers. Shoppers can see Oscar-nominee Carey Mulligan's favorite Prada skirt, or browse a boutique of Isaac Mizrahi designs.
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Boutique.com visitors can also create their own boutique, allowing others to follow and comment on your taste.
The site uses technology developed by Like.com, which was bought by Google for a reported $100 million, which uses visual searches. Fashion experts were teamed up with engineers, so that the site can detect colors, patterns, fabrics and silhouettes and determine possible pairings.
The search technology allows Boutiques.com to "learn" whether your style is more like the Olsen twins' or that of Jenna Fischer, star of "The Office," and whether you prefer Halston over Oscar de la Renta. In other words, it "learns about [visitors'] style and preferences and in turn provides...better results and recommendations over time," as it says on the site.
The site currently features women's fashion, and ships only to the United States.