The Online Shopping Return Problem Is Insane

Around 30% of clothes bought online get returned. Most of those aren't defective — they just don't look right on the person who ordered them. The color reads differently in real life, the cut is wrong for their body, or the style that looked great on the model looks completely different on them.

Size charts don't fix this. Knowing your chest is 40 inches doesn't tell you whether a V-neck makes your shoulders look narrow.

AI try-on tools are starting to actually solve this. The idea: upload a photo of yourself, upload a photo of the clothes you're considering, and get a generated image of you wearing them — with matched lighting, shadows, and fit.

Summrs has a fashion try-on that does this. If you just want to test it, go there. The rest of this post breaks down what works, what doesn't, and the other ways people approach this problem.

What "AI Try On" Actually Means

There are a few different things people call "AI try on" and they're not all the same:

Virtual mirrors — The stuff Nike and Warby Parker do. You stand in front of your camera and it overlays glasses or shoes on your live video. Works for accessories, not great for full outfits.

Size recommendation AI — Stitch Fix, Amazon, etc. This doesn't show you anything. It just guesses your size based on purchase history. Sometimes accurate, sometimes you get a medium that fits like an XL.

Image generation try-on — This is the newer thing and what actually matters. You upload a photo of yourself, provide a photo of the clothes (or describe them), and AI generates a new image of you wearing that outfit. Your body, your face, those clothes.

That last one is what tools like Summrs do.

Other Ways People Solve This

Before AI try-on got decent, people worked around the "will this look good on me" problem in other ways. Some of these still make sense depending on what you're doing.

Pinterest boards and saved inspo. Finding someone with a similar body type wearing the outfit you're considering. Doesn't show it on you but gives a rough idea. Free, easy, limited.

Photoshop compositing. Cutting out a clothing item and layering it on a photo of yourself. If you're good at Photoshop, the results can be okay. But matching lighting, shadows, and getting the drape right takes real skill. Most people don't have that skill and the result looks like a paper doll.

In-store try-on + photo. The old reliable. Go to the store, try it on, take a mirror selfie. Obviously only works for brands with physical locations and things currently in stock. Doesn't help when you're browsing at midnight on your phone.

Order two sizes, return one. The brute force method. Works, but you're floating double the money and dealing with return shipping. Some stores charge restocking fees now.

AI image generation try-on. Upload your photo, upload the clothes, get a generated image. The advantage over Photoshop is that AI matches lighting and shadows automatically — it doesn't look pasted on. The advantage over Pinterest is it's literally you, not someone who vaguely looks like you.

Okay But Does It Look Real

Honestly? It depends on what you upload.

When it works well:

• Clear full-body or upper-body photo with decent lighting
• Simple background (not a crowded bar)
• Clothes that are clearly visible in the reference image
• Standard angles — straight on or slight 3/4

When it gets weird:

• Blurry or dark photos — AI can't reconstruct what it can't see
• Complicated layering (jacket over hoodie over shirt) — it simplifies
• Very specific patterns or logos — sometimes approximates instead of replicating exactly
• Extreme poses — arms crossed, sitting weirdly, etc.

The sweet spot is a normal photo of you standing or sitting casually, paired with a clear product photo of the clothing item. That combo produces results that genuinely look like you wearing the thing.

How I Actually Use It

My workflow is dumb and simple:

I find something I want to buy online. I screenshot the product image. I have a handful of photos of myself that I know work well with AI (good lighting, clean background, normal pose). I run it through the fashion try-on template and see what it looks like on me.

It takes maybe 30 seconds per outfit. I usually test 3-4 options before buying one.

Has it eliminated returns completely? No. But it's cut my return rate roughly in half because the obvious misses — "that color does NOT work on me" or "that neckline is unflattering" — get caught before I order.

The Stuff Nobody Tells You

Your photo matters more than the clothing photo. A great photo of yourself with a mediocre product image produces better results than a bad selfie with a perfect product shot. Invest in having 2-3 solid reference photos of yourself.

It works for styling, not just shopping. I use it to test color combinations. Will this green jacket work with these tan pants? Instead of buying both and hoping, I can see it first. Saves money on "I thought these would go together" purchases.

Formal wear is where it shines the most. Dresses, suits, structured clothing — these try-on better than casual layered fits because the shapes are more defined. If you're shopping for a wedding outfit or interview clothes, this is genuinely useful.

Streetwear is hit or miss. Oversized fits, specific drape, the way a hoodie falls — AI handles some of this but loses the nuance of how fabric actually moves. Good for getting the vibe, less reliable for exact fit.

Who's Using This Besides Me

Online shoppers who are sick of returns. The #1 use case. See it before you buy it.

Resellers and thrifters. If you flip clothes online, showing what an item looks like on a person (instead of flat lay) increases sale rates significantly. Upload the garment photo, generate someone wearing it, use that as your listing image.

Fashion content creators. Testing outfit ideas for content without having to own every piece. Generate the look, decide if it's worth creating content around, then acquire the specific pieces.

Stylists working with remote clients. Send a client a generated image of them in a proposed outfit instead of describing it. Way more effective than mood boards.

Where AI Try-On Is Headed

Right now it's photos. Static images. That's useful but the next step — which some tools are already experimenting with — is video try-on. See yourself walking in the outfit, see how it moves, see the drape and flow.

We're not fully there yet but it's coming fast. The photo version is already good enough to make buying decisions on. The video version probably becomes the next big jump — not just seeing the outfit, but seeing how it moves.

For now, if you're tired of the buy-return-buy-return cycle, trying clothes on virtually before ordering is the most practical thing AI has given us in a while.

Try the fashion try-on on Summrs.

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