A new hi-tech mirror allows clients to see how they would look like in different outfits, without having to actually try them on. From what I could find, there are two companies working on different versions of this product (one in Japan, one in America), but the bad news is that so far, it only works for women.

Enter Digital Fashion Co., a Japanese company first developed such a mirror that basically allows you to select from available outfits and paste them on your image, to see how you would look like wearing them. When you want to change clothes, it’s a gesture-based flip through a closet of outfits and it can save you a lot of time and effort.

Personally, I dislike trying out several clothes just to see how I look in them so I could definitely see a future where mirrors like this one take off. With that same thought in mind, California-based Salvador Nissi Vilcovsky started a similar project, called MemoryMirror. MemoMi uses Intel integrated graphics technology to create avatars of the shopper wearing various clothing.

You can also share how you look in clothes on social media and see your friends’ response and also add accessories like earrings or necklaces. Eoghan O’Sullivan, from augmented reality firm Von Bismark, said:

“The interactive mirror shows people how an item of clothing, handbag, or accessory might look on them. It works by motion capture, allowing it to immediately identify a woman’s size and shape. The software then tells the garment how to sit on the body – whether that’s how a dress hangs off the shoulders, or how a pair of trousers hang off the hips.”

That’s the thing, the mirror is smart enough to know how clothes would look on you depending on your specific body. It uses Kinect technology to detect movement and constantly adapt.

Rahul Sood, from Microsoft, said:

“The relationship between design and technology is becoming ever more important when applied to modern fashion startups. This system takes depth data from the moving Kinect camera, in real time, to create highest quality, geometrically accurate 3D models. Gesture control and skeletal tracking enables an exciting shopping experience. We believe this will come to revolutionise the UK shopping experience on the High Street for women and men.”

So, what do you think? Is this something that can truly make a difference, or is it just another attempt at using technology for something that it shouldn’t be used for?