7:11 am · New York
Describe what I want, out loud
I dictated the idea: keep an inventory, plan capsules and trips, read receipts, show cost per wear. Claude turned it into a plan and asked where to start.
ClaudeA build story · Oct 14–15, 2026
How I built my closet app in a day
One morning between two trips, I asked an AI what I was supposed to wear. By lunch I had a working app. By the next morning my friends were asking to use it.
38 min
first idea to a working prototype
~2.5 hrs
to a real app on my own domain
0
lines of code I wrote myself
The problem
I'd just done back-to-back trips to Montréal and New York. I had planned every outfit with an AI, and then each morning I couldn't remember the plan. I own too many shoes and wear three of them. I've bought running shoes I already had. My wardrobe has a visibility gap, and I wanted to close it: fewer, faster decisions, and an honest picture of what I actually wear.
How it came together
Every step below happened in one conversation with Claude, then in Lovable, which turns a written description into a real app.
- Wednesday
7:12 am
Seed it with what I already had
I dropped in my notes from the Montréal and New York planning. That became the first 17 pieces, plus the rules I dress by, like "one statement piece on comfortable basics."
Claude7:14–7:20 am
Let real life shape the features
Forgetting my outfit became a photo check-in. My summer of matching linen sets became "formulas." My dread of December became a festive capsule with a shopping list made of gaps.
Claude7:32 am
A prototype I could tap through
Claude built a working mock-up of the app right in the chat, loaded with my real closet. I used it to plan my next work trip in a few minutes.
Claude7:49 am
Ship it for real
Once the prototype felt right, Claude wrote the brief and sent it to Lovable, which built the actual app: a database, sign-in, AI photo recognition and a chat assistant.
Lovable8:13 am
Use it, then fix what bugs me
First real snag: I'd left my Chelsea boots at home and couldn't change tomorrow's shoes. Twenty minutes later, every planned outfit had an Edit button.
Me + Lovable8:15–8:34 am
A burst of additions
Adding pieces by photo, scanning care labels, a "do I already own this?" check, trips, capsules, weekly planning, and an About page for friends.
Lovable9:35 am
Live at closet.lynnthibault.com
Published on my own website, private behind my login, with a public About page.
Me6:03 pm
Friends want in
I showed a few friends and they asked for their own closets. So it became a small closed alpha: invite codes, each person sees only their own closet, and I see only anonymous totals.
Claude + Lovable- Thursday
8:26 am
A proper front door
The home screen felt like a toolbox. Claude mocked up three designs and I picked the one with tomorrow's outfit hanging on a closet rail.
Claude
Try the demo
A simplified version of the real app. Tap the tabs.
On the rail for Thursday
Good evening, Lynn.
Pink linen · cream jeans · blue slides
A work trip in 12 days
3 days planned · 6 pieces in the bag
4 pieces to wash before then
Striped shirt, tank, leggings, yellow knit
Tomorrow, already decided
The home screen hangs your next outfit on a rail. Each morning I snap a mirror photo; the app recognizes the pieces and logs what I wore. Planned becomes worn in about ten seconds.
What I learned
Start from a real annoyance
The best features came from moments that bugged me, not from a feature list.
Use it the same day
The first real morning exposed what was missing faster than any amount of planning.
Sketch before you build
Working out the design in conversation first meant the real build got it mostly right the first time.
Privacy first when friends join
Each person sees only their own closet. I see anonymous totals, never anyone's clothes.
The tools
| Claude | Thinking partner, planner, prototype, design mock-ups, and the brief for every build step. |
|---|---|
| Lovable | Built and hosts the real app: database, sign-in, AI photo recognition, the chat assistant. |
| My domain | closet.lynnthibault.com, connected in a few clicks. |
What it does
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