As an FYI, and as a founder of a fashion shopping site (aggregator) I can tell you that people do not like shopping like that - as in, find me something that looks like x - you have to factor in what we refer to as "Store DNA".
Your not comparing hoovers here, people don't just buy a "look" - they buy (from store x) because of the quality, the brands values etc.
But as a search engine for browsing/research prior to purchasing, it works great. Back when Modista was still operational, I myself bought three or four pairs of shoes that were either discovered or inspired by discoveries made while browsing their site. Each one of those purchases was made after looking into the brand that manufactured them, but–with the exception of one purchase–I had never heard of the brand before that and never would have without Modista or some inferior means of searching through such a massive inventory.
You can't build a filter for "I've worn a top from this store before and it fitted me nicely" or "I know garments from this store wash up nicely" or "I shop from this store because it defines part of my character"
Most shoppers buy into a store because of lots of things, quality, brand-values alignment, friends shop etc etc.
What I'm essentially saying is a lot more goes into buying a product than what it looks like.
I don't follow your point. You can filter by store or brand. You can, for instance, allow someone to see the shoe collection and hide everything not from Nordstrom or not Gucci (or both), etc.
EDIT: By the way, I still think you make an interesting point in how people really shop, and I appreciate you sharing that here.
I believe he's saying that people buy for the feeling, not to satisfy a list of specs. So although us techies might like this sort of drill down, normal folks prefer the "serendipitous discovery" experience of shopping.
I'm not sure I agree, but it is a thought provoking point.
Your not comparing hoovers here, people don't just buy a "look" - they buy (from store x) because of the quality, the brands values etc.