This new Circle to Search feature saved me from three dumb purchases

My partner has filled up my Instagram DMs with outfit ideas that I should get myself. I have to admit that they do look good, but there are so many that if I were to buy every single one of them, I know I’d end up returning at least half of them. The only downside of online shopping is that you cannot try something on before putting down your money.

However, Circle to Search on Pixels has found a way to let me try those outfits before I enter my credit card details. And so far, it has saved me from a handful of bad purchases — and added just a bit of friction to my shopping spree.

As always, I received a new outfit idea in my Instagram DMs one random evening. I instantly pulled up Circle to Search to look it up like I always do, but this time, when I opened a matching photo in Google Search, I saw a new option called “Try it on.” It asked for a full-length photo of mine, and within a couple of seconds, I had that sweater on me — almost like I was actually wearing it in that mirror selfie.

If not for this feature, I would have bought that cardigan. It looked oversized online, but on me, it was oversized in all the wrong places. Circle to Seach saved me from an impulse buy that I would have ended up returning anyway because it just didn’t work on me. And this exact script was repeated more than once.

While eyeing an outfit that was way out of my league in terms of coolness, I was ready to hit the purchase button without thinking twice. But I thought, maybe let’s give Circle to Search a try. And seeing the entire gear on myself changed everything. The outfit out-cooled me by a good margin, and it was obvious within seconds that I should drop the idea right there. It was much better than embarrassing myself in person.

The same thing happened with a pair of baggy Korean trousers. On screen, they looked like a perfect, trendy purchase. But on me, they pushed the “relaxed fit” limits. Turns out there’s a limit to how baggy I can go, and I wouldn’t have figured that out without actually trying them on.

If you look at my usual impulsive shopping flow, I would have spent on all these products without much deliberate thought. Right before hitting the pay button, my thought is now interrupted by this feature. I find myself considering how something actually looks on me — and not how it looks on someone else in the review section with an entirely different physique.

That interruption is changing my behavior around impulse shopping. And I’m glad it’s happening through a tool I choose to use for its sheer convenience, and not something being forced on me.

With easy return and exchange options, it has become the default to order anything I remotely like just to try it on at home. I can always send it back if the fit isn’t right or the size doesn’t match. But that entire process spans over a week — from placing the order to delivery to finally getting the refund. Plus, I have to block a chunk of cash for that period. Not to mention the hassle of keeping track of multiple returns and their individual refunds. All that work adds up.

With Try it on in the middle, I can quickly get a sense of what would actually look good on me and what wouldn’t. As a first filter, it narrows down my decisions and helps me only buy things that are more likely to work. What it leaves to actual delivery is fabric quality and final fit, minimizing the unknown factors by a lot.

The result? I’ve reduced my return fatigue to almost zero. How something will look on me isn’t a question I can only answer at delivery anymore — I know it even before placing the order. That’s a solid win for someone whose doorbell is constantly ringing with online deliveries.

The latest Pixel Feature Drop brought the ability to find an entire look from a screenshot — from tops and bottoms to shoes and accessories. However, you still can’t try on a full outfit just yet. You have to tap on individual pieces and try them on one by one.

In an ideal world, the tool would pick the closest matching options and let me try on the entire look with a single tap. And if it wants to go a step further, it could let me mix and match from suggested pieces and preview the full outfit before deciding. It feels like a natural next step from what already exists, and I do appreciate how much Google has managed to build into its existing tools.

More than anything, though, it has helped me pause before giving in to an impulse purchase. While the feature is being pitched as a convenience — and it genuinely is — it also adds just the right amount of friction to my shopping flow. That’s helped me make better decisions, be more deliberate with what I buy, and save both time and money in the process.

My partner still sends great outfit ideas — now I can send back the fit check before committing to a look.