Many industries that once seemed impossible to break into — film, television, political commentary — have opened up to the public in recent years with sites like MySpace and YouTube, where people from all over the world can market themselves and their work.

Now it’s fashion’s turn. Chictopia.com, which started only five months ago, seeks to open up the fashion industry.

Part Facebook, part fashion magazine, this site allows users to create fashion profiles, upload photos of themselves and view those of others. Users can rate favorite profiles, comment on outfits, discuss fashion in the forums and create polls.

Based in San Francisco, this site was started by four friends after one of them, Helen Zhu, was inspired by the Time magazine article, “You As the Person of the Year.”

“There was really nowhere that there was a space that you could make a name for yourself [in fashion],” said Lulu Chang, marketing manager for the site. “That world is very closed off.”

College students are the “bread and butter” of the site, Chang said. With about 11,000 registered users, the site has been dubbed as “the next big thing” and “one to watch” by fashion and technology magazines alike. Members can search for other members based different factors including body shape and size, age, skin tone and self-described style.

Unlike the Sartorialist and fashion blogs, Chictopia users don’t have to wait for someone to take a photo of them on the street. Instead they can do it themselves, and some of the photos on this site are examples of independent fashion photography.

“This site is so much more useful,” said Chang. “It shows people wearing what they wear everyday, not just on their way to a fashion show.”

Joseph Lai, a former UW student and Chictopia user, agrees.

“I also like the fact that there is a crowd-based fashion voice,” Lai said. “Instead of being driven by big name pundits.”

People are not limited to using the site to show off their style.

“I’m not really into posting my outfits, but it’s interesting to see what others are wearing,” Lai said. “I also like to see how they present themselves to the public. You can see many of them put in lots of effort to produce the photos they post.”

The site offers many ways to find things — style, brand, color, shape, occasion, location and garment types — which may be a bit daunting for some. “The site is targeted and relevant because it gives you just what you were looking for,” said Chang.

Aside from fashion advice from fellow members, Chictopia also has its own blog. Titled “Everybody Is Ugly,” this in-house blog offers advice, information on new products, do-it-yourself projects and a heads up as to what is happening in the fashion world. With subsets like male ugly and teen ugly, the blog lives up to its tagline: Because without style, everybody is ugly.

Uploading photos is fairly easy, though having to tag each piece by color, brand, clothing item and price can be time-consuming. The site also has “chic points” that are acquired by commenting or posting on photos, writing articles or doing other activities. The more you participate, the more points you have and the more things you are allowed to do on the site. Those with more than 200 points are allowed to become part of a “style council” and decide what goes into the style gallery.

The site is currently 90 percent female.

“We want more guys,” Chang said.

Members can also compete for style-icon of the month, which awards prizes and bragging rights. Each month the prizes change, with last month’s winner receiving a $100 gift certificate to Pixie Market, a fashion boutique in Los Angeles and New York.

The creators of Chictopia.com are hoping for “total world domination,” Chang said, laughing.

While non-digital global domination may be a little far-fetched, creators do hope that this site will become not only a thriving community, but its own world and like Facebook before it, an addiction.

Reach reporter Sarah Greenleaf at features@dailyuw.com.