Polyvore’s Blogger Network Gets a Mini Makeover

Posted on by Ashley Laurel

Hey fashion bloggers, if you haven’t heard, Polyvore has upped the ante on set embed options so you can resize your sets before posting on your blog. And, the Polyvore Blogger Network now has a new home on the Polyvore site so bloggers can keep up to date on blog related developments.

As a member of the Polyvore Blogger Network, I’ve been added to their email list about blogger specific contests and information about upcoming meetups (when’s the next one in San Francisco?!).

After five years, Polyvore has 6.5 million unique visitors per month who create a plethora of digital collages featuring a super wide range of brands, celebrity style icons, and much beloved fashion bloggers.

Connect with me on Polyvore so we can inspire each other.

How Moxsie’s BuyerChat Keeps Twitter Followers Engaged

Posted on by Ashley Laurel

There are more fashion brands and e-tailers on Twitter today than I can count, but only a handful that really stand out from the pack. Creativity, a clear voice, and audience participation must be components. And @Moxsie has all three.

Since October 2010, the San Francisco-based indie fashion e-tailer has been tweeting its BuyerChat events as a way to get its Twitter community more involved with choosing the types of clothing that gets sold on the site. BuyerChat participants may also have the chance to “attend” a behind-the-scenes look at new arrivals, buying meetings, and photo shoots.

According to Marketing Creative Manager Mayka Mei, the growth in participating has been interesting to watch.

“We see aspiring stylists bringing in their partners to participate, and we have a large enough group now that makes our impromptu introduction of #team[whatever] more meaningful. The greatest reward for administering BuyerChat on this end is watching our group of “regulars,” returning,” Mei says.

The event was created after the Moxsie team realized their community on Twitter (over 149,000 followers strong) would give them the opportunity to connect with fans they’ve never met in person.

“Moxsie specifically works with independent designers, so a lot of these companies don’t have the time or resources to focus solely on their social media,” Mei says. “Since Moxsie has such a devoted following, it’s just one thing we can do: leverage the opinions of the people who know the market best (the market themselves) – and it gives our designers exposure, too, of course.”

To date, Moxsie has held more than fourteen BuyerChats through which participants and winners were issued badges.
One Twitter participant, @JennieB, a veteran of the fashion industry, has participated in more than 10 such events.

@JennieB found Moxsie through doing research about social shopping sites selling indie designers’ clothes, and subsequently followed the brand on Twitter.

“I like the interaction with other Moxsie fans, with Moxsie themselves and I like that the company is actually having a conversation with me/us – and reacting to the things we say,” she says. “Moxsie has a great ‘voice’- clever and a little sassy, but also they come across as really nice.”

To date, @JennieB is one of just four people who have achieved the top status, “Buyer Guru”. She’s also won two $50 prizes for contributing the best tweet.

Think you can keep up? Visit http://shop.moxsie.com/buyerchat and sign up for the next BuyerChat, taking place today, March 23rd, at 2 pm PST. Follow @Moxsie on Twitter, and start chatting using the #buyerchat hashtag.

Polyvore Introduces The Mini Editor… and a Chance to Win $1,000!

Posted on by Ashley Laurel

Polyvore, a social shopping site for digital collage enthusiasts, just introduced The Mini Editor. If we haven’t met, you probably haven’t heard me talk about this site yet, so first, let me explain what it is. Based in Mountain View, California, Polyvore is a “virtual styling” website that claims to have over 6 million users who’ve created more than 20 million fashion sets (and I believe it!). Every time I log in, I see the top trending sets others have made, works that my contacts have created, and new items from brands of all price points (from Target to Ralph Lauren).

So now, what’s The Mini Editor? It’s a new tool that Polyvore just introduced, that lets you create sets right here on my blog using some of my favorite items.


Even cooler? You have a chance to win $1,000 towards your fall wardrobe (thanks, Visa!) by entering the Fall Wardrobe Styling Challenge. Just create a set on here and you’re entered. Here are the official rules about how we’ll help each other out.


http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/embed?font_family=Arial%2C%20Helvetica%2C%20sans-serif&font_size=12&lid=582359&link_color=%230088CC&oid=942103&sig=75683445d60f1468b72d0852544b9153&size=536×570&title=The%20Mini%20Editor&uuid=3CLrWSGv3xGP9uKAdrrQYQ
Powered by Polyvore

ModCloth: A Very Social Indie E-Retailer

Posted on by Ashley Laurel

If you haven’t heard of ModCloth yet, know this, they’re one of a kind!

Why? Well, not only does the e-retail site feature both vintage and vintage inspired (aka indie) clothing, shoes, accessories and apartment finds, don’t forget to check out the blog before leaving. More than 20 fashion bloggers contribute to the ModCloth blog, discussing everything from ModCloth news to ModMusic. I also like how a new blogger of the moment is featured seemingly every few days, which includes an interview about his/her style and personality.

In addition to incorporating outside style bloggers, this company is very social. Already, I’ve seen ModCloth on Facebook, Kaboodle, MySpace, Twitter, and (personal favorite) Polyvore. On each of these sites, ModCloth brings something unique to the table. For example, right now there are a few weekly Twitter contests, including the Thursday “I Spy” game. This game is especially smart because it gets followers to not only check out the website for the right answer, but also engage with the brand in a creative way.

But want to really engage fans of your brand? Throw a party.

Earlier this week, ModCloth took the social offline as well, with their “Behind the Scenes” party to celebrate their move to San Francisco. Between meeting a good amount of the ModCloth staff, including Chief Creative Officer, Co-Founder Susan Gregg Koger (she’s on the right), and enjoying a fun atmosphere complete with a great DJ and open bar, I had a blast!

 

True to ModCloth style, there were also two contests at the event. One, called “Be the Buyer”, let party goers choose from the six garments to pick or skip. The piece with enough votes, will be produced and sold exclusively on ModCloth.com.

 

The second contest, called “Name It and Win It” invited us to choose the final name of this dress. In the first round, ModCloth customers were asked (by way of blog) to name the dress. After hundreds of suggested names were sorted through, the favorite four were selected my the team for us to choose from.

The last contest, well more of a dance off really, happened later in the evening after the drinks kicked in. Let’s just say, Michael Jackson was involved, and no, there aren’t any pictures.

Anyway, this is one company to watch. I’m curious to see just how the company will use its new funding of $19.8 million.  In the meantime, welcome to San Francisco, ModCloth!

*Click here for the rest of my pictures from the event!

Social Shopping Without Hitting the Mall

Posted on by Ashley Laurel

If you’re looking for a shopping buddy who won’t talk your ear off or with whom you have to tire out your poor stiletto clad feet with at the mall, than look no further than StyleFeeder.

StyleFeeder, a social shopping website based in Cambridge, MA, offers users the perfect opportunity to find someone to shop “with” that has a similar taste in style, in the form of a StyleTwin.

Shoppers can be matched with one another based on a whole list of product attributes with people from just about anywhere. In fact, according to VP of Business Development Shergul Arshad, StyleFeeder chooses StyleTwins for other shoppers based 100,000 product attributes.
The site, founded by Philip Jacob in 2005, lets shoppers browse 14 million products all on one page. Today, 2 million shoppers use the site each month, but just two years ago, in 2007, StyleFeeder had a small fraction of that number, says Arshad, who joined StyleFeeder in 2006 with a resume including experience at companies like Armani and eBay. But though 2 million shoppers seems like a high number at first glance, a large part of the population isn’t represented as about 80% of shoppers on the site are women, and most of them are between the ages of 15 and 35.
Though only a small fraction of the population is represented, all brand ranges are represented equally. So someone searching for one particular item, like a headband, will find that a range of products from stores including Saks, JCrew, Amazon, and Etsy, will show up in the product browser. Though the StyleFeeder is focused on personal style, Arshad points out, most people will find more products by larger brand names because these brands simply have more items.
Within just the past month, StyleFeeder was a nominated for the 2009 MITX Awards’ “applied technology” category due to its new product browser and geotargeting technology. This new technology helps shoppers better find relevant items based on their location (in addition to price, brand, color, etc.) – most likely a user in Alaska wouldn’t search for sandals as often as a Floridian would, for example. It’s all about location, location location.

And if sharing your shopping details with others on the site isn’t enough, click on the option to share your new picks with your Facebook friends.
 

 

Side Note: Though I was hoping that my Style Twin would wind up being one of the celebrities that uses the site (like Ashley Olsen), I was excited to learn that she’s still a world away from me, in Malaysia!

ThredUp: A Site to Lose Your Shirt Over

Posted on by Ashley Laurel

Ever have one of those times when you opened your closet and couldn’t find anything to wear? Last fall, this is just what inspired Harvard Business School alum, James Reinhart, to start a company based on helping others with this predicament.

ThredUp, based in Cambridge, MA, is a peer-to-peer online clothing exchange. It’s not like eBay or Craigslist where things are bid on or sold based on looks. On ThredUp, users cannot see pictures of inventory, but only enter specific information into the database about what type of item they’re looking for.

It’s like getting Christmas presents, co-founder Chris Homer says. People generally know what you like, but don’t have a specific list.

At the moment, the site boasts a variety of high-end brand men’s and women’s shirts ready for purchase. Why no other clothing items yet? The focus right now is getting the whole method working to perfection, Homer says, though the next step is to expand the site to kids’ shirts (hopefully during Spring 2010).

For $25, you get three envelopes in which to place the shirts you’re ready to exchange. Have a shirt you hate to iron or a tee you’re just plain tired of? Exchange it for something better. But remember, you get what you give. The FAQ section of the site clearly says to only trade items that are in style, specifying “No MC Hammer pants please.”

If you gets a bad item, or “dead thread”, make sure to fill out a review on the item. If it’s bad quality, or a “dead thread”, the sender gets a mark against them and the receiver is put back into the queue (at or near the beginning) for a chance at another item.

We want people to do “the least amount possible to make the most successful trade”, Homer says.

With more than 4,000 people signed up from across the country- access for people in the states of Alaska and Hawaii are being worked on- ThredUp is quickly growing in popularity, and therefore in inventory.

To start, register on the site , add each item you want to get rid of to your “closet”, set a minimum number of preferences and purchase your first package of envelopes. And then start “ThreddingUp”.

I can’t wait to see what these self-proclaimed knitwits do next.