All you have to do is create a Wish List featuring at least five of your favorite vintage-inspired Airbnb finds and share it with friends! Easy, right? And multiple winners will receive gift cards from ModCloth and Airbnb.
And here’s my Wish List titled, “Vogueabond”. My list features a place to stay in each fashion capital of the world, perfect for anyone searching for local vintage fashion finds.
When you get an invitation to a private party for fashion insiders, you don’t say no.
Last week I received an invitation to a dinner hosted by Soma magazine and Diesel at Diesel’s San Francisco flagship location. Just as I was sipping on my first Cosmo I was approached by one of the Diesel team and Ali Ghanbarian Publisher and Editor in Chief of Soma magazine and asked if I would model a pair of jeans. Of course I said yes! Then I was told I could keep them, along with the shirt of my choosing. Double yes!!
Behind-the-scenes model moment
I headed to the dressing room with four other girls where we were each outfitted in a different style of jean and top. I tried on Diesel’s Flairlegg jean and instantly felt comfortable and confident in them.
All smiles behind-the-scenes
It was nice to meet a group of girls who were all very friendly and ready for some fun. We took way too many pictures in the dressing room as we were getting ready, each admiring the others’ jean styles.
According to many, I was the model with the most personality (which I hope is a good thing). Not all of my moves were caught on video, but here’s a sneak peak at the event.
After cocktail hour, we enjoyed a lovely catered meal, complete with flowing laughter and wine. There was a little bit of tech present too. At each place setting a chunky silver watch was used as a napkin ring, as a gift for each girl. And there were small cards prompting attendees to tweet using #dieseldinner.
Just before dessert it was time to model. Each of us was called up to the “front” of the room and asked to show off her jeans for the rest of the dinner party, while a Diesel representative, and special host Yuan Zhang of ShopNear.me, explained the best ways to style each jean.
Overall I had a wonderful evening and couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to share it with.
After a four year hiatus, I can add model back on my resume.
Check out the blog post from another model of the evening, complete with more photos, over at Complacency Kills.
Rebecca Minkoff is a name I’ve been hearing everywhere lately, and no wonder, because the Rebecca Minkoff brand IS everywhere these days. Minkoff has been designing handbags since 2005 and just two years later jumped right into connecting with customers through social media. And efforts are showing. Just this week, the brand was among the top nominees for Best Blog at the third annual Fashion 2.0 Awards. Pretty good, right? So just how does this brand stay at the helm of fashion brands in the digital space?
When thinking about the Rebecca Minkoff brand, I immediately figured who better to talk to than Maria Morales of Kitties + Couture, a blog on which I’ve been repeatedly spotting Minkoff bags.
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Style Blogger (and Senior Marketing Manager at Poshmark) Maria Morales had some great insights into how the social marketing portion of the Rebecca Minkoff brand is faring.
1. If you want it done right, do it yourself.
In 2007, the Minkoffs (Rebecca and her brother, Uri, CEO of the Rebecca Minkoff brand) began to grow the brand name pretty much organically online. They participated in blog comment sections, chat rooms and forum discussions and over time began to create the “Minketts”, their online brand ambassadors.
“I remember the first time I checked my Twitter and saw that Rebecca Minkoff had tweeted to me complimenting me on one of my outfit posts–I most likely let out a squeal (or two)! That one little tweet from the designer herself made me feel so much more connected to the brand, which in turn influenced me to keep writing and promoting the brand, feeding a never ending cycle of (free) word-of-mouth marketing,” says Maria of Kitties + Couture.
Now how’s that for getting your customers interested? Designers who handle their own Twitter accounts, and handle them in the right ways, can basically putting in a little effort (a few tweets directly to consumers here and there) in exchange for big returns.
Learning through hands on trial and error and reviewing consumer feedback right out there posted to the social web was a good move for the Rebecca and Uri. The Rebecca Minkoff brand is now at the forefront of fashion brands in the digital space, and remains well respected for it.
2. Get involved in multiple social networks
Unlike some fashion brands, Rebecca Minkoff is pretty much a social media veteran at this point, and today, the brand is involved across a variety of social networks.
“I think Rebecca Minkoff and her on-the-pulse team have made the Rebecca Minkoff brand one of the most socially aware and active in the digital space today. They’re active across nearly all types of social platforms on a daily basis, such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pose, Polyvore, and their own personal “Minkette” blog,” Maria of Kitties + Couture reports.
Not only is the team behind the Minkoff brand active, but also innovative. Along with other creative ideas, they’ve created a community of brand enthusiasts and then giving those fans a place on the website.
3. Keep ’em wanting more with behind-the-scenes looks
While entering the social media world back in 2007, the brand began cultivating a following which they dubbed the “Minkettes”. In 2009, a community site called Minkette was launched. This site isn’t where fans shop, but where they go to experience a behind-the-scenes look at the brand. My favorite sections include Style, where celebrities sporting the Minkoff bags are showcased, Play, where fans can enter giveaways and learn DIY tips, and Minkette Muse, a look at the brand from the PR girl’s perspective.
After about a decade in the fashion business, it’s clear that the Rebecca Minkoff brand is innovative, energetic, and here to stay awhile.
As a full time working analyst who recently purchased six pairs of shoes within a five day time span, I may have found just the site to obsess over.
Source: Stylitics Press Kit
Stylitics is a New York City based startup that helps consumers keep their style fresh and better understand their wardrobe habits. In addition, the site offers brands a way to track consumer demographics, and the media/content providers have quick access to consumer fashion trends.
Co-Founder Zach Davis, who describes his style as classic and lists Cary Grant as a style inspiration (swoon) says that he has always been a follower of style through friends, but now is trying new things he didn’t 6 months ago. Though his career background was not in fashion before Stylitics- it had consisted of experience in music, consumer insights/marketing, and mobile- Davis has always been interested in seeing what products impacted people. And now, he believes that consumers are smarter than ever and want more data so Stylitics is a good fit for that.
Through Stylitics, users can see the actual percent of how much they wear certain items in their closets as opposed to others. Right now, the site is very appealing to 18- 35 year olds and particularly moms who like the idea of managing their kids’ closets. Personally, I like the idea of having an “assistant” help me remember what I wore last week.
Since consumers are most concerned with two things- relationships with brands and privacy, the Stylitics team has addressed both.
Consumers have personal pages customized with all of their wardrobe data and no data is shared with Stylitics partners directly by name. Brands only have access to anonymous data. However, consumers can get a brand badge by wearing brands multiple times in a row and can opt-in to directly engage with brands (this helps relationship building between consumer and brand).
On the brand side of things, brands can see the trend of any type of clothing item, with information like where consumers wear the particular style, what styles of that item people like the most, and the popularity of their brand generally speaking or in certain areas of the country. This is to “give them perspective of how things are changing in real time”, Davis says, adding that brands also have complete access to data in the form of sleek inforgraphics.
Right now Stylitics has five partner brands, including Gilt Groupe and Lucky Brand. And just last week, Davis had a meeting with Ralph Lauren.
For bigger content providers like a Glamour or Lucky Magazine, Stylitics provides up to the minute fashion facts (with infographics) that these magazines can easily use. For smaller content providers, such as blogs, Stylitics offers the option to include a link to the blog, through which a blogger can therefore better understand the style of their own readers. (Coming soon on Pretty Innovative!)
Upcoming goals for the team include adding Facebook Connect to the site (this week!), creating a mobile app (late December 2011), and ramping up to about 30,000 very active users by the end of next year.
Right now though, I’m just trying to find some time to finish adding photos (found on the site or added by hand) of my wardrobe to the site so it can start working for me. I already have a feeling that I wear a certain black boyfriend blazer from Zara a little too often…
I love chic gadgets and in honor of Digitally Chic’s one year anniversary, I’m very excited to be giving away this brand new “digital clutch” first introduced during New York Fashion Week as part of Vivienne Tam’s Spring 2010 collection.
To enter the drawing, simply describe or show how you would style an outfit around this adorable gadget and register for the Digitally Chic Anniversary Celebration. All entries must be received by 12:00 midnight PST on December 1, 2011 and you must be present at the event to be eligible.
The drawing will be determined by the following types of entries: 1 entry for adding a comment to the blog post 2 entries for sharing this post on Twitter or Google+ (counted separately) 4 entries for creating a board on Pinterest inspired by the notebook 6 entries for creating a set on Polyvore using an image of this notebook 6 entries for creating an outfit post on a personal blog inspired by the notebook *All entries not including the blog comment, must include the hashtag #DCbday. **Only one submission per entry type will be counted
So in the next two weeks get creative! And then throw on your dancing shoes and come out and meet up with the DC gang at The Summit on December 2, 2011 for our biggest event yet!
Click the Eventbrite link to register, and to learn more details about the night. The night will include door prizes, raffles, dancing, and more. Excited yet?
I have more Vogue magazines than I know what to do with. The top shelf of my closet at my parent’s Connecticut home is sagging under 4+ years of my collection and my room at my San Francisco apartment has a stack that is ready to fall over.
My love of Vogue started back in college when I first got interested in fashion- after a trip to see a Versace exhibit in London and a very small modeling stint back in Connecticut.
After my mom realized how excited I was about this industry she started letting me read her Vogue magazines… little aware that I was about to steal them to begin my collection.
Biography about Anna Wintour published in 2005
Anyway, not long after my collection started, so did my interest in Vogue’s driving force- the sunglasses wearing, Prada wearing “devil”, Editrix Anna Wintour. I become so passionate that one of my college friends dubbed me “Voguie”, and it’s a nickname that’s stuck to this day.
I love that her reign over Vogue has spanned two generations of women in my family who have enjoyed the magazine. So a very happy birthday to my first inspiration in the fashion industry.
Last Thursday, 6 of my close friends and I hosted another Digitally Chic meetup. This time we featured fashion and lifestyle apps from around the Bay Area whose creativity was shown through small group demos and one on one discussion.
Being silly with some of the DC co-founders after the event
Just one year after we met for drinks and realized we all had a love for fashion and tech in common, we’re 230+ members strong in our Facbeook group, but also have a public Facebook page (where all of the event photos are located) and Twitter account you can follow for more updates: @DigitallyChic.
And, we were very honored to have our Apps & Apps event featured in the San Francisco Chronicle!
What’s next? Our first birthday party! That’s right, we’re currently organizing our one year celebration, so stay tuned for details coming soon!
All of the DC co-founders celebrating Sharon's college graduation!
Both fashion and electronics are each such a part of the music industry, but things get quirky when the three converge on stage. Here are some of my favorite ways designers have managed to help music stars really light up the stage:
Daft Punk, 2007
For their Alive 2007 tour, Daft Punk toured the world in clothing designed by Enlighted Designs (run by President and Chief Fashion Engineer Janet Cooke Hansen). The outfits “glowed in the dark” by way of EL wire that was strategically placed to define the look for each member of the group. And on each jacket, the Daft Punk logo was illuminated with the help of roughly 300 LEDs.
OK Go, 2007OK Go, 2007
Wearable Tech Artist Moritz Waldemeyer created LED embellished jackets for the US band OK Go to use during a tour. The jackets debuted on November 22, 2007 and according to Waldemeyer, “LED lights embedded in their jackets run through a sequence that makes up the letters O,K,G,O – like a Vegas slot-machine scrolling through its symbols to spell the band’s name”. (Waldemeyer is also famous in the fashion world for collaborating with Fashion Designer Hussein Chalayan on a very sparkly Swarovski and LED infused collection.)
M.I.A., 2009
Enlighted designs created colorful clothing for M.I.A.’s lead singer and back up dancers to rock on stage at Coachella 2009.
Katy Perry, 2010Katy Perry, 2010
Katy Perry rocked a silk chiffon gown created by CuteCircuit that was unlike any other couture gown at the MET Costume Institute Gala that night- this one light up in rainbow colors from the work of more than 3,000 LEDs.
Rihanna, 2010
Exactly one week after Katy Perry dazzled the paparazzi in New York City, Rihanna gave a performance at London’s O2 Arena in a black dress decorated with hundreds of tiny glowing red lights. The creative brains behind this gown? Fashion Designer Alexandre Vauthier and Wearable Tech Artist Moritz Waldemeyer.
As fashion bloggers, we look for great fashion at affordable prices. Unfortunately, most times high fashion comes at a substantial price tag. Some of us get emphatically crafty to achieve the cultivated couture look we seek. By making adroit changes to items (sometimes slightly pass their prime) they become stylishly spectacular! For instance, my favorite links this week all happen to be DIY projects! These bloggers made tutorials for their colorblock hair accessories, faux Phillip Lim slacks and my favorite, DIY sparkle glitter boots!
THE IFB WEEKLY ROUNDUP: LINKS À LA MODE: OCTOBER 20TH
PLEASE READ IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE If you would like to submit your link for next week’s Links à la Mode, please register first, then post your links HERE. The HTML code for this week will be found in the Links a la Mode group will be published later today. ~Jennine
pretty-innovative.com 