Today I’ve teamed up with Gwynnie Bee to share with you my favorite shopping experience.
For me, shopping has majorly evolved over the past 10 years! I’ve always enjoyed the thrill of “deal” shopping. I’ve loved shopping sales, shopping at discount stores like TJMaxx and thrift stores like Goodwill. Theres something so exciting and fun about the chase of finding great things and even better prices! Deal shopping is my first love.
Shopping for the Blog
Fast forward to starting my blog. I didn’t really start it as a “shopping” blog, what many fashion and style blogs have evolved into now, but I did start it more as a styling blog. I was shopping a lot of discount stores and finding fun pieces to put together in quirky different outfits. There’s nothing I love more about the shopping process than putting together fun outfits. At the end of the day, that’s what I love most. Putting together fun, unique, outfits using items already in my closet, or ones that I can find for a deal! It’s how I express my creativity and nothing feels as good to me as putting together a uniquely “me” outfit on and tackling the day!
Shopping for a Boutique
Next came the boutique, My Kind of Lovely, which has taken shopping to a whole new level! And this is probably my favorite shopping experience of all time. We decided we were starting this whole boutique thing and one of the first things we did was go to market. Eeeek! Market is a massive place where retail stores go to find their goods. We scoured the place. We were so meticulous in what we were looking for, what we were finding, who our customer was & what she wanted. (Or who we *thought* our customer was, since we actually hadn’t sold a single thing yet!) We were official “buyers” and we were starting a business! It was the craziest feeling, being at market alongside some huge brand buyers that we look up to.
I hope I never forget the feeling of excitement Caroline & I both had when we walked into the doors of market for the first time. It was thrilling, it was so scary, but it was the start of something amazing.
Now shopping has a whole new meaning to me. We still go to markets every year but the experience has drastically changed. We’re very intentional on what we buy, we know our customer and what she likes. We have budgets and deadlines, we know the right questions to ask, how clothes come packaged and sized, how to not get taken advantage of, and most importantly how to get the work done. Shopping has now become work. It’s hard work and a lot of work, but I literally couldn’t imagine doing anything else for work these days. Shopping for our My Kind of Lovely customers gives Caroline & I so much joy and is one of our favorite things to do together! We get to go through the entire process together, picking out the clothing, styling them for photoshoots and to put out in the store, taking the photography of the clothing for social media and the website, and most importantly selling them to you, the customer. It’s a crazy process and we feel so attached to each and every piece of clothing that comes through the store. It’s kind of crazy! But it’s such an amazing experience.
Shopping Now
As for me and my shopping experiences these days? They’re VERY different but going back to that creativity piece, I feel like I’m pushed to be even more creative which I love! Obviously I do most of my shopping with My Kind of Lovely, but with what we don’t have, I’ve been looking to more unique places to shop. I’ve been shopping more consignment and thrift stores and have recently tried out a clothing rental service! I’ve taken a more “non traditional” approach to shopping especially as a blogger but have loved the outcome! A little less like everyone else, a little more “me” and I love that!
Gwynnie Bee has a rental subscription service where you pay anywhere from $38 – $100+ a month and can choose how many pieces of clothing you want in your closet per month. It’s SO fun to try pieces you might only need to wear one time (weddings, showers, big events, etc.) or things you might not want to spend a lot on, like super trendy pieces. These embroidered jeans I LOVE, but I’m not sure I want to spend $100 on pair that I may get tired of in a few months. That’s where Gwynnie Bee is awesome! It gives me a revolving wardrobe for a fraction of the cost! (Want to check it out? Sign up here!) Their sizing goes from an XS – 3X which is also awesome, as I don’t see that at very many retailers. If you’re looking to try something a little different I’d highly suggest trying them out!
All outfits are compliments of Gwynnie Bee. This post was written in collaboration with Gwynnie Bee but all thoughts and opinions are my own and I truly have LOVED trying out this service!
