A subscription service exclusively for plus size women.
Read that, take it in. Take a minute to digest it. I’ll type it again…
A subscription service exclusively for plus size women.
If anyone said to me 10, even 5 years ago that there would be a company that would provide a concierge service exclusively for women of my shape, exclusively for the plus size woman, exclusively for women size 14+ (the average size in America, BTW), I would have kindly nodded my head but quietly dismissed the idea because quite frankly, based on experience, it would’ve seemed a bit farfetched.
But it is not farfetched. It’s happening…
PLVSH is an online, concierge level styling service exclusively for the plus size woman size 14+ and I am one of their stylists.
Every day, I am given the opportunity to help plus size women find clothes that speak to their personality, fit their figure and flatter their shape. On a daily basis, I am given the opportunity to ultimately help these women find who they are through fashion and style and I absolutely love what I do.
The real fun is in selecting what works for each client.
Going through their profile and photos, and assessing their needs and wants. Taking into consideration their size, their likes and dislikes, their style specifics and their ultimate goals and “wish list” and then curating a box of clothing based on all of those points.
With each client, I imagine her opening a box that was hand-picked by a stylist with only her style, her personality and her size in mind. I imagine the try-on process, and think about how a usually daunting and isolating experience will hopefully now be an enjoyable experience with our service.
I imagine the “a-ha” moments each client would have, be it with every piece or just one, when they find the item that we’ve selected that not only fits them but makes them feel confident and beautiful because it was selected with THEM in mind. It is in that visualization exercise that I confidently select items for each client. It is in that visualization that each client becomes a friend and the process becomes more fun, because I want to help my new “friend” find her style and look her very best.
Styling Buzzfeed’s Kristin Chirico
When a client like Kristin Chirico of Buzzfeed comes into our world, tries the service, and shares their experience in such a positive light, it makes my job even more rewarding. Check out Kristin’s review of our plus sized style box service by clicking here.
Kristin had an experience that I think is quite similar to the majority of our clients. Some pieces worked, some didn’t! It’s really that simple: “you win some, you lose some.”
Ultimately you can’t hand pick items for someone you have never met or physically seen in-person and get it right every time… but you can TRY. And try is what we will continue to do because with every box, our goal is to meet the need of our client. The goal is to make sure that even if four out of five pieces didn’t work, that our client found ONE piece that she absolutely loves.
Do we want all 5 pieces to work? Of course! Which is why we keep the dialogue open, digest and learn from our client’s feedback.
It is from Kristin’s review that this post was born… (thank you Kristin, for the motivation and inspiration!).
PLVSH: Behind the Scenes
We wanted to show you, the client, the behind the scenes thought process that goes into every box. What better way to do that than to dive into what goes into building a PLVSH box, and then share some stylist tips/tricks/suggestions for the recipient?
1) Try everything on & keep an open mind.
Kristin is a great example of this- she tried on all the pieces and, if you notice in her video, talked through some pros and cons of each. She took the time to evaluate the piece and while some didn’t work for her, she acknowledged both the positives and negatives.
The fact that she TRIED all of the items on is the most important takeaway. We encourage our clients to try all the pieces on and keep an open mind. Your stylist is working to find a balance of pieces that touch on your pre-established style personality as well as a few that will push you out of your comfort zone.
2) Be open to trend.
Through the style menu provided, your stylist will try to shed light on the trend & how transition it into your lifestyle.
Sometimes things need further explanation, like with Kristin’s culottes! You’ll notice in Kristin’s box we sent a pair of culottes, a huge trend for spring/summer (one that many, like Kristin, wished never returned), but a trend nonetheless. Ultimately, this piece required further explanation.
We needed to be able to tell her “try it on with a tucked in tank, a flowy shirt you love or a crop top & a pair of stilettos”. At PLVSH, we encourage a post-box conversation to answer any questions or concerns you may have, so let’s have a chat! It may make help you make your final decision on a piece you don’t love right out of the box!
3) Try us again.
We are confident we can get our client the pieces she desires, but sometimes it takes more than one try. We often invite our clients to come back for another experience after talking to them about what they loved and didn’t love about their first box.
Our goal is to provide a personalized experience with each box, so we take our client’s feedback and use it to better our skill set and our processes. Most clients who return end up communicating more with their stylist in the 2nd round than they did in the 1st, and ultimately keeping more items from that box. So come back for seconds!
Looks Based on Kristin’s Box
Before I close, I wanted to show you just a few styling tips for the pieces in Kristin’s box that she didn’t like quite as much as the dresses.
1) Vince Camuto Textured Round-Neck Blouse: Pair a flowy statement piece like this with white skinnies and heels for a great summer look that can easily transition from day to night.
2) BB Dakota Lotus-Print Tank: Embrace the pattern and make this perfect for mid-summer BBQ or a chill day downtown with friends top work by pairing it with white shorts, Converse and a cute summer hat.
3) Vince Camuto Zip-Pocket Culottes: This trend may be dreaded by many… but it’s an awesome way to mix things up at work when paired with pointy toed heels, a nicely fitted shirt and a statement necklace to bring a pop of color.
Thanks, Fashionistas!
I hope you have a better insight into the PLVSH plus size style box process… and we look forward to styling you soon!
The post FROM THE STYLIST: Building a PLVSH Style Box appeared first on Plvsh Style.