Yesterday I did my first photoshoot for all of my merchandise. The whole shoot took close to 3 hours, and we shot about 18 pieces from the front, back, full length and some detail and side shots. It was hard work but fun work, ultimately! Doing a shoot is a lot more strenuous than you would probably imagine. That mannequin is a ton of fun to work with (hence my sarcasm).

I still have a few things I need to reshoot but it’s looking good for the most part. Now all that’s left to do is put the finishing touches on the site itself!

Here’s a quick preview of the outcome:

My photographer described the Jae Basilio Cynthia Kangaroo Tank ($88) as something Kate Hudson would wear, and I think she had a really good point there! This is one of my absolute favorites from all the pieces I bought. It’s just sexy, care free and fun, and absolutely perfect for summer! I would probably wear it over grey leggings with flat sandals during the day and then dress it up with a pair of peep toe pumps and bare legs for some kind of beach party.

And we also came up with a nice detail shot for the Voom Gray Luxe Baby Doll Dress ($196) that I previewed a few weeks ago here. Click the pic to see it in full!

My mannequin drama ended last week. I found this company, Joslin Display who got a pretty silver headless female sent out to me in almost no time, while just about every other online retailer said I would’ve had to wait a week or two longer. I’m really glad I made the decision to go silver, but I sure wish mannequins weren’t so scrawny. Do those even count as thighs??

So this weekend is my first photoshoot, and I have a feeling it’s going to be an all day thing with about twenty pieces to shoot, front, back and detail shots to take. I still can’t give an approximate date as to when the site will be open. But as long as there aren’t any technical snafu’s, it should be very soon.

Fall Drama
Oh boy, I’m so disappointed with so many of the Fall collections I’ve seen so far! There were a few lines I had my eye on, and I absolutely loved what they did for Spring/Summer, but everything just fell apart after that! I guess some designers are just better doing short, bright colored, sassy clothing, which makes a bit of sense.

But thankfully, my favorite line always comes through and I’m highly impressed with what they have for Fall. It’s really tough having to place an order for 7 months from now when you’re not even sure what kind of return you’ll see before then! But I’m hoping to place at least a small one, and then hope to get in on some immediates when Fall actually comes around. Here’s the catch though….I only have until next week to make a decision!

So the opening date I proposed before has come and gone.  I’ve had to delay the opening for two reasons; 1. I’ve had to send quite a bit of things back recently.  Always, always, ALWAYS check each garment, and check your invoices to make sure you weren’t charged for something you did not receive!  And also check your old invoices from the showroom to make sure you’re not going crazy and the showroom really did send you a dress in the wrong color.

The second reason is because I could not find a mannequin.  No mannequin, no photoshoot. No photoshoot, no pictures.  No pictures, no website (or at least no customers!).  But thankfully I managed to track one down and I’ll hopefully get into the studio sometime in the next week or two.  I can’t give a specific launch date this time around, but I’m hoping for early May.

In the mean time I thought I’d answer this question from Letitia:

Hey Kim,

I know you posted about start-up costs, but I was wondering if you could do a post for funding. Just how does a savvy student like yourself manage to find the thousands of dollars you mentioned to get started?
-Letitia

Thanks a bunch Letitia for all your comments, I REALLY appreciate them! So how did I get the money? While I was in school I worked as a celebrity & fashion blogger, and I still do actually. I had one particularly lucrative but unfortunately short lived gig last year; I didn’t spend a dime of the money I earned from it, and that’s what I’m using now to start my business. My parents also said they would make an investment if I needed it.  So far I’ve spent about $7500 on merchandise for the first three months (but also keep in mind that I probably won’t be able to buy much for Summer).

I’m really just lucky to be in such a good position financially that I can get this started at such a young age. I didn’t take out any loans for college, so I have nothing to pay back. I also don’t pay any bills, save a gym membership.