E! News Internship Style File Day 5

This look is inspired by Valentines Day! Today I am wearing a fun and flirty Express dress which I dressed up for the office with this matching pink Guess suit jacket. I added a pop of color to the 60s inspired color blocking look with these cute multi-colored platform heels! Top it off with a statement clutch and you can't go wrong with this outfit that can go straight from the office to date night!

Check out my article for E! News below!
http://www.eonline.com/news/825566/kit-harington-lost-his-virginity-when-he-was-probably-too-young

A Sweet and Sassy Valentine’s Day collection from Sugar at RonRobinson Santa Monica

Sugar clothing brand is well known for their line of comfortable and stylish vintage t-shirts. The Miami based up and coming brand is making a name for itself as a trendy brand for millennials. Stars such as Bella Thorne have been spotted wearing pieces from the brand and, if a young style icon like Bella Thorne is wearing it, that is a sure sign it is on it’s way to receiving Hollywood’s stamp of approval. The brand brought their fun styles to the West Coast on Thursday launching a capsule collection designed exclusively for the trendy LA boutique chain Ron Robinson in Santa Monica. You can read more about the store in my interview with Ron Robinson the President here! 

The collection was designed with Valentine’s day in mind and featured graphic designs of candy hearts with popular sayings for every type of girl on the soft T’s.

The launch was timed perfectly as Ron Robinson was unveiling their newest art installation “Love and Other things” just in time for Valentine’s Day.

The event began at 6pm and the store quickly filled with visitors who enjoyed hearing from the artists who were presenting their work as well as interacting with the designers and brand reps that were featured for the event.The line of Sugar t-shirts was a big hit and guests enjoyed getting into the spirit of the holiday with the home-made cake pops and boxes of candy hearts they handed out.

My OOTD for the party! 

The shirts in the Valentine’s collection retail for about $78 while the designs from Sugar’s signature line which included L.A. themes start at $60. While they might seem a bit pricy the shirts were not out of place with many of the other items in the trendy store. Everything in the store seemed to be centered around Valentine’s Day and many of the designs featured encouraging messages of love.

The Sugar line had a range of options on theme for younger customers from sweet to sarcastic and my personal favorite was this shirt which says “lol no”

The collection was brightly colored and the shirts also featured slits in the back to achieve the perfect slouchy “model off duty” look. The brand has a good understanding of their millennial customer and they are focusing on creating high quality designs with a fun flavor in their niche market of graphic tees. I will definitely be keeping my eye on this up and coming brand! 

E! News Internship Style File Day 4

Today I am wearing a business casual look with my white Kate Spade jeans and this bright pink Guess top tucked in. I added this Kate Spade bow belt and nude Express flats for a fun take on the classic business color.

Check out my article for E! News
http://www.eonline.com/news/827104/david-hasselhoff-reveals-the-important-baywatch-advice-he-gave-to-dwayne-johnson

What Fashion Brands can Learn from Sears' Downfall

Hey guys! I know I don't normally post opinion articles on my blog but, this story has been on my mind lately. Let me know what you think in the comments!

Sears Holding Corp. has been on a downward spiral that caught the attention of the finance world in 2015, when reports suggesting that the company was no longer viable came out and really hurt the retailer’s already shaky image. However, many Wall Street analysts have written that the company’s true downfall started long before. According to an article from Business Insider published on January 8^th the retail giant has been suffering under the direction of CEO Edward Lampert. Lampert became CEO in 2013 although he had been involved with Sears for many years prior. According to the article, Lampert has been trying to turn the retailer into a data collection service that resembles tech companies like Amazon and Uber. The Sears Shop Your Way program, launched in 2009, spearheads this strategy. Lampert has been criticized for selling off the company’s assets, such as the well-liked Lands End clothing brand as well as real estate, to prop up the business. Unfortunately, the company’s financial statements from last quarter showed further losses and little hope that a turnaround is on the rise.  

What happened to the 123 year old American heavyweight? I’ll leave the numbers to Wall Street and the SEC but, I can say that Sears is a prime example of how retailers have been failing at branding. This narrative is not unique to Sears and many fashion brands have joined the race to vie for the notoriously flighty attention span of young millennial and gen Z consumers. However, some companies are all too eager to give up their brand in order to “evolve” and appeal to the younger generation. This often results in one of two unhelpful outcomes. Either, a very inauthentic marketing campaign directed at young people that is usually received by the audience as arrogant or out of touch or, an attempt to remake the brand’s image that just ends up confusing core customers and new comers alike.

 Lampert has been quoted as comparing his vison for Sears to companies like Apple and Microsoft which are well known for their cult following of loyal millennial customers. He is not the only one who has noticed this phenomenon though and many brands believe that the success of companies like Apple lies with their “cool” and “hipster” image as well as their aggressive branding strategy. For example, their strategies include putting the simple Apple logo on everything and diligently ensuring every piece of the company, from retail stores to commercials, projects the easily recognizable sleek aesthetic of the Apple brand. While these tactics are definitely factors in these companies’ success what many have failed to recognize is that the companies true appeal for young people lies with their inspiring story of success and the perseverance their young founders exhibited through many rejections. Gen Zers in particular are a generation of entrepreneurs and respect the entrepreneurial spirit of some of the more recent and well known founders and their companies. Ask almost anyone under 35 how Apple was started and you will most likely get an answer that includes “by Steve Jobs in a garage”

How many people under 35 know who founded Sears? J.C. Penny? Macy's? Nordstrom?

Millennials, especially young millennials and gen Zers who grew up during the recession, are often portrayed as being a generation of cynics who don’t believe in the American dream. Whether it was intentional or not many companies have responded by burying their brand’s roots in a jumble of other “ironic” advertising and PR campaigns that are supposedly more trendy. Others, especially newer brands, have gone the opposite direction overbranding their company with “storytelling” to the point of inauthenticity.

Some companies’ appeal is simply due to their “cool” factor and in that case the founding of the brand isn’t really that important to their audience. But, for a company like Sears, with a rich history of innovation and company culture, leaving that behind and trying to be the next “it brand” can lead to disastrous consequences. The line between remaining relevant and exciting and, retaining the core brand story is thin and blurry however it shouldn’t go unnoticed. While it would be easy to blame Sears entire demise on Lampert, I believe their troubles started long before he was involved. Revenues were falling as early as 2001 and the company was already facing a rapidly shrinking customer base by the time Lampert came onto the scene. The company, like so many others, relied on word of mouth among their older customers for their brand's reputation and failed to carve out a clear cut purpose in the minds of new customers making them increasingly irrelevant. Leaving customers to wonder things like: "What does Sears do?" won't lead to the success of any new initiatives the company may have on the rise. Making sure that a company’s purpose and direction is clear to consumers before attempting any experimental marketing or business strategies is very important for new and existing brands alike.

E! News Internship Style File Day 3

Today I am wearing a preppy look with a 90s twist. I love the idea of wearing a fun and flirty tank top over a white tee a la Cher from one of my favorite 90s movies-Clueless! This is the perfect day-to-night look as you can just take off the t-shirt after work and have on your favorite sparkly tank for going out! I added an extra element of prep to complete the look with this pin striped Alice and Olivia asymmetrical mini skirt and knee high socks with ankle boots!

Check out my article for E! News
http://www.eonline.com/news/825657/check-out-these-outrageous-royal-demands-from-buckingham-palace-to-versailles

E! News Internship Style File Day 2

Today I went with a modern update to the classic pencil skirt business staple. I styled this Ann Taylor Loft midi-skirt with a graphic tee and a multimedia suit jacket. I wore these awesome Juicy Couture ankle boots to give the look an edgy twist. And you can never have too many sparkles!

Check out my article for E! News below!
http://www.eonline.com/news/827708/nicole-kidman-explains-keith-urban-s-reaction-to-her-racy-scenes-in-big-little-lies