Hey everyone! With a break now from school, I decided to indulge myself in some summer reading. Since I've always been interested in the business-side of fashion, I chose to read books by some of the greatest female entrepreneurs namely, Sophia Amoruso (founder of nastygal.com) and Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor (co-founders of Juicy Couture). Check out the summaries below and let me know if your thoughts if you've read these too!
I chose to read Sophia Amoruso's "#GIRLBOSS" since she made fashion e-commerce history with her successful company NastyGal. NastyGal is an online store that specializes in vintage-y type clothes for everyday to formal wear. Sophia didn't have a fancy post-secondary education, nor do I remember her finishing high school either. After a couple of odd-end jobs, one of which included checking ID's at a university, she started re-selling scavenged vintage finds using eBay as her platform and MySpace to keep in touch with her customers. She ran it as a home-based business at first using just a steamer and handling all the shipping herself. Eventually she purchased a warehouse and transitioned NastyGal to its own website to meet demand, but it only skyrocketed from there. After moving to an even larger warehouse, she started signing deals with other designers at fashion trade shows to keep up the variety NastyGal has to offer.
I also decided to read Pam and Gela's "The Glitter Plan"as I was always interested in what inspired Juicy Couture's signature top-to-toe velour look. The iconic duo met while working retail in a small boutique and it was an instant connection. They began by making stylish maternity wear, seeing the gap in the market and were successful in selling re-fashioned Levi's with an extra roomy elastic around the waist. After that venture, they decided to start a line of clothing they would wear and love. It began with a trip to Japanese fashion hub, Harajuku that inspired their collection of fitted t-shirts which were accepted by a handful of retailers. But as Juicy began to pick up speed, Pam and Gela came up with the idea for stylish lounge-appropriate tracksuits and started designing them first out of bright-colored terry cloth, then out of rich-hued velour. Juicy's sales grew so fast that they attracted attention of larger companies that were interested in buying their company. In 2003, Juicy Couture was bought by Liz Claiborne (now known as Fifth and Pacific Companies) for $53.1 million dollars. With the direction and experience of the Claiborne personnel, Juicy Couture expanded its product line and had unhindered sales growth for a couple of years. Pam and Gela remained as the creative co-directors till 2010 when they were replaced and subsequently left their company. In December 2013, the company was sold to Authentic Brands for $195 million dollars and the duo went off to launch another line called Pam & Gela.
I made two trips to my local Chapters and literally parked myself in a chair and read them each in one go while sipping on my fave cookie crumble Starbucks frappuccinos.
Alternatively you can buy a hardback copy or the eBook version here:
#GIRLBOSS (Amazon $19.44 CAD - Hardcover) #GIRLBOSS (Chapters $19.44 CAD - Hardcover) #GIRLBOSS (Kobo $13.99 CAD - eBook)
The Glitter Plan (Amazon $20.06 CAD - Hardcover) The Glitter Plan (Chapters $20.06 CAD - Hardcover) The Glitter Plan (Kobo $13.99 CAD - eBook)
Please comment and let me know which books you plan on burying your noses in for the summer :)