“I was always the girl staring into my closet every morning with nothing to wear, and I know there’s a lot of girls who have this same feeling everyday.” – Lexi Smith, creator of Wardrobe-a-Week, wardrobeaweek.com
The past two weeks, something in my life has been different. My Sunday nights, usually characterized by the stress of getting my work done on time and nervous anticipation for a week of class and meetings, were made a little brighter. Brighter because I could take a break, walk down the hall in Mather, and pick up a present from Lexi Smith’s room. The present would be delicately wrapped in light blue tissue paper and placed in a little gift bag with my name written on the tag. Then, I would go back to my room and unwrap it to find two tops and two pieces of jewelry, nicely folded and in a lovely box, respectively. These presents were all thanks to Wardrobe-a-Week.
Lexi Smith, a junior in Mather House, created this program as a solution for busy undergraduates who often run out of clothing options during the week or start to fall into an aesthetic rut. The pilot program, which offered a free trial of a limited part of the wardrobe, just ended and the full program (with more options and items each week) will be launching shortly.
So how does this godsend of a website work? It’s easy! Once you’ve created and logged in with an account, you can view the options. The site is organized like any other online boutique, with categories for tops and various kinds of jewelry and roughly twenty options within each category. You can click through the various pages to add items to your “wardrobe” and your package is chosen from that selection. So, you know you’ll like whatever you get but it’s also a bit of a surprise! You get to keep the items for one week and then exchange it for a new bag, while the company takes care of all the cleaning and care. If you really like something you received, there’s also an option to buy it after your week is up!
Week 1 items:
Week 2 items:
The best part of this service, for me, was that the clothes and jewelry were really cool and interesting, but not necessarily items I would have thought to buy for myself. I got to try out various looks and styles without any risk and ended up being very pleased with the results. The tops were decent quality, not incredible, but not shabby either. Think somewhere between Urban Outfitters and Free people. The jewelry was the best part – beautiful, distinctive, and very well made. The only things I would hope to see in the full version of the program would be more sizing options. Currently, there is only small, medium, and large, and many of the tops are cut fairly small and tight so a greater variation of sizes would perhaps make the wardrobe more accessible and enjoyable for more people.
Overall, I think this is a brilliant business idea. It’s a fun program that brings a little extra fun and a little extra joy into busy weeks here at Harvard, something I think we can all benefit from. So sign up for Wardrobe-a-Week and treat yo’ self to a weekly present!