The newcomers setting out to change the fashion accessories game
Q: I understand that you sell accessories. What makes you stand out from your competitors?
FS’D: We know you can get accessories literally anywhere. But Freshly Styl’d is for the individual with discerning taste and style.
Each piece in our collection is hand picked for uniqueness and actual wearability. We are based in New York City and many of the trends we see on the streets, just happening organically with everyday people, are what inspires us most. But we also strike a balance of adding our own personal twists on the trend so it’s not something you see everyday.
Perhaps the biggest safety check for an item making it to the collection is our staff answering the question, “Would I rock this?” if the answer is yes the item joins the legion of other dope accessories.
It’s a totally curated process that involves us ‘listening’ to others, i.e. catching the trend, but also knowing ourselves as style mavericks and trendsetters. Everyone involved in the procurement process has the “eye” to spot what’s beautiful, unique, or what you ultimately want to wear.
Q: You seemed to crop up overnight, how did you get started on your goal to style the world?
FS’D: We launched just last month, but our platform was at least years in the making. The individuals on our team are micro-influencers among their peers. That means they’re the ones friends, family, coworkers, and even strangers compliment on their style.
Put another way, we just got tired of people asking us where we got our accessories!
They gave us an idea, we thought, “what if we could share our personal style with the world?” But beyond that, bring the masses the fashions of New York? Which has long been looked to for setting fashion and style trends. We sit at one corner of a vast fashion universe and want to share what we’re seeing and what’s happening here and in the culture through accessories.
Q: On your website it says you donate a portion of your proceeds to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Many companies add charitable aspects to their business, does this have any other significance for you beyond a tax write off?
FS’D: Our decision to partner with bbbs.org is so much more than a tax write off. The team here at Freshly Styl’d comes from diverse backgrounds.
For some of our staff, they didn’t have the easiest start in life and could have greatly benefited from mentorship at a young age. It’s their direct commitment and passion that went into backing this charity in particular. We know there are plethora of causes and issues to get behind and
that it’s the corporate trend to have some aspect of social good built into your business model. But to us it’s deeper than that.
In urban centers, like the one we live in, we see daily, idle young minds that can be easily led astray, or those that simply need a little motivation to realize their potential and to dream.
For some of these kids we know if they had someone to show them that life goes on beyond their circumstances, or to show them the ropes of how to be more successful, that they would excel.
We have seen first hand what mentorship can do to transform a young person’s life.
Q: When you’re not saving the youth or conquering the fashion accessories world how does the FS’D crew unwind? Is it a stuffy corporate culture at the Freshly Styl’d headquarters?
FS’D: Ha! Well our team members come from different parts of the country and different parts of the world so accommodating everyone’s idea of fun can be a challenge at times.
But for the most part we like exploring this city and checking out the cultural enclaves for the fashion, food, and art. We go into Jackson Heights to get that special biryani, or to the MoMa to appreciate art, to the Bronx for its vast parks and to see the start of the Palisades or just geek out over fabric in the garment district.
We encourage the team to find inspiration in everything. And to do whatever makes them more like themselves, because they were recruited for their personal style.
When we aren’t being that lofty we like to curl up to homemade popcorn and binge watch Stranger Things or some other Netflix goodie to unwind.
Q: What else should the world know about Freshly Styl’d?
FS’D: Just keep checking for us. We’re doing a lot of dope stuff with the website and on social media. We’re trying our hand at blogs and will be bringing some further inspiration there on how to rock and style pieces from the collection.
We also have a whole section of free stuff on the site. Like it literally doesn’t cost anything. A lot of new companies pull this gimmick, but our goal is for you to get to know us and the quality, and uniqueness of our products.
There are also two weekly contests to win free items outside of our promotional collection. Just use #freshlystyld on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. Beyond that we have big plans and partnerships in the works but we can’t give away our trade secrets just yet ;).
