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Tony: Hello welcome to the lift video cast, I am Tony and this is Jenn Hirsch former founder
and CEO of a design trends startup out of London. We are going to talk today about the
Habit of Fashion. Thank You,
How are you doing? Jenn: I’m doing great. It’s so funny,
as I was just saying Tony I never really thought about fashion being a habit, until you talked
to me about it and you realize that with any habit, it’s repeatable, it’s structured,
it has components that build over time. Tony: I always thought fashion was for creative
people, it’s actually like everything else that we see at Lift you actually can kind
of tell, like the people that are great at something there was actually a path that they
took to get there. And a set of regular behaviors which gives all of us hope that if we wanted
to be fashionable we could put the time in and do it.
Jenn: Yep Tony: You told me early on that you had this
college period that was very like… Jenn: I wore a uniform, and it was not fashionable.
Every day I would wear a pair of blue jeans, a bright colored tee shirt and a North Face
pullover in black. Tony: When you left college you made a switch,
was that with a single shopping trip? Jenn: I think, well it was so funny, before
college I had always loved clothes. I would always experiment with what I would wear to
high school, because in high school there weren’t uniforms. So much like I don’t
know if I had any fashion but I was trying everything, I had really eclectic vintage
stuff that I would wear and I had like preppy cloth that I would wear, I had my grandmas
vintage stuff I would wear. I would just wear everything. And then I realized, you go out
into this world of being an adult, and you’re dating, and you’re working, so you have
to have wardrobes to figure out what works in all these different areas. So I think it
was two years probably spending way too much money on clothes, and throwing away way too
many other clothes, like that doesn’t work, I don’t look a tart, I don’t look professional
enough, and all this other stuff. Tony: Wait, hold on, what does a tart look
like? Jenn: A tart is like, too slutty.
Tony: Oh, as a guy I think a tart, looks like dough with some fruit underneath it. Oh ya
this sounds good. I feel like some people when they are just
getting started, don’t have that many good items and so sometimes you know it’s like,
oh I have this important thing, I have to wear this good item. So here’s an example:
like, when Lift was pitching to investors, we would see the same investor multiple times,
but with a couple weeks break in between, and it just dawned on me, like wait a second,
there is like a one in four chance that I was wearing this exact same thing the last
time I saw them. Jenn: Well maybe they think you’re frugal.
Tony: That’s a bad thing. Jenn: That’s not a bad thing.
Tony: It’s not a good way to impress the investors. The same cloths, unwashed.
Jenn: As long as they were clean, oh woops okay maybe they were unwashed.
Tony: They were always clean. Jenn: Nice shoes is always the key. Always
have good shoes. If you’re going to spend money on anything, spend it on tailoring clothes
that you get as hand me downs and nice shoes. Tony: Do you pull your cloths out the night
before? Or just when you woke up this morning, it’s real easy to find it?
Jenn: It’s real easy to find it. The other thing…you were talking about the running
habit, it’s easier to run when you buy your gym clothes, and you get your shoes and you
figure out your route. Tony: Like to get over the hump.
Jenn: Ya, so your wardrobe is like that. It’s prepping for the fashion. And over time you
get to see what works and what doesn’t, maybe there are routes you run that you don’t
like, or shoes you don’t like, or shoes you do like, and there are shoes that help
you do better that you enjoy running in and those that give you blisters. So fashion is
the same sort of thing, I can tell you, again dress for your body type, that was actually
part of the book, and something I learned over time. So I’m tall, I have a really
classic female figure and I’m a brunette with pale skin. Everything I wear need to
take those in. I’m unlikely to change my hair color, I’m unlikely to shrink.
Tony: What color doesn’t work with pale skin?
Jenn: Anything pastel, it makes me look washed out. If I wear all black it’s really harsh,
like I look a little bit goth. Tony: You look like Deter from Saturday Night
Live sort of thing? Jenn: Ya
Tony: Can you find something you like to buy and buy multiples of it?
Jenn: It depends, if it’s a staple then yes, if it’s a one off then no. Like a staple
would be like things you wear, like I wear white shirts all the time, or I used to, I
think I wear them quite a bit, like a white dress shirt, it dresses everything up, it’s
easy to put on, it’s easy to accessorize. I bought, six years ago, the Brooks Brothers
tailored non-iron one it fit me perfectly so I bought twelve, all the same graded except
for two. I had my favorite pair of black jeans I bought in the U.K. I wish I had bought four,
when they disintegrated, I patched them so many times.
Tony: So occasionally when it’s perfect, it’s okay to get a bunch.
It was interesting, we did this survey of lift users and what 65% of them said was the
biggest thing they needed for a better love life was a better body. So much effort is
spent on going to the gum, dieting, yada, yada. If what they are really saying is that
they need to look better, maybe they should just be dressed better?
Jenn: So the number one thing my grandma taught me is, even really early on and it took me
a long time to internalize it, was that half of it is about confidence. The confidence
to have you own opinion, the confidence to wear what your wearing, my roommate gave me
these pants and she was like: “you’re the only one I know who could pull them off”
and I’m like: “but why” and she was like: “your just so confident, you go out
there with such a swagger, people are like okay we have to take her seriously”.
Tony: Was there a period in your life when you didn’t have swagger?
Jenn: Ya I was so shy, like in high school I would blush if you talked to me.
Tony: So then what switched? Jenn: I went to the biggest college of all
and I had always been very driven and motivated to be successful, and success at a big school
is being extroverted, so I taught myself how to be an extrovert.
Tony: Oh my god I think you are watching two introverts who are pretending to be extroverts.
I hope you are enjoying the show. Why did you choose these items and why together?
So we heard vintage already… Jenn: Ya this is vintage. I think I told you
before, I really like graphic bold statements, I wear a lot of like I’m wearing a vintage
men’s watch, I usually have big earrings, even if they are studs and I really like bright
colors and patterns. So I always try to have at least one piece on that’s a statement
and bold. Tony: I have heard you talk about this before
and I have heard other people talk about this, it’s like a relatively good strategy to
have a classic look with one thing that stands out. And I feel like that is very accessible.
First of all, let me just get to well-dressed and then as my first step, let me do one thing
that is bold and stands out. I’m not wearing it today but I have this really big GPS watch,
the Nike+ watch that is green, and that is my stand out thing, people comment on it,
I can be completely straight, like dressed in a very standard way, and have one thing
that saysI want you to talk to me. Jenn: The reason why the watch is great for
you, is that you love data, and you’re kind of a self-professed nerd.
Tony: Not kind of, very much, yes Jenn: Anyways that’s a nerdy cool thing,
that’s tech its digital, it’s indicative of who you are. So having things, like I’m
exuberant and a little bit bubbly so having bright colors and bold pieces kind of fits
with my personality. And that’s what you want, something that reflects your authentic
self, your best self, to be the statement piece. Not because someone else told you it
was fashionable or cool, but because you yourself were drawn to it.
Tony: Get your piece of flair, get your classic thing, what other habits?
Jenn: In the beginning don’t be afraid to experiment, we say this all the time, its
iterative right, put on something totally crazy on a Saturday and see how people react
and see how you feel. Tony: I am more celebrity focused then the
average person, I did see Kim Kardashian tweet out an apology saying: “the mirror lied
to me, this outfit is terrible”, and it was a photo, and she was right it was a terrible
outfit. And she was like: “this can’t be mixed”. Anyways I’m super optimistic
and I appreciate you joining me to help sues out the habits of fashion
Jenn: I was happy to help, this was a lot of fun.
Tony: Thanks Jenn: Thank You
(Lift Promo) Tony: Are you paying attention to what Miley
Cyrus is doing right now? Jenn: No
Tony: I just saw her the other day with this leather jacket with metal spike on it, like
she is straight out of Mad Max.