The day is finally HERE. I am so excited to announce that my capsule collection for VoyVoy is live.
Nat (founder of VoyVoy) and I met at a regatta in Florida when we were both seniors in high school. We both were going to Georgetown and had joined a Georgetown rowing Facebook group and met up then. Nat ended up joining the lightweight men’s team and I was on the heavyweight team…. and in the same freshman english class (Poetry of War). For the next four years, we saw each other all the time in the business school.
Nat and I both started doing our own companies roughly around the same time. Busy schedules kept us from sitting down and having an actual meeting (we have the back and forth emails to prove it), but it was cool that we were both heads down doing our own thing, while also finishing our courses in the business school. (We both completely agree that the best way to really learn is to #DO…)
Now that we were both in New York City, we finally got together one night and started bouncing around the idea of doing a College Prepster line. I knew absolutely nothing about manufacturing clothes and Nat didn’t know where to begin for a women’s line. It just seemed to make sense. Fast forward a few months and I was getting ready to quit my job and the idea of the shirts became a lot more real. Sketches in a Moleskine, meeting over coffee after work, and this “idea.”
The partnership has been amazing. Nat lead the charge in the garment district (not my most favorite place in the world) and I lead the charge on the fit and marketing elements. There were some really funny moments when we were reading each other minds and sending emails at the exact same time as one another.
There were certainly a few frustrating moments (samples not being right, delays, and general stress)… and there were definitely moments when I felt like throwing in the towel and giving up. It wasn’t easy. BUT, picking up the shirts and being able to truly touch and feel what we had created was absolutely one of the best feelings. Digital content is super easy to produce and the value is attained with instant gratification… one click of a publish button and it’s LIVE. Having to wait a week to make a change to the sample, trusting the factory to get it right “this time,” and running back and forth between storefronts to get all the material was a new and exhilarating feeling!
Please note: The shirts are being sold right now on VoyVoy’s website through a presale. The sale will be live until November 24th and the shirts will ship end of the December.
Blue Bow Pocket with Navy Polka Dots
Here are close ups of the pockets… Kind of in love.
(Teddy loves the shirts too!)
xoxo
Congrats! That is so exciting, you are such an inspiration Carly, there are so many endless possibilities as long as we stay motivated! The shirts are super cute, I cant decide which one I like better!
-Alex
http://www.monstermisa.blogspot.com
I love the pockets on the shirts so cool, and I'm so excited for you!
Mana
Fashion and Happy Things
OMG what a cool project! the button-ups look wonderful *-*
So proud of and excited for you, Carly!
KK @ Preppy Pink Crocodile
oh my goodness I absolutely love it! I'm so very excited for you! It's such a fun and great thing to see big things happen and life moving forward!
xx
Breckenridge Clare
http://www.whimofthesouth.com
These are so cute! Although I don't think I'd order one, I don't think it would fit a bigger busted girl like me well (there's no size info on the site, as in when you click sizing it says to refer to item description/model info but it's not listed). But congrats on the line!
Congrats Carly! So exciting! And your new pieces are adorable!
So excited for you! Congrats! The shirts are so pretty!
Kristin
crumbsandcurls.blogspot.com
congratulations! v exciting!
Congratulations! I'm crazy about the pocket detail, and it's only $20 shipping to England? I'm definitely ordering one (or two…)!!
xo Amy | amyvnorris.com
I just got on and checked out the collaboration, and I love it 🙂
Hunter
Prep on a Budget
congrats on the launch, so exciting and I love the details!!
$120? Are you serious?
Cool idea, but there's no size guide available, only a notice that each style is different. Very nice and unique shirts though 😀
http://scallopedandbows.blogspot.ca
Congratulations! I hope that this is the dream you've been waiting to accomplsih. I can't wait to see what happens!
Your Friend, Jess
$120? For a button down shirt? Was the fabric woven from some cotton that you can only find in the desert bushes at the edge of the Sahara? And spun by women of some ancient tribe who only do this once every seven years? I'll get the same thing at the Gap for 1/2 the price, it'll do the same exact thing this shirt does.
Congratulations Carly! Such a great accomplishment for you. Great news. There have also been a lot of accomplishments over at Side of Sweet Mint. We'd love for you to check out our blog and possible give us a follow!
Lauren
sideofsweetmint.blogspot.com
Just wondering – is the pocket on the white one see-through like that in real life? How's that going to look on an actual person? One blue patterned boob?
Congratulations 🙂 They're cute, but I don't think I'll buy one considering I could find something similar for about a sixth of the price haha.
aclassystateofgrace.blogspot.com
Looks great but price seems outrageous! Not sure you have your finger on the right pricepoint for a 20-something year old – which is who your blog seems to be marketed to!
Love the shirts! A bit out of my price range but I'll probably splurge for christmas!
This is so amazing! Congratulations!! I can't imagine what it feels like to have my own line of clothing. Talk about dream come true! Hopefully soon I'll be able to save up enough for one of my own shirts 🙂
Cristina Marie
Congratulations! This sounds like such an exciting adventure and the shirts turned out beautifully!
Lauren,
http://www.atouchofsoutherngrace.com/
So super cute! Congrats, girl!
<3
Kelly
kellyinthecity.com
Carly this is truly amazing. Your drive and determination is admirable and you are such a role model for girls to work hard and live their dreams. Congratulations on this wonderful accomplishment- the shirts are beautiful- classic and timeless with a preppy twist. Can't wait for them to be shipped in December!
Carly, I've been a reader for several years, but this confuses me—shirts that are higher priced than comparable products at, for instance, J. Crew or Ralph Lauren but without any notable identifying features? Who are you planning on marketing these to? I just don't really see the product matching the target audience, if that audience is in fact college-age/twentysomething women—I'd totally love to see you prove me wrong on this and show us why they're worth the price, but that doesn't seem to be the case right now.
I agree – too pricey for the average 20-something, and there's really nothing special about the shirt, in my opinion, to warrant that price. Cute idea though!
They're really cute and this is really exciting for you, and I don't want to take that away from you but I'm so disappointed that they're priced so out of the price range of most people – even my parents wouldn't spend that much on a shirt, and they've been earning for decades! As a regular person who's still at University I feel excluded from an elegantly-dressed elite when you don't even acknowledge the price is extraordinarily high. I'm sure that wasn't your intention, but it might be worth seeing if there's a more cost-effective way of producing and selling these. Not that that detracts from how impressive I find your latest endeavour and you as a person.
Carly, I've been following your blog for a while now, and I definitely agree with all of the positive things being said about it. Your entrance to the clothing world is really exciting!
However, I completely agree with the price criticisms. I know people from a very wide range of incomes (including up into the tip top of the 1%), and I can honestly say that I don't know a single person that would spend $120 on a button down. Maybe my experience is narrower than I think it is, but I doubt it. It even stands out from the rest of the VoyVoy website. I can see very wealthy guys spending $70 on a button down but that doesn't compare to $120 on a women's button down.
I have to agree with the above. I'm sure you have a wide array of incomes among your audience, but target-wise, "college" kids like me are making that much money in one week if they're working part-time while they take classes. I'm not one to blow an entire paycheck on a button down.
I really love your blog and think it's fantastic that you're starting to get into the fashion world, but I was extremely turned off by the price, as I'm sure others are. Know your audience!
Carly, I have been reading your blog since before it was the large community it is now but am not a big commenter. I have to say, as someone who is probably a bit older than most of your readers and settled into my career, I agree with the sticker shock here. I love the blue oxford, but can't justify the price. I love your writing and your style– I hope that there's more great things to come at a price point I can stomach 🙂
congrats!! i'm sorry if this has already been said, but it would bear repeating. thank you for having these made in the US! men (and women) can get their OCBDs for 'cheap' because they are made overseas! 120 is too much for my phd-student budget, but i appreciate where you are going with this. ( for reference, BB charges 95 and those are made in the US.) -eks
Congratulations, Carly! The shirt looks great and it must feel awesome to have something tangible to hold after all this work. While I don't want to take away from commending you for your hard work, I agree with all those saying that it is definitely pricy and I would love to hear the reasons why if you ever feel like doing a follow-up post.