For many women, there is nothing more frustrating than having a closet full of clothes but nothing to wear.
Kim Giles, resources and communications coordinator for Career Services at Elon University, is no exception.
A couple years ago, Giles found herself in a fashion rut. She wore the same outfits every week, she said, and her wardrobe had become stagnant. Her daughter, Jessica Pasion, a 2005 Elon alumna who now works at Elon as assistant to the president, decided to help Giles sort through her closet to find new, interesting outfit combinations.
But what began as a simple favor soon became the inspiration behind Pasion’s idea for Well Dressed, a wardrobe consulting company that helps women find figure-flattering outfits from clothes they already own.
“The idea had been on my mind since helping my mom,” Pasion said. “I always thought it would be really cool to pursue.”
The idea for Well Dressed went from a notion to a potential reality when Pasion and Giles, who are both pursuing MBAs at Elon, participated in a business startup competition offered for the first time at Elon in November.
“Originally we wanted to go just to see how a business plan unfolds and just to observe, really,” Giles said. “But about an hour before the startup weekend began, I said, ‘Jess, you should really pitch your idea.’ So we brainstormed what we would do.”
Pasion placed third in the competition out of about 70 participants. As her prize, Pasion was rewarded the chance to consult with industry experts about Well Dressed, and her idea continued to the next round of the competition. It did not place high enough for the final round, but Pasion said she was thankful for the opportunity nonetheless.
“[Getting third place] was really exciting,” Pasion said. “It proved to me that it’s important to take risks because you never know what will come of it.”
Between pursuing her MBA and working a full-time job, Pasion said the biggest struggle is going to be finding time to focus on launching Well Dressed. Fortunately, her participation in the startup weekend gave her ideas for how to begin developing and marketing the company, she said.
Pasion’s startup weekend team gave her the idea to have Well Dressed take the form of a digital closet that serves two distinct client bases. The first group of clients, individuals who desire assistance with their wardrobes, will upload photos of their clothing to Well Dressed’s website to be paired together. The second group of clients will be fashion consultants who view the images from each individual’s wardrobe and create fashionable outfits for them to choose from.
“The idea is to create a platform for these two groups of people in need to meet each other,” Pasion said. “To maintain low startup costs, I will serve as a fashion consultant until I have reached my client capacity. The next challenge is determining who can be new fashion consultants — fashion students? Personal shoppers at retail stores? Etc.”
But Pasion’s aspirations for Well Dressed don’t end there. She has also developed ideas for two additional revenue streams once it becomes a profitable company. First, she would like to see Well Dressed have its own clothing line.
“There’s a company I shop [with] all the time where they have my measurements on file so I can order clothing and have it personalized to fit my body,” she said. “The idea for our line would be to do something similar, so people not only learn how to dress themselves, but also learn that fit is more important than anything else.”
Second, Pasion said she would like to create an online consignment store for unwanted clothes from clients with digital closets. These clothes would be sold inexpensively to college students. Giles said she likes this plan in particular because it is a win-win situation for both parties.
“For clients like me who have all these clothes they don’t need or don’t fit or aren’t stylish, who better to donate them to than students about to start their professional careers who may not have a lot of money yet or aren’t used to dressing professionally?” she said. “The person who’s donating feels good too because it’s going to a good cause.”
But for Pasion, launching Well Dressed is about more than creating a profitable business — it’s about building self-esteem among women by giving them the opportunity to feel confident about their style. Since losing nearly 200 pounds after undergoing gastric bypass surgery in 2008, Pasion said she understands the importance of self-confidence better than ever.
“I considered weight loss surgery when I was more than 330 pounds,” she said. “Although my husband, family and friends loved me and told me I was beautiful, I struggled with my appearance. It’s important for women to like how they look — it effects confidence and impacts how you live your life.”
Knowing how to dress properly is a guaranteed way to boost self-esteem, Pasion said, and she’s excited to eventually see clients using Well Dressed for this exact purpose.
“You can be a 300-pound woman and still look good and dress appropriately,” she said. “You eliminate insecurities when you know that you’re dressing your body the best you can.”