CakeStyle, a startup that delivers stylist-curated shipments of women’s fashion, announced that it has raised $1 million in seed funding.
Yes, CakeStyle is yet part of the growing wave of “subscribe to Box X” businesses, but with a personal touch. The company asks customers to provide “some basic information about what you currently wear, what you’d like to wear and your sizing” (either via email or phone). Then its stylists handpick a seasonal shipment of clothing and accessories from the company’s inventory, and they also include a video explaining the choices. Once the selection has arrived at your door, you can send back anything you don’t like, and you only pay for what you keep.
Customers can also meet stylists in person at the company’s showroom in Chicago’s River North neighborhood.
CakeStyle was founded in August 2011, and TechCrunch’s Leena Rao wrote about it a few months later. Leena said she enjoys shopping too much to embrace a service like this, but it could be a good fit for women who aren’t interested in or don’t have time to visit stores and keep on the latest fashions. CakeStyle has also been compared to Trunk Club, a startup providing a similar service for men. (Like CakeStyle, Trunk Club is based in Chicago.)
The new funding comes from Sandbox Industries’ Sandbox Advantage Fund. CakeStyle says the money will be used to increase brand awareness and bring its service “to more women across the country.”
CakeStyle is a virtual personal styling service for women designed to take the hassle out of shopping by shipping a box of handpicked clothing and accessories to members’ doors each season. After signing up at http://www.cakestyle.com, each member has a consultation with her stylist so that CakeStyle knows how she needs to dress each day, what pieces she owns, and how she likes her clothes to fit. Then, her CakeStylist hand-selects pieces for her from designers like Elie Tahari, Diane...
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