Hi guys!
As you know it was on this day last week that I launched my new fashion collection, SOSUBySJ.
I had no idea how it was going to be received, so as you can imagine, my nerves were gone! Fortunately the reaction was amazing from the second the new site went live and I just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone for their kind words, tweets, emails, and messages.
It’s impossible to know how a new product will be received so I was shocked that some of the items sold out almost immediately with a lot of sizes already low!
While I love beauty and will continue to create beauty products, fashion is something I have wanted to for as a long time, as long as I can remember in fact.
Faux Suede Dress – here
Ever since I started SoSueMe, I have styled outfits and photographed them for a huge part of my weekly content.
Very often some of these items would sell out within minutes of them being promoted on here and my social channels, so over time this gave me the confidence to pursue my fashion dream and set about bringing out a range I know my readers would love and I would own.
From left – Black embellished dress – here / Burgundy embellished dress – here / Frill dress – here
I started the venture about 12 months ago, and it’s been the most challenging project I have ever undertaken. Fashion is a totally different animal to beauty.
There’s so much more to think of in terms of detail, diversity, style, shapes, fabrics, sizes, and of course, choice!
Lace detailed bodysuit – here / White shirt – here
I decided that I would be both a designer and a buyer. I have designed a number of items in my collection and been a buyer for other pieces that are true to my style and pieces
I know you guys would want. The main thing I wanted for my fashion range was that it had to be attainable and affordable.
I also wanted it to be timeless, and this is why I decided that my first range would be a 35 piece wardrobe staple collection.
Your wardrobe staples are pieces you wear all year round, they’re not trend driven nor will they ever date. It’s items like your blazer, your denims, your bodysuits, jackets, gilets, shirts and so on.
White bodysuit – here / Leather skirt – here
I actually talk a lot about wardrobe staples at my Style Master Classes around Ireland (dates available for 2017 here)
SOSUbySJ will work from collection to collection so I don’t see myself buying or designing on a weekly/monthly basis for now.
The next collection I will work on will be another specific style of collection and different to the last so if there’s any specific type of range you would like to me to create, just let me know! I’m always open to ideas!
Tailored blazer with button detail – here / Red bodysuit – here / Skirt with button detail – here
Once I had the collection somewhat sorted, I started working on the campaign photoshoot and the new website.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had an idea in my head of what I wanted my campaign to look like. I wanted it to be young, vibrant, sassy, fashionable, and very chic.
And after shooting with Alex Hutchinson and Killian O’Sullivan, I can put my hand on my heart and say we nailed it in terms of vision and what you guys would expect. I was so overwhelmed by the photography, styling and filming that I could hardly believe it was my collection I was looking at.
Lace top – here
I’m going to take you through the shoot itself so you can see how it was all pieced together. We spent a whole day – from 7 in morning to 7 in the evening – shooting all the clothes.
We started with the catalogue stock – these are the images you see against the white background when you click into an item on the site – and then afterwards we shot the party scenes.
Faux Suede Dress – here
I searched high and low for a venue for the shoot and even though there are some amazing places out there, I couldn’t find ‘the one’.
I had an idea in mind and I just couldn’t find a place that matched the vision that was in my head.
In the end, I decided to call in some help from my wedding planners in Gotcha Covered who are decor experts. I told them what I had in mind and together we came up with a campaign grand plan!
Seeing as we couldn’t find the location I had in mind, we decided we would create it!
We took a corner of the ground floor in the Wright Venue in Swords and through Gotcha Covered, we rented couches, lamps, retro TVs, earphones, booms boxes, and then I called on a friend of mine, Laura Cunningham, who owns an amazing party prop site called Hippenings to finish it all off.
Hippenings, in my opinion, is one of the best stationery and party prop sites in Ireland. Seriously if you haven’t checked it out yet, go check it out NOW!
The pieces they have on there are unique and very cool, and personally, they stock items that I haven’t ever seen on other sites.
Overall I just knew the Hippenings stock would be perfect for the SOSUbySJ campaign.
From left – Black embellished dress – here / Burgundy embellished dress – here / Frill dress – here
From Hippenings I got Confetti canons, helium balloons, unicorn balloons, the gold party backdrop, cute popcorn boxes, gold metallic party cups … honest to God Laura’s props really brought the campaign area to life.
It was amazing to see it transforming before our eyes into what I think looked like a UK fashion campaign.
Behind the scenes!
Thank to the sheer talent of Alex Hutchinson and Killian O’Sullivan, the amazing hair and makeup teams (Michelle Regazolli Stone from MRS Makeup and her assistant Gillian, and Jane and Stacey from Red Velvet Hair Salon), as well as our stunning models from the AR Model Agency, Joanna Cooper, Adrienne Murphy and Sophia Scott, I have to say I’m absolutely overjoyed with the end result and the reaction that followed.
It was everything I had hoped for and more!
From left – Black embellished dress – here / Burgundy embellished dress – here / Frill dress – here
Thank you SO much to you guys for your orders, your message and your continued support. It all really means a lot to me. I read every message you send and I can’t thank you enough for being so supportive.
Thank you also to the media outlets who carried pictures of the collection and reviewed it so positively.
I will be back early in the new year with next product launch, so there’s no stopping me now!
Much love from the Maldives
