Why I launched Our Daily Thread
For 5 years, I worked as a fashion journalist. It was my dream job. I left my home in Stoke, and moved to the big city, and after a stint in social media, I finally landed a role as a fashion writer.
One of my jobs at these glossy, prestigious magazines was to answer letters that women would send in. You know — ‘what shall I wear to my son’s wedding?’ or ‘how can I feel confident after I’ve had a baby?’. Despite the fact these questions made up the majority of the mailbag, I wasn’t allowed to answer them. They weren’t sexy enough — we were there to sell an aspiration, a dream. And yet nobody was buying.
And because nobody was reading them, nobody was advertising in them, and teams were being stripped away until there was nothing left but clickbait — nothing of value, no real insight or honest fashion advice. This was despite the fact that the fashion industry, in particular online retailers, were posting their best results of all time. Why were people not reading fashion magazines? How had they become so… out of Vogue?
I knew women across the country were buying more clothes than ever — and less magazines than ever. At first I thought this was because our readers had switched to digital & social media for their consumption of news and opinion, but these magazines’ online presences didn’t exactly provide much evidence for that argument — with numbers and engagement down and a heavy reliance on annoying pop-up ads that ruined the experience of reading about trends.
It had a feeling it wasn’t just the digital switch, though. I knew that a huge swathe of women who had previously enjoyed fashion magazines just didn’t shop via Instagram — regardless of what the platforms themselves were saying.
Women were finally being encouraged to feel empowered, to feel good about themselves, and their income, and their city, and their background, and most importantly — their bodies. But we, in our little Soho print bubble, had not kept up. We were paid to tell women how broken they were every month, and then they would pay for the products to fix it. But they were never fixed. And they were sick of it.
We were paid to tell women how broken they were every month, and then they would pay for the products to fix it. But they were never fixed. And they were sick of it.
To test my theory, I conducted a poll of 1000 women in our target audience, asking how they felt about the current fashion media landscape. The findings painted a sad picture.
91% of respondents said they felt that fashion magazines no longer fitted the purpose of ‘shopping guides’, with responses ranging from ‘out of touch with the online shopping market’ due to print schedules, to ‘they make me feel bad about myself’.
100% of respondents who identified as being ‘non- standard’ in their clothing choices — i.e plus size, modestly dressed, petite and those with disabilities — said that the fashion media either does not cater to their requirements or patronises them.
82% of respondents who identified as being ‘standard’ in their clothing choices said that they no longer felt the fashion media worked positively for them.
And even the most tech-savvy of all — bloggers — weren’t let off scot-free…
76% reported they found bloggers to be ‘too aspirational’ and ‘too airbrushed’, with feedback on their unattainability and ‘big egos’.
So what’s the solution? How can we bring fashion media in line with the brands, values and reality of 2018?
I launched Our Daily Thread.
Our Daily Thread is a digital fashion publication and community for UK women who want their clothes to make them feel good. Combining the know-how of experienced stylists and fashion editors, the ease of shoppable editorial content and the power of data science, our expert team creates content that empowers UK women to feel at home in the fashion world.
We’re helping them make confident clothing choices, and to find and develop their own personal style — wherever they live, whatever their size, and whatever their budget — in the way that feels most natural in 2018.
We’ve created a platform that works with the current online shopping and social awareness landscape, not against it.
We’re turning fashion media from something that makes you feel bad about yourself, to something that makes you feel good.
We put the reader first, not the advertiser, building an inclusive online magazine and email platform that makes money from brand partnerships that value the respect we have for our readers.
We have new edits every week — affordable, flattering, diverse and hand-curated by a team of expert stylists. We even have edits that focus on groups of women that have been totally ignored by the fashion media, created by stylists who truly understand — from wheelchair-friendly wedding-guest outfits to post-partum swimsuits, we’re their very own personal shopper, whatever their budget.
We talk to our community like our friends — not consumers — sharing the low-down on the things they really want to know. Will it flatter, does it come up big or small, will that fabric need loads of ironing? We tell them, so they can make informed decisions that suit their lifestyle.
And what if they need more personal help? While it started as a little experiment to see if my time answering the mailbag was a one-off, our live stylist advice has been one of the big successes in the first phase of ODT. By clicking a little blue button in the corner, we instantly connect women with the stylist that’s right for them, helping them find the perfect piece that’s in budget and perfect for them — not the advertiser.
We’re the interactive fashion platform for the women who actually buy the majority of the clothes in the UK.
And I’m proud to say — it’s resonating.
Since we launched in June 2018, we’ve got…
- 16K email subscribers, with a 41% open rate
- 8K monthly unique website visitors, with over 50% returning
- 22% week-on-week growth of our live stylists service
- 5K organic social media following, growing rapidly
We have a really lovely community on social media, and are hosting our first event in November. There’s a podcast in the works, as well as some incredible international brand partnerships on the horizon, and our first charity partnership with period poverty organisation Bloody Good Period. We’re even launching a shoppable section on the site that allows you to buy ODT necessities to help you feel good, secure and sexy in whatever you choose to wear — think tit tape, nipple covers, anti-chafing powder, blister plasters, actually see-through bra straps, period-friendly pants that don’t give you VPL… all those little things that make a big difference.
Because that’s what we do. We’re a little website, with a big ambition. Fashion should make you feel good, and I’m determined to make that happen. For everyone.
Visit Our Daily Thread here: https://www.ourdailythread.co.uk/
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