When we saw that Vicki, our 3rd customer ever, bought our entire launch collection, we were totally thrilled. Right out of the gate, someone was just as excited as we are about all of our dresses! And when she told us she’d be wearing them every day for a month, we couldn’t contain ourselves...but we were also super curious about the style adventure she was embarking on.
In the interview below, we catch up with Vicki on what sparked the idea she’s dubbed “30 Days of SAYDA,” what surprised her most about the experience, and who she thinks might enjoy doing something similar.
Alia from SAYDA: We’ve been following your “30 Days of SAYDA” unfold on Instagram and Pinterest. We gotta ask you: what inspired you to wear the entire launch collection – the Capsule, the Stonecut, and the Doodle – every day for 30 days?
Vicki: I’m intrigued by the concept of a “capsule wardrobe.” The idea is that you create a tightly curated collection of just a few pieces of clothing that are versatile, that you love to wear, and that you rotate through seasonally. The thought of simplifying my wardrobe, consciously doing more with less, and exerting minimal mental effort on what to wear without compromising style resonates with me. SAYDA’s launch video talks about timeless style – how one “go-to” dress can be worn to lots of different occasions. So, I thought that perhaps with the three dresses from the launch collection as the foundation, I can build my own version of a “capsule wardrobe.” The plan was to wear one of the three dresses each day. Based on my schedule for the day or just my mood, I’d style the dress using other items in my closet (pumps or boots, blazers or denim jackets, tights or jeans, scarves or belts, etc.), and then snap one quick selfie per day to document each ensemble.
Alia from SAYDA: How does it work? Do you rotate through the dresses systematically or is it a more organic “this is what I feel like today” type of thing?
Vicki: It’s a mix of both. I generally try to avoid wearing the same dress two days in a row, but if, say, I wore the Stonecut as a cocktail dress to a wedding and feel like wearing the Stonecut again with a sweater on top so that it looks more like a skirt, I have no rules against that!
Alia from SAYDA: What was your approach to getting dressed prior to “30 Days of SAYDA?”
Vicki: I’d go into my closet, stare for about 15 minutes, panic, and pick something to wear. I work in the marketing industry, so sometimes I’m able to be creative with what I wear, and sometimes I need to be more conservative. I’ve never had a consistent look because my life demands flexibility, which can sometimes be challenging and time-consuming.
Alia from SAYDA: What have you enjoyed the most about “30 Days of SAYDA?”
Vicki: Two things immediately come to mind. The first is that it takes me hardly any time at all in the morning to get dressed. Having the Capsule, Stonecut, or Doodle as my core piece makes it easy, then I just pick what to add to it. If it’s cold, I’ll wear pants with the dress as a tunic, shortened with a belt. If I had a big dinner the night before, I’ll ditch the belt, wear the dress more loosely, and still end up feeling good because the fabric skims my body rather than being form-fitting.
The other thing I enjoy is how easy the dresses are to take care of! Dry cleaning frustrates me: it’s expensive and it isn’t very environmentally friendly. I know SAYDA dresses are machine washable, but it’s faster and less wasteful for me to throw them in the tub with cold water and a bit of detergent, rinse, roll in a towel to speed up the drying process, hang to dry, and they’re ready to go the next morning. No wrinkling and they hold their shape! This makes it especially appealing to someone like me who travels a lot and prefers to have carry-on luggage only.
The dresses are "...especially appealing to someone like me who travels a lot and prefers to have carry-on luggage only."
Alia from SAYDA: On the flip side, what did you enjoy the least about this experiment?
Vicki: I bought the full collection, so I had all three dresses. It would have been nice to have just one more dress to play around with. I found myself craving something more along the lines of the Doodle dress but with different, bold colors to complement the neutral Capsule and Stonecut dresses.
Alia from SAYDA: Ha! Well, you’ll be delighted to hear that we’re actually releasing a new variation of the Doodle dress this Fall! I’ll ping you when it’s out, and it’ll be all over Insta :) What did you find most surprising?
Vicki: I was surprised at how easily they can be dressed down. I think of dresses as something you wear to work or for a nice night out. I thought I’d look out of place at my kids’ soccer games or getting pizza or...when I took my son fossil hunting! That’s a story for another time, but I ended up almost up to my knees at a creek in my big boots, and wore the Doodle dress under an asymmetrical t-shirt with leggings. I didn’t feel overdressed at all.
"I was surprised at how easily they can be dressed down...I thought I’d look out of place at my kids’ soccer games or getting pizza or...when I took my son fossil hunting!"
Alia from SAYDA: Did you find any fossils?!
Vicki: We found...some things that look like they could be fossils…
Alia from SAYDA: What was your favorite outfit?
Vicki: The Doodle dress with skinny jeans and an army jacket. I wore it on a family trip to Quebec City. We walked around, went to museum, went out for dinner...it was just really comfortable and felt appropriate for all the various things we were up to that day.
Alia from SAYDA: Now that you’ve lived and breathed SAYDA for a month, what would you like to see next?
Vicki: I’d love a SAYDA dress in a richer fabric for the holidays – something sparkly!
Alia from SAYDA: Lastly, for folks who’ve made it this far and are considering going on a similar escapade, is there a particular type of person you’d recommend this to?
Vicki: I found that the people who were commenting on my outfits were a pretty diverse group – people who work from home and people who are in the City everyday for business, my family in the Midwest and my friends in Cali and on the East Coast. So, I don’t know that there’s one type of person I’d recommend this to more than another. The dresses themselves extend to just about anyone, so it’s more about the mindset of wanting to experiment with an edited wardrobe and flex your creative muscles using all the other things in your closet.
"...it’s more about the mindset of wanting to experiment with an edited wardrobe and flex your creative muscles using all the other things in your closet."
Check out all of Vicki’s looks on her personal Insta: @vicsummers and on her personal Pinterest.
Very creative and nice indeed. I am wearing hijab but i bought this dress because i like the design and i think it will look great with hijab as well
Great review .. absolutely loved the creativity in applying the collection .. here is a person who gets the concept behind the collection.