Haley’s Trip to NYC with Elizabeth & Clarke Recap!

Hi, everyone! Haley here! I wanted to share with you about a really awesome opportunity I had this past weekend! It all started a couple months ago when I got an email from Elizabeth & Clarke asking for submissions of short, 2-minute videos talking about personal struggles or unfortunate anecdotes with workwear. (Think: pants too short or too long, buttons gaping, always feeling sweaty in your work clothes, spills, etc.) In return for a submission, you received $50 in store credit towards their new Unstainable Collection! In addition, a few women would also be chosen for a grand prize – a trip to New York to film a commercial for their Kickstarter to help fund their unstainable line and a complete Unstainable collection in my size when it ships in October! I was one of the girls selected!

If you’re not familiar with Elizabeth & Clarke, it’s a brand that has its own quarterly subscription. Every 3 months they design and release 3 shirts. You can buy 1 shirt for $40, 2 shirts for $50, or all 3 for $60. Over the life of their subscription, Liz and I have found that their tops are chic and high quality, and I personally think $20/piece is an amazing price for the tops they send out. You can check out our reviews of their subscription here!

Apparently there were 8 girls chosen to come film out of about 60-65 video submissions. Personally, in my video, I spoke about my issues with my clothing from when I waitressed. I’m tall, so black dress pants were always hard to find the right length. If I did, it had to be sizes up from what I wear so they were too wide too. Also, long-sleeve, completely button-up, white shirts were hard to find for women (it was always v-neck button ups, and ¾ sleeves). When I did find one, they were almost always too short in the torso and sleeves.

So, I just flew to Manhattan on Saturday, March 12^th and got back late Sunday March 13^th. My mom graciously came with me and helped me so I could bring my 6-month-old son with me. Saturday was a free schedule aside from our morning flights, and we spent the afternoon exploring and even visited the SoHo Birchbox Shop! (Story about that to come separately!) Sunday was film day. My call time was 6 AM at a studio office, and I got to meet the lovely team behind Elizabeth & Clarke (and some other awesome women), got my hair & makeup done by their hired team, and helped film their new commercial. I had a blast! What an experience!

So, without further ado, here are some photos and details about my trip!

Turns out when you fly from Flint, MI at 6 AM you get the whole place to yourself!

This was some of our view when we were landing into LaGuardia Airport. New York is definitely crowded! It was such a cool view to see Manhattan from above.

This is my son, Gideon, and I on our first cab ride ever!

I forgot to take a picture of the outside sign, but we stayed at the Duane Street Hotel. It was pretty small, but it was really beautiful and classy. Plus, free baklava and orange-infused water in the lobby!

This was our room! Again, it was small but really cool. Our view was just of our neighborhood streets, nothing particularly exciting or glamourous.

This was the little set where we filmed. The commercial had parts that were demo (demonstrating the Unstainable collection, interview in our old work clothes that weren’t cutting it anymore, and a post-makeover/”after” interview about how we felt about Elizabeth & Clarke’s clothes.

Here’s a sneak peek at the collection. The clothes I saw worn by me and other girls included a long sleeve button-down, a great chic jacket, extendable-length pants, a skirt, and a great dress.

I loved everything I got to see and try! So, I’ve mentioned how these clothes are Unstainable. They’re treated with a process that makes them hydro-phobic so liquid literally splashes right off of them! That means they’re also sweat proof! No more weird underarm stains. The jacket I wore had a lining that felt like butter and it was soft and cool to my skin. It’s designed to soak up sweat into a middle layer which then dries 10x faster than normal. The adjustable/extendable pants were amazing. When I was being styled and was told to try them on, I was definitely smirking to myself thinking, “honey, I’ve tried pretty much every pair of dress pants there is – I can promise these will be too short.” Well, they weren’t! They were TOO LONG. A problem I basically never have as a 6’ girl. These pants are adjustable by having secret snaps along the inside so they can be the perfect length! I actually had to have mine snapped up. I was thrilled with that.

Here’s how their team did my hair and makeup. It was definitely much fresher/natural than I usually wear my makeup so I’ve been playing with getting more comfortable trying a more natural look when I do my makeup myself.

My son wasn’t supposed to be in the commercial, but I had talked about him a lot in my interviews (how for months as a new mom I’ve worn crappy clothes because I knew my reflux baby was going to spit up all over me and I’d have to change at least 5 times each day, how I’ve been afraid to dress in anything nice because of the number of things I could get messed onto my clothes, etc), so the team asked if they could do a couple shots with him when my mom brought him to pick me up. I thought it was sweet of them, and then they started prompting him, “throw up on mommy! Yes, throw up on mom!” Haha, I realized they were hoping to use him as a demonstration of the Unstainable clothes! But he didn’t. Fortunately for me, at 6 months, he’s grown past those issues almost completely!

My son and I post-filming!

This is the lovely lady behind Elizabeth & Clarke, Melanie! She was so great to talk to and get to know. They didn’t even realize I was from My Subscription Addiction until our communication picked up about the trip two weeks before. Melanie was so smart, sweet, driven, and definitely inspired me.

While we were all talking, she also filled me in on some ideas she had for future pieces to design and additions to the subscription! With her permission, I get to share those ideas with you! I think they’re great: she talked about adding a twice-yearly pants/skirt subscription release, and even a yearly jacket/coat box! Since the “Unstainable” factor comes from a treatment process, she wants to add a “make it Unstainable!” option to her whole clothing line for an upcharge. She also said she’s trying to find the right factory to work with to finally create the perfect legging/dress pant combo. Sounds like heaven!

The other ladies chosen for models were really smart and cool and I was happy to get to know them. They were from all over the country. We all talked a lot of subscription box talk, a about things women experience while working/being professionals that men don’t experience (on personal, social, and apparel levels), and lots of other things. There were even a couple who said they found out about Elizabeth & Clarke thanks to My Subscription Addiction!

I had a very quick but exciting, once-in-a-lifetime trip! I was so glad to be able to do this and I’m really looking forward to sharing the Unstainable items I get in a few months and seeing the commercial when it’s all edited and complete! Being able to see, feel, and try the clothes in person was a great experience and it really made me believe in the clothing, vision, and brand. I know Elizabeth & Clarke has definitely made me a loyal customer for life. I’m really excited about what they’re bringing to the professional women’s apparel scene.