But first, I need to tee this up with a little background.
in the beginning
There’s been something “fashion” or maybe “style” related running through my veins as long as I can remember. I’ve spoken about choosing ties with dad in the old Filene’s Basement. Deciding to leaving the law when I got published in InStyle. Being part of the team back when Rue La La was founded. (I wore a white cotton DVF dress to my first “fashion job.”)
At Honor Code, it was natural that our first clients were all fashion/retail related. Most of them came via recommendations from marketing execs I worked with in those Rue La La days. Over time, we broadened our reach and realized that other brands and mission focused organizations longed for the same (not at all) secret sauce we applied with fashion clients: emotion. Specifically, emotion-driven storytelling.
“out there”
Also over time, I experimented with putting myself out there on social. At Rue, before I had a team, I wrote the blog and wrote for all the social channels. Often about dressing in the context of my own experience as a then single working woman, a divorced mom, living a life.
Later I began my own social media stuff, on Pinterest and IG (@heymrssolomon) whatever popped up, most recently here on Substack. I needed to understand what was happening on these channels, how people acted, responded. I learned things about what connected, how this changed or stayed the same, above all about the power of authenticity in these spaces.
It’s important for our work. But also, honestly, it’s become a joy. And I don’t feel, at least consciously, that the joy comes from something like follower numbers, but from community, the faces I see multiple times, the encouragement and advice we give each other. I’ve kept this online Hey Mrs. Solomon life very separate from Honor Code, while appreciating what it helps me understand and bring to that work.
maybe the two shall meet
Honor Code has been around now for about 7 years. But imagine if we kept doing the same thing, year after year! To be ageless, to be on top of, to be of value, we have to keep moving, morphing, resetting.
We look at the people we want to work with, and why, and where and how we can make an impact.
This is the year we really thought about the qualities in people we work best with. And also the subjects we love most. We’ve allowed that these two factors can be as rewarding, as big, if not more so than the big-ness of a client’s profit terms.
It takes me back, a bit, to my decision to exit my career as a lawyer long ago, to that decision that it was okay to leave money on the table in pursuit of wholeness.
Recently my partner Susanne and I have talked about and made real some of the ways this “Hey Mrs. Solomon” self might help this “Honor Code” self, things like
helping content creators like me grow and introduce themselves to more people
showing brands how to create additive Substack content that makes use of the richness of their expertise in real ways, and
maybe, for select brands we can genuinely say we love, putting everything behind them, both Honor Code (say, a brand DNA) and Hey Mrs. Solomon (things like topical interviews and unboxing/styling)
This is something I enter into with GREAT care. And with total authenticity. But keeping that in mind, I think it could be really interesting not only to do this but also to write about it. Because I don’t create content full time. I do have a “regular” job. This idea of finding ways to balance the selves, to bring the full scale of your passion to work, is something so many of us are thinking about right now.
meet client 01 (!)
So to that end, I want you to meet my first HCC x HMS client, Riand28. I first saw the brand on
— writer and stylist supreme. She is a friend, and yes, her wearing them meant something to me. And then I found myself interacting organically on IG with Monica, co-founder, gastroenterologist, mother of 3 (NBD). And staring at the clothes. And wanting the clothes. And wanting to understand the brand and the story.And then meeting Keda, cofounder/mom/senior fashion buyer to talk some more.
I love the clothes, first. They pass the test of — would I want to buy this anyway? I would and had been planning to! The look is “wearable” yes, but pushed and cool and interesting. Unexpected textures, those bridge colors (Tibi’s ring 3 nomenclature), interesting lines. I loved the Charlotte Perriand reference in their bio (I am a fan). I love that they, like me, juggle priorities and lives without minimizing the importance of personal style.
They are a small, thoughtful brand. They don’t have the resources of a client like one of the big international sneaker brands we work with.
But I couldn’t wait to dig in. I couldn’t wait to write about it. And I’m grateful to be at a stage in my life where I get to do both. Step 1: shop the site. If I must. More to come.
Thanks again for reading! Subscribe to receive new posts. There is no charge. Also, we hope you’ll share if you find this interesting. -Rachel (& Susanne)
I love the idea of this brand. Look forward to hearing and seeing more!