Quite honestly, I never heard of this name until later in 2014. It caught my eyes on my Facebook feed – the New IT bag in a cheaper price favoured by celebrities (sadly, it was from style.com. I will definitely miss their editorial content). Now I am one proud owner of its Petra bag.

Everlane.com its online store

Everlane is a strictly web-based fashion & lifestyle brand, launched in 2010, from San Francisco, founded by a fashion outsider. They got instantly famous/popular by telling the ugly truth of the markup of designer apparel’s markup by their infamous Twitter campaign:

Infograph on Designer Brand’s Markup

Their fascinating story started ever since…

Radical Transparency is of course their Unique Selling Point (USP), providing affordable luxury-quality fashion and lifestyle products.  To top it up, they hired former designer director, Petra Langerova from Gap to lead their product development. (Their best selling bag is called Petra. Could it be a coincidence? Of course, NOT).

Take a look at these:

• Sales reportedly grew more than 200 percent from 2013 to 2014.
• At Feb 2015, the waiting list for the Petra bag was 7,500 long.

What’s the secret for success?

1. Transparency about the production and pricing (They never offers discount) – Education too

How Everlane’s famous Petra Bag is priced

2. Quality products at affordable price –

My bag was made in Italy with 100% Italian leather exterior and it was only US$395.The products were made in countries that are expert in manufacturing that line of products.

Screencap from everlane.com

3. Stellar Designer – Petra Langerova (PR and relationships with fashionistas follow)

Imagine all the PR story follows and the credibility that was already built for her capability and creatively. (Read more Here)

Photo Credit: Fashionista.com

4. Celebrity seeding and ePR

That’s what caught my attention first. Both Angelina Jolie and Olivia Munn were carrying a bag below US$400.

Screencap from the style.com article

5. Pushed their messages of non-elitist fashion for the people with social

Hey, fashion can be for everybody. Own your luxury quality fashion item and look good. That appeals not only to the fashionables but average Jill like me.

6. Break Rules and operated like a tech company

Quoting style.com “The starting point for Everlane might have been fashion, but it was fierce social media know-how and a well-executed digital strategy that have quickly brought it to the forefront. Through Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, et al., Preysman and his team pushed their messages of non-elitist fashion for the people and transparency about the production and pricing. Both themes hit the nail on the head, tapping into two major consumer trends. ” (Read more Here). Having your t shirt delivered faster than a pizza, woot, I will sign up for it!

Here’s my route to my first Petra:

My Little Journey to my first Everlane Petra Magazine Tote

While, I’m loving my bag and carrying it everyday possible, I showed the idea to a friend who’s been in luxury for a while. His first impression was nice concept but I can get my Uniqlo for similar quality for a fraction of its price. – Brutally honest but definitely true. My bag is priced right to me though ;-p