About Closet Couture
Closet Couture is a digital fashion media brand that reaches influential women who love to shop. Members create online closets filled with clothes from their real and fantasy wardrobes. Since its launch in Santa Monica, CA in October, 2008, Closet Couture has become women's go to for online shopping and wardrobe management paired with content about fashion trends.
The Closet Couture Story
I had the idea for Closet Couture in 2006, after a cantankerous, style-challenged year living in Los Angeles. As a child of New England, I grew up under the straight-laced, headband wearing, kilt-obsessed (with the pins to fasten) preppy brigade. LL Bean snowflake sweaters were worn without irony. After a prim Connecticut education, I moved to New York and began interviewing for jobs in publishing wearing conservative suits (Jones New York), square toed loafers (sans penny) and panty hose (believe it.) Born of a sheltered sartorial existence, the process proved to be a much-needed turning point for me; particularly after a future colleague at Random House confided that her only hesitation on hiring me had been my hose. I was not born with the fashion gene nor was acquiring it going to be easy.
Marriage brought me west to Los Angeles where work in television gave me further fashion friction. I resorted to all black, thinking surely this universally safe uniform was coast-agnostic. Unfortunately, the only people who wear head-to-toe black in LA are catering waiters and trainers. After unassisted shopping forays where flushed cheeks accompanied bashful returns, I speed-dialed tolerant New York friends who walked me through climate-appropriate, industry friendly separates that could get me through the next month in Hollywood without embarrassment. Fully aware that these kind amigos would not be available to me 24/7, an idea was born. How could I connect the mutually fashion-interested with one another for quick, easy tips and advice no matter what the predicament, without shame or excruciating phone bills?
Closet Couture was hatched by me, someone flailing in fashion’s cruel arctic breeze, for everyone living under the big tent of universal style; challenged and gifted alike.
Peruse, shop, connect. Getting dressed should be fun!
In allegiance to style,
Christine Elia
Founder
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The Closet Couture Management Team
Jim Davis, Executive Chairman of the Board
- Board of Directors: Mota, Artist Direct, ComCom Commerce, CircleUp
- Advisory Board: eBridge, Promax, Afordit.com, TweetUp
- eBay: VP New Business, VP Marketing & Strategic Alliances
- Chic Simple: Co-founder & SVP Marketing & New Business (women's merchandising & e-commerce)
- Internet pioneer since 1994
Christine Elia, Founder and CEO
- Senior Editor, fashion and beauty, at My Generation and mygeneration.com
- Consultant, launch of iVillage in the UK
- Managing Editor, launched Animal Fair and Animalfair.com magazine
- Time at ABC Entertainment, UPN Network and MFA from USC Cinema-TV
Elizabeth A. Osder, Strategy, Business and Market Development (Consulting)
- Founder, The Osder Group, Professional Services
- SVP Audience (Product, Editorial and Marketing), Buzz-Media
- Senior Director Yahoo Media Group
- Vice President, Media and Entertainment, Razorfish
- Director, The New York Times
Alyson Wilson, Product and Program Management
- ThisNext.com, Director, Media, Product Manager & Director, Community (a pioneer in social shopping)
- Launched two award-winning national magazines, Elevation and Women's Adventure
Sheldon Chang, CTO
- CRM Program Manager at Neoforma Inc.
- Founded Silicon Valley community networking site SocialWave.net
Aihui Ong, Tech Strategist
- More than 10 years of product development and consulting; specializing in Web 2.0 sites
- Web implementations for Fortune 500 companies like General Motors, 20th Century Fox and PeopleSoft.
Closet Couture Art & Style Direction
Ashley Roberts, Art Direction
- Art direction of Closet Couture's visual design
- Style and trend content for Closet Couture programming
Anne Ziegler, Style Director
- Retail and trend clients including The Limited and ESP Trend
- Trend consulting for media outlets such as Vogue, Vogue UK and Elle
Kate Schelter, Founding Creative Director
- Kate Schelter designed Closet Couture's original logo, style and site
