Wardrobe Wake-Up
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Wardrobe Wake-Up was a Brookline, Massachusetts subscription startup described as a 'Netflix for high-end fashion'. Customers filled out a style questionnaire, were matched with a stylist, and received one designer garment at a time - alternating shirts and dresses with retail prices up to $700 from brands like Alice + Olivia and DVF - to wear for as long as they liked, with no obligation to buy. The monthly subscription cost $25 to $44.
02 / Wardrobe Wake-Up FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
The self-funded startup ran out of runway at exactly the wrong moment: demand was growing but the founders could not secure outside funding at a time of critical growth, and lacked the resources to fulfill demand on their own. Without capital to scale inventory and operations, the company had to shut down less than a year after launch.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Operations ended
Wardrobe Wake-Up ended operations.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
On March 9, 2015, founder Aaron Fleishman emailed subscribers announcing that Wardrobe Wake-Up would shut down operations, less than a year after its May 2014 launch.
- 02
The reason given: the company was unable to secure outside funding at a time of critical growth and did not have the resources to fulfill demand on its own.
- 03
The self-funded startup - Fleishman and co-founder Barbra Dickerman - wound down the service and the founders moved on.