National Women’s Small Business Month: 31 Outfits and a Lot of Lessons Learned

I’ve been championing women-owned brands for years through my work at Berlin Cameron. I’ve hosted events that celebrate women-led companies and written articles about how women should help other women.

But because October was National Women’s Small Business month, I decided to put my money where my mouth is: I’d overhaul my wardrobe and arsenal of beauty/personal care products to only wear and use women-founded brands through the entire month, then document all of it on social media. I wanted to understand the pain points for women-run businesses.

Sounds pretty straightforward, right? Well, it wasn’t. Even though I’ve been supporting women-owned brands for years, when I took a hard look at my closet, I was a little dismayed that only maybe 10 to 15 percent of it was stocked with said brands. And restocking everything would be expensive, as many women-founded brands sell at a higher price point.

So after an entire month of shopping and snapping pics, what did I learn? I thought I’d recount some of my findings for you today, to celebrate Women-Led Wednesday: