'What 2 Wear Where' website helps women dress for any event
-
Karen Klopp founder of What2WearWhere.com says women can waste a year of their lives figuring out what to wear. Her website helps women find options for social events. -
Karen Klopp_founded What2WearWhere.com. -
Karen Klopps website What2Wear.com includes suggestions for ski apparel. -
What2WearWhere.com suggests how to have style like Audrey Hepburgh in "Breakfast at Tiffany's." -
Festive party dresses on What2WearWhere.com.
Share with others:
When Karen Klopp moved to Manhattan 28 years ago, she had to learn how to navigate the demands of dressing the part of a banker's wife, a filmmaker, a mom, and philanthropist. The task seemed daunting and the native of the Philadelphia suburbs spent many years trying to keep up with the demands of living in a social city like New York.
"When I moved there I didn't know how to dress," she now says. "When you walk out the door, you are on stage. So the idea of the website was planted years ago."
Now that her three kids have left the nest, she is putting to use all those years of figuring out what to wear with her website, What2WearWhere.com. The website, launched in 2009, helps viewers navigate the most varied events or settings from ski excursions to a wedding in Mumbai. The website has partnered with e-tailers so viewers not only can buy an ensemble, but also contribute to a monthly charity because 25 percent of their purchase is donated.
"We wanted it to be significant," says Mrs. Klopp, "so we built it into the mainframe."
Some participating websites include Zappos, Tory Burch, Amazon, Kohl's, Gap, Michael Kors, Nicole Miller, as well as couture site Net-a-Porter.
While the site is dedicated to saving time and making style effortless, it is also about weaving in philanthropy as a part of looking and feeling glamorous. Contributing editors include young socialites and philanthropists like Kick Kennedy, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Nicole Hanley Mellon, married to a Mellon banking heir.
"It's very exciting working on the web because there is immediacy to it," she says. "I don't think it is hard to dress for anything and that's what our website does, answer questions." When she was researching the idea of the site, she found a study that said women can waste a year of their life figuring out what to wear.
Contributors consult on regular segments and also give personal advice to readers who have specific events and needs. For example, when a certain pregnant mom was going to a German/Jewish wedding in Philadelphia that was so formal the couple wasn't allowing children.
The first thing Mrs. Klopp did was get a recent picture of me to determine the best cut and color along with a budget. She reached out to the bride for details and came up with three different scenarios from e-tailors that offered free shipping and returns so I could order two different sizes, on her recommendation. I ended up with a golden dress that I have worn countless times since to various events. She convinced me to see metallic as the new fancy neutral.
First Published November 16, 2011 12:00 am
