Do you know the story behind Lorna Jane ?

A few months ago, through my friend GiGi , I was invited to go to my local Lorna Jane Store in Westlake Village for a private styling. First off, to be invited into the store was such an honor. I have adored Lorna Jane activewear ever since I first heard about it a few years ago. When they opened a store near my home, I was snapping Instagram pictures in excitement.

I’ve heard Lorna Jane compared to another high end major retailer, so to be honest, I was very intimidated to walk into the store. When I walk into most high end retailers, I get the cold shoulder, one time recently, one of the sales clerks reached over me, and pulled something out of my hand to sell to his customer. “I was going to buy that,” I said, he looked at me and shrugged his shoulders. I felt awful, he made no apologies for his rude behavior, and I vowed never to step foot in that store or buy anything from them again.

I’m not hear to bash other stores or even compare others to Lorna Jane, I just want you to get the idea of how vastly different Lorna Jane is from most retailers. I walked in, my heart literally racing from nerves, and I was greeted by the manager with the warmest, welcoming smile a girl could ask for. I was instantly put at ease. She walked me around the store, showed me the different lines, asked me about my blog, fitness and lifestyle. She was sincere, outgoing, excited about her job and happy to serve me.

I was given a private styling, so she was not making commission, had no reason to be kind to me, and yet, here she was taking time out of her busy schedule telling me the story of how Lorna Jane came to be ( Read more about Lorna HERE) . The girls who worked there were passionate about there jobs and the company they worked for. I was hooked. I have said this so many times, but life is about the way we feel. If I feel like I’m being disrespected when I walk in a store, I am very likely to never return. Lorna Jane was the exact opposite of this. These women made me feel like a VIP, and I saw them treat the customers who entered the store the exact same way.

When they selected clothes for me, they listened, gave suggestions and created outfits they knew I would love. I was given a copy of Lorna’s book Move, Nourish, Believe and excitedly rushed home to read about how she started this company. I was not disappointed. Lorna was an average everyday person, who started sewing workout clothes in her apartment and literally built her business into a worldwide operation.

I also love the fact that they have something called SWAP SHOP. If you bring in 3 pieces of pre-owned active wear that you want to part with… ANY Brand– they will give you $15.00 credit toward a new LJ purchase. They are all about keeping your closets clutter free. LJ is truly about living your best life.

Lorna describes herself as an “eternal optimist” even though she had several set backs that could have caused her to quit or become bitter. I don’t know about you, but buying clothes and supporting a women who built her business from the ground up, sounds a lot better than buying something from some corporate, money hungry person who couldn’t care less about fitness and well being. I like to be an educated shopper. Learning about Lorna Jane was so inspiring me to me.

I walked out of the store wanting to work there. By the way Lorna, I’m available for hire! haha! I just want to take a moment to thank the good people of LJ who put this styling session together for me. I learned so much about the company, the clothing, and met three amazing women in the process. Like Lorna, I’ve had my share of setbacks, so knowing that there are other very successful women out there who have overcome adversity is extraordinarily motivating. They have won this girls heart over… and by the way, the outfits I received are beautiful and the highest quality.. I couldn’t be happier.

Some of my favorite things:

LJ Fit Challenge
January Look Book
MNB 2015 Diary