Another wild ride around the sun for Tradlands and we are, once again, incredibly grateful for your support for every single day of the last 365.
From top to bottom, this year has been great in so many ways. Full of great challenges, growth in all directions, and tons and tons of incredible memories that we are so thrilled to share with you. As you enter this new year ahead, please know that your support for our business and our small team, did not go unnoticed, and wish you the best year yet for you in 2022.
We spent most of 2021 perfecting and extending our styles into plus sizing. We worked with experts from Alice Alexander and have grown our small production team with professionals to work tirelessly until we get it right.
Sure, there were some setbacks too. We had intentions to create a plus-size coverall but with each round of reworking and sampling, it just wasn't good enough for our plus-size audience just yet. When we present something new, we want you to truly love it and time and hard work will work in our favor as we continue to perfect and add more sizes to every single style on our website. We just want to say thanks for your feedback and reviews on all of our new plus-size pieces so we can keep working to make clothes you'll love and that will love you back.
After a year of separation, getting back in touch, in person, was a breath of fresh air. We planned and had our first-ever Influencer Meet-Up in San Diego and had the time of our lives. Sunshine, online friends meeting in real life, pictures, memories, and more made for a truly magical experience.
Our Worn Well Collective members have grown more and more each year and this is a community we are so thrilled to, not only work with but now to meet in person. Stay tuned because we have more plans for the next meet-up in 2022 - and who knows! It could be coming to a city near you!
With the new styles we produce each year, it's always a mystery on which style will take off and capture audiences. For this year, it seemed to be the Shelter Cardigan. Our best-selling sweater has expanded in sizes and growth in colorways but the essence of the style is something literally thousands of customers have fallen in love with.
Luckily for us, it caught the attention of our friends at Refinery29 as well. Each member of their team tried this coveted knit and all fell in love the same way you and I have. Being embraced by such a well-made sweater is a feeling you don't easily forget. Don't take our word for it; check out all of the great things the Refinery29 team had to say about our Shelter Cardigan!
Not only that, but the team at Fast Company also featured us in their round-up of 12 ethical and eco-friendly brands to shop at in support of slow fashion. We're honored to be on the same listicle with brands like MATE the Label, Kotn, Christy Dawn, and more.
Dancer Lizzy Howell made waves this year in combatting fatphobia, becoming a stellar role model, and discussing openly the good and bad of being famous. One viral video of the sensation dancing took the media by storm and skyrocketed her into the spotlight.
In her feature, she was kind enough to reach out and compliment the style of our best-selling Nico Dress. The classic black color and billowing silhouette acted as the perfect dance partner for Lizzy and we were honored to have our dress on such a style icon for the feature.
This year we also grew our team. Adding new names and faces from all over the globe to assist in our ever-growing business that you have continued to support. Though we still remain a small team at just under ten members, we are growing each year with the demand of more and more supportive and stylish customers coming through our virtual doors to shop timeless, effortless styles. Though these teammates may be behind the scenes, rest assured knowing that every single member of our squad is focused on you - making your shopping, styling, and wearing experience the best it can be.
Yet another amazing highlight from this year was launching our Worn Well Exchange - a buy/sell platform that allows Tradlands customers to buy or sell their gently worn pieces to other Tradlands fans.
It allows us to continue getting wears out of timeless classics and doing what we can to make sure our clothes don't end up collecting dust in closets or end up as waste in a landfill when there are plenty of other customers who would love to get their hands on gently worn classics and well-made styles.
Finally, we are so proud to have added some all-new styles to this years' collections featuring many styles you loved! From our Glenn Shorts and Paloma Pants to the Chalet Dress and Nico Top - these new styles challenged and inspired us and with your help, have become a staple piece in thousands of customers' wardrobes. Peek at all of our best-sellers from this year and snag that piece you've been eyeing for the new year.
Whenever the holidays take you, go in style and we hope you begin the new year with renewed passion and joy.
Have a safe and happy holiday everyone and don't forget to celebrate your own personal wins from this year too! Comment your biggest accomplishments below!
