Kirby's Closet | Personal Branding Shoot for New Key West Boutique
A New Way to Shop
When I heard that Kirby Myers, a local writer, radio host, and marketer was opening up a new boutique, I was instantly curious to see what it was all about. Positioned as a place for “pre-loved” styles, the store pre-pays for gently used clothing (and by gently-used, everything in the store looks basically like it’s brand new!), and then resells them to women looking for not only a new outfit, but also an enjoyable afternoon experience.
The Challenge
Any new business owner will tell you that one of the most important things when you’re opening up is getting the word out there. For Kirby, part of the strategy of getting eyeballs on her brand, and feet into her store, was the fact that the boutique is located in a space that is traversed by visiting cruise ship passengers in Key West, and other downtown tourists. However, when COVID-19 hit shortly after signing her lease, she realized that it would be a while before that audience would be strolling through her front doors again.
Instead, she turned to social media, creating a Facebook Page and Instagram to show off her latest new finds, and hyping up the store’s pending opening. It was then that we started discussing her photo shoot and what she would need images for. Specifically, content that she could use on her social media channels, website, and online promotional outlets, to show off not just what the store looked like, but what it was like to shop there. Because part of the appeal of such a boutique is the one-on-one attention you get from Kirby and her team when you arrive, the shoot had to be as much about the interaction and “day in the life” as it had to be about the products.
The Experience
We split the day up into three main segments, to focus on (1) the experience of being a customer, (2) the owner of the shop and personality behind the brand, and (3) the looks, styles, and accessories available. For the initial Experience portion, we enlisted some of Kirby’s loyal first customers to be featured in the shoot. We created a few scenes in which her clients could legitimately look through the racks, try things on, show it off to their friends, and interact with Kirby directly.
Scene setter images served to provide Kirby’s audience with a “lay of the land”, so to speak. Studies show that customers are more comfortable shopping somewhere they have never been, if they can see it ahead of time. Especially with the effort it takes to get out and about during COVID, no one wants to go through all the effort of leaving the house, only to arrive to a new store and be disappointed, so instead of taking the chance, they often just don’t go. I know I am guilty of this myself! By capturing the space and the layout, we enabled the business to show off it’s classy displays, organized styling areas, and spacious layout that is warm and inviting.
Capturing merchandise was also part of the shoot plan, and along with my assistant and prop stylist, Frankie Flemming, we put together some fun combinations of items that played well off each other by color and texture. It was also important that we feature the line of custom Kimonos, a beautiful addition to the store and a product that is super versatile. Kirby styled some of her clients in everything from swimsuits to casual attire to a wrap for a little black dress. We photographed these both indoors and out, to take in the lush colorful and tropical island vibe that Key West is known for.
The Store
Because Kirby’s brand is all about adding smart and simple fashion sense in a very user-friendly and non-intimidating way, one big goal was to make it clear that the merchandise is sorted into color categories. Rather than sifting through disorganized racks of mismatched clothes and being forced to try to assemble a look out of bits and pieces, we wanted to showcase the idea that you could literally come in with a specific color palette in mind (black and white, for example), look around the store, find exactly what you were looking for, and know that it is going to go perfectly with whatever else it is you’re trying to match.
Another feature we made sure to highlight was the fruit-infused water station. Again, it’s all about the experience. The last thing you want on a hot Key West summer day is to be trying to shop while your mouth is parched. But it was not enough just to stock a mini fridge with some plastic-bottled water. Oh no! Keeping with the theme of the boutique being a place with a personal touch, Kirby added this refreshment station, and it’s where she goes to serve her clients a crisp glass of naturally-flavored water….in real glass, mind you!
Doin’ it for the 'Gram
Another great feature of the store is a colorful pink and gold Instagram wall, which customers are encouraged to use to take their selfies before posting to social media. This became a highlight as Kirby styled some of her clients in the store and I worked with them to create fun and stylish images to show off not only the wardrobe, but the ways in which the wall could be used to create engaging posts for additional social media reach.
The day continued with more looks, working with the models/customers in a variety of settings, from the classic scene of showing off a new frock to your anxiously awaiting girlfriends outside the dressing room, to a stylish professional popping in on her lunch break to see what new items had come in since last week, to showing off the quirky finds the boutique sometimes gets in - like a clutch with silver skull encrusted knuckle clasps - to the creative ways outfits could be put together to turn a regular dress into a designer piece ready for the runway.
The Results
In the end, we captured over 30 total looks/scenes throughout the day, and the final culled gallery had over 200 images in it, consisting of multiple variations of each look that the client could then go through and pick out her favorite pose or expression from each one. With those roughly 80 pieces of content, the boutique can fuel it’s social media engines for well over 6 months (even longer if they are repurposed later for evergreen content), can create blog posts on a minimum of 20 different topics, send out email newsletters with fresh new images each week, provide images for her website, design style guides and brochures for clients to take with them when they leave the store, and so much more.
Because so much of marketing and self-promotion comes down to simply having the content with which to do it, Kirby’s Closet is now set with a foundation of photos to keep her brand new business moving forward!
For more info, follow Kirby’s Closet on Instagram at @kirbysclosetkw and Facebook at @kirbysclosetkw. Then be sure to stop in at 218 Whitehead Street in Key West, Florida!
Karrie Porter Bond is a Branding Photographer and Content Creator based in Key West, Florida. Since 2001, she has brought her experience in business, design, and promotion to her clients with the vibrant style, sage perspective, and energetic personality she’s known for. Get more info HERE