The fashionable minds behind Irish style blog What Will I Wear Today? have just launched their own start-up: Prowlster, an online fashion magazine with a ‘Buy it now’ button.
Prowlster is the brainchild of the three McGinn sisters, already known in the online fashion world for their successful fashion and lifestyle blog, What Will I Wear Today?, which has been running for four years.
The blog will be temporarily on hold for the next few weeks, though, as the sisters embark on their new project to merge social shopping with editorial content online. Prowlster presents users with familiar fashion magazine content (with a particular Irish focus) but instead of just showing them clothes and accessories, it also gives them the opportunity to buy the items on the page right there and then.
Working with the NDRC LaunchPad programme, the sisters decided to launch Prowlster in beta as a minimum viable product with a fully functioning magazine and shop. The site will be up and running for four weeks in the lead-up to the biggest shopping season of the year (yes, that one).
Taking inspiration from the fashion retail’s ‘pop-up store’ concept, it is hoped that the temporary opening of Prowlster will prove that social media, user-generated content, editorial and peer-to-peer content can stimulate sales in e-commerce.
“We want to try to make as many sales as possible over the test period; not just to prove the concept but because we’re working with some great, emerging Irish fashion designers and illustrators. We really want to showcase their wares,” said Jennie McGinn.
Prowlster is currently working with 11 Irish retailers and one international retailer, as well as a team of writers, stylists, photographers and models producing interviews, style guides, trend reports, reviews and previews.
