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Megan Tamte, the co-founder of Evereve, entered the fashion space at a pivotal moment in her life. "I was a mom, a young mom, in transition in my life," Tamte said. "My life was changing, things were evolving, and I was feeling like my fashion and my style was being left behind." Tamte decided to go shopping in the hopes of finding new clothes that reflected where she was in her life at that moment.
"I went shopping at a department store, looking for fashion that would help me feel unstuck, that would move me forward, and ended up in a dressing room crying," Tamte said. On the way home from that experience, Tamte began thinking about how she could change the way women shop. "It was really on that drive home that I began to reimagine what that experience could be."
Article continues belowOn the latest episode of The Who What Wear Podcast, Tamte sits down with Hillary Kerr and Lauren Eggertsen to share why she started Evereve, why they built an entire campaign around a fashion survey, and more.
For excerpts from their conversation, scroll below.
Hillary Kerr: Megan, can you tell us a little bit about how you entered the fashion space you and what you wanted to build with Evereve?
Megan Tamte: Entering into the fashion space was a little bit unexpected. I was a mom, a young mom, in transition in my life. My life was changing, things were evolving, and I was feeling like my fashion and my style was being left behind.
I went shopping at a department store, looking for fashion that would help me feel unstuck, that would move me forward, and ended up in a dressing room crying. I literally sat in this dressing room for about 10 minutes and just cried my eyes out and just wondered, "Who am I now?" Once I pulled myself together and left the dressing room without anything in hand, I went back to my car and started the drive home.
It was really on that drive home that I began to reimagine what that experience could be. I knew I wanted modern, wearable, easy fashion that was versatile and also had a little bit of edge. I also wanted a community. I wanted women to help me on my journey and to come alongside me and to help me just really feel good and confident again. It was really on that drive home when Evereve was born.
HK: You and your team at Evereve recently have gone the extra mile and conducted a study to find out how real women feel about fashion. What was the inspiration behind doing this?
MT: We just wanted to hear from real women. We wanted to understand the state of fashion. I feel like so much has changed in the last couple years. We just wanted to take a moment and pause and reach out to women and understand how they're feeling about fashion.
We found out that a lot of women are feeling intimidated. A lot of women want help. We just love the idea of listening to women.
HK: I know that you built this entire campaign around a set of questions that real women have about fashion. Talk to me a little bit more about the inspiration behind it. What sort of questions you wanted to answer, what sort of inspiration you wanted to get?
MT: Seventy percent of women feel intimidated by fashion. Seventy percent of women admit that they want guidance and they want help. Most women view fashion as a form of self-care. Women love fashion. They view it as part of taking care of themselves, but they don't always know how to make it happen. That really set us up for this campaign that is callled Everwonder, answering the real questions that women have about fashion.
We have over 120 stores across the country, from the East Coast to the West Coast and all in between, and we are very close with our customers. I'm very close with our customers. I love getting in a dressing room and listening to their stories and understanding what they're up to and listening to their questions.
We get a lot of real, live data from our customers and so we are just so excited to answer the real questions that women have about fashion right now.
HK: Lauren, I'm curious about your point of view on this, as well. What are some of the questions that you get—whether it's from friends who are in the industry or people who are out of the industry?
LE: I do have a lot of friends that are in this industry that I've kind of grown up with and they're my peers now. I feel like the kinds of things we talk about are what's worth the investment right now versus just a trend? And what do you think of this designer? And it's maybe more industry focused, and I feel like those questions about advice really are more event-focused, if that makes sense.
So what to wear to a wedding? I'm going to this cocktail party. I have this thing. Should I wear this? Should I wear that? It's really outfit-focused.
I feel like my friends who don't work in the industry, a lot of what they struggle with is how to look current without [looking like] they're trying too hard. They don't want to feel left behind in the trajectory of where fashion is heading, but they also don't care that much.
HK: Number one tip for people who are standing in front of their closets getting ready and thinking that they have nothing to wear?
LE: I really would encourage you to try thinking about what it is you're going to whether it's the office and coffee date, at a cocktail party.
Find one thing—whether it's a top or a shoe or even a bag, a skirt, etc.—that you love and be like, "Okay, this is where I'm starting."
Then you're starting with the piece that you know you're going to feel good in versus trying to find some outfit to fit the thing you're going to that's not serving you.
MT: For me, I tend to think about how I want to feel that day. I also sometimes I start with my shoes, because I think about my day and what I have to do and how I want to feel. Sometimes, I like, again back to this comfort piece, I start with how I want to feel and then envision what kind of shoes I need to to wear to kind of get through the day. Then, I'll build my outfit around that.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.