Getting Personal About Style

What to wear? It’s an age-old question you have to answer often over a lifetime, whether for work, social gatherings or special events. And everyone knows the feelings that can ensue if you aren’t sure of the answer—doubt, panic, frustration, for starters.

Stephanie Sprangers wants to eliminate that experience and replace it with the confidence of an A-list celebrity or Fortune 500 CEO styled from head to toe.

“When Glamhive started [in 2017], we were an app for people to look at photos of fashion influencers and buy what they were wearing,” she explains. “But I realized that was not enough.”

So the Seattleite tapped into her industry contacts and curated a long roster of professional stylists varying in experience, location and specialty, including some who work with Kristen Stewart, Taylor Swift, Angelina Jolie and many other well-known style icons.

“A lot of people proactively want style advice or personal shopping but assume they can’t work with certain people because they aren’t in LA or New York. I wanted to build a virtual platform that makes it easy to connect with stylists and fashion influencers,” Sprangers says.

With dozens of services that range from a quick style consult (starting at $25) to a complete personal makeover from a celebrity stylist ($1,350), there are options for everyone and every occasion available through a simple video chat.

“The goal is to free up space in your mind so you can worry about more important things,” Sprangers says. “I’m in my 40s and super busy running my own company; there are a lot of women and men in the same position. They don’t want to spend their time worrying about what to wear.”

With Glamhive thriving, Sprangers is now focused on bringing peace of mind to even more people. She recently held the first Style Conference in Los Angeles and has plans for a New York event in April 2020. “It’s a one-day conference for stylists and style enthusiasts. We have a great lineup of speakers, and I’m really looking forward to creating a way for people to come together,” Sprangers says. She also has her eyes set on growing Glamhive internationally, with availability ranging from Canada to Kuwait.

About the Founder

Reflections magazine: Have you always loved fashion?
Stephanie Sprangers: Yes, it’s definitely how I’ve shared my personality with the world over the years. On top of that, I feel like I’ve always been drawn to people who have incredible style. I’ve always had women who dressed well around me, and they helped me evolve my own style.

RM: Why is personal style important to you?
SS: Dressing better leads to doing better. When you’re dressed in something great, you’re in a different mindset to go after your goals, and it gives you confidence. I’ve found that great personal style attracts people to you, and from there, great things can happen. And that should be available to anyone at any price point. I’m actually agnostic about where to shop—Goodwill, consignment, Nordstrom—it’s more about how to dress to reveal your personality. That motivates me.

RM: How do you describe your own personal style?SS: I’d say my own style is sophisticated with an edge. More importantly, I have a small closet, and I like to wear the same thing all the time. I adhere to the idea of a capsule wardrobe, with a select number of things that all work together. I have statement pieces and classic investment pieces I can throw on and not think about it. I never stand in front of my closet and think about what to wear; I never go to events and worry about what I’m going to wear.

RM: What are the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to their style?
SS: All our stylists say people aren’t wearing the right size. They are wearing clothes that are too big. When you look at someone like Jen Aniston, you can bet that down to her tank top her clothes have been tailored. Stylists obsess about fit. Get clothes wherever, but tailor them to your exact body shape.

RM: What’s the biggest lesson you learned when founding Glamhive?
SS: Any start-up founder learns a profound number of lessons. For me, it goes back to the idea that most creative people simply have good taste. But when you create something of your own, it’s shocking how bad it is at first, how long it takes to get good. It’s surprising how long it takes to build a beautiful brand and voice, like SoulCycle or Glossier, both of which I admire. Now I’m very proud of Glamhive, and it’s brought a lot of ease and beauty to clients’ lives, but it took a long time to get there.

RM: Why did you choose Seattle for your headquarters?
SS: I’m from here. I went to WSU in Pullman, and my family is here. It’s pretty simple actually: I just wanted to be here.

For more information, please visit glamhive.com.