The ball has dropped.  The confetti has been cleared.  Normcore and monocles are officially so last year.  It’s 2015 — the beginning of a whole new year in the wonderful world of fashion and Filthy Rebena.  What’s in store? Three hundred sixty-five days from now, we’ll have answers.  For now, we have gifted ourselves space and freedom to reflect on the past twelve months.  We are just gonna free-style blog here with Filthy’s highlighted reflections of 2014.

To be honest, it has been an exciting year in terms of growth.  We were able to grow the business as fast as we wanted.  In 2014 we began diversifying our garments which broadened our target audience.  We started dabbling in menswear and successfully opened the doors to a plus-size market.  Diversifying has proved to be an excellent growth strategy as it allowed us to generate income that fills seasonal voids – a big first for us that we are very proud of!

If you’re looking for plus-size inspiration check out these A+fricken-mazing style bloggers like Curvy Girl Chick.  Peggy Jean from OnTheQTrain!  It brings a smile to our filthy faces when we imagine Peggy Jean strutting her colorful clothes in a monochromatic world.  Know that the average American woman is 5’4″, has a waist size of 34-35 inches and weighs between 140-150 lbs, with a dress size of 12-14.  Live your life and love the body you’re in.  *Insert “All About That Bass” here*  It’s catchy enough to carry over into 2015, right?

Rebena was smittened with excitement in 2014.  We sold product to a celebrity, wrote a business plan, built a whole new space, created fresh marketing, became guest-writers and hired esteemed model Skyy Stratosphere to showcase our menswear.  But 2014 wasn’t all a cake-walk for Filthy.  We approached a handful of vintage giants to sell product on a consignment basis but were turned down every time.  Filthy will be re-visiting knocking on doors this year.  This time not to handfuls – but bucket loads.  We know all too well that nothing great ever comes that easy.

Goals?  Ringing in intentional efforts by dusting off the business plan and reviewing it weekly.  2014 was a great year because of the Business Plan.  It has given us a crystal clear direction on how to move forward.  It needs to be revisited and revised monthly as it is a living document.  It changes it’s song as Filthy develops.  It’s so cool and it would be a shame to miss out on a healthy business habit.  Filthy Rebena’s infamous “Vintage Movie Club” has sadly taken the back burner.  Although we do try to watch a vintage movie weekly, it’s a definite improvement area for our social media.

Our personal resolution is to focus on creativity.  Creativity is the best motivator.  It keeps us interested, it brings hope to ideas and gives the possibility of more achievements to look forward to in 2015.  Feel more than free to share your thoughts or your highlights.  Happy 2015 ya Filthy animals.