Meet Megan Reilley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Reilley.

Megan, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
A stylist and fashion fanatic at heart, I’m originally from BC, Canada – but grew up just outside of Denver, Colorado. The concept for a tall clothing line was hatched in the summer of 2018 after I (6’1″ and a size 12) had a particularly horrible meltdown in a dressing room while searching for clothing that actually FIT my limbs without looking absolutely ridiculous.

I’ve lived, studied and worked in more than seven countries in the last eight years. While researching for my Masters Thesis in Human Rights in Southeast Asia & Nepal, something in me shifted. The current fast fashion industry had left its mark on the world – and it’s not pretty.

The inspiration to create something meaningful and life-changing for myself and others like me – while also upholding a high standard of fashion ethics – drove me to create a new sphere for tall females to connect and express themselves through sustainable, ethical fashion.

Megan Reilley is nearing it’s one year mark, and we’re just getting started. As we continue to grow and gain exposure, we can’t wait to continue to develop our clothing – the possibilities are endless for the tall women niche!

Has it been a smooth road?
Since my background is in Political Science and Human Rights, I’ve had to learn everything about fashion, design, product development, manufacturers, finances & social media from the ground up! I’ve been lucky enough to gain experience in effective problem solving from previous jobs in a tech startup, food & beverage, hospitality, admin, and volunteering, and I love a challenge – so while it’s been a steep learning curve, it’s been really enjoyable thus far.

Right now, my biggest challenge is exposure! Since this company is incredibly niche (we target tall women who also care about ethically-made clothing), getting in front of the right audience is our current focus. Since I am bootstrapping this company and everything is coming out of my pocket, I need to be really careful about spending – what’s worth the cost and what isn’t? It’s been an incredible learning process! I have an awesome business coach and some great contacts that have provided invaluable advice to me along the way.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Women have spent years petitioning the fashion industry to recognize the diversity of their differently-sized and shaped bodies, which has driven designers to develop more options for plus size and petite women. While this progress is an exciting evolution for the industry, tall women have been left out of this conversation almost entirely. 1% of the global population of women are over 5’9, and they’re only getting taller! Where is the clothing for tall women?

Megan Reilley is raising the expectations tall women have for their clothing through our collection of North American-made, high-quality, classic minimalist garments for women heights 5’9” to 6’8″. Through this collection, we hope to start a conversation about the struggles tall women face and push the industry forward both in embracing the diversity of women’s bodies and in the ethical production of clothing.

We launched our capsule collection one month ago and have a limited quantity of our collection available for purchase by tall women worldwide. We are planning for popups around the US in 2020 to bring our collections to tall women in different states and to continue to encourage the discussion around being tall and being proud about it.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love how friendly and relaxed Denver is. It’s a great place to network and meet like-minded entrepreneurs who are going through the same types of struggles. Denver is more tech startup centric than fashion-centric, however, so I find myself struggling to find people with relevant experience in the fashion industry (I find myself flying to LA and New York more often because of this!)

Pricing:

• Our clothing is moderately-priced, with pieces ranging from $75 – $185.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.meganreilley.com
• Email: hello@meganreilley.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meganreilley
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meganreillley
• Other: https://vimeo.com/user97571522/meganreilley

Image Credit:
John S. Miller

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