How I got to model for my favorite brand, Girlfriend Collective

Thanks to everyone who’s been sending me screenshots of the Girlfriend Collective website, with MY FACE on it! I truly appreciate the love!

For those of you who don’t know, I was lucky enough to hang out with the team that makes my favorite leggings ever, along with some fellow Girlfriend fans at Girlfriend’s first Hike & Hang. Here’s how it all happened.

A few months ago, Girlfriend posted an open call for fans in the Pacific Northwest area to come hike with the team and participate in a photoshoot for their extended sizing range. I e-mailed them and heard back the next week that they’d like me to come hang out! (Later I learned that there were hundreds of e-mails, even from people located in far-flung places like Florida.)

On a rare sunny Seattle day in October, we carpooled from Girlfriend’s Seattle office to Salish Lodge, a beautiful resort overlooking the majestic Snoqualmie Falls. There, we had a very fancy brunch (I was expecting muffins and orange juice, but got a green omelet with shiitake mushrooms) and got to know each other.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I was honestly really nervous. I’m an introvert and tend to freak myself out into silence in group situations, but the team was so nice and the other women were so incredibly interesting and friendly that I felt comfortable just being myself. 

Among the group, there were a mother and daughter duo doing this together (so cute!), women of color, and women of many different body types. I was really happy to see that Girlfriend selected a diverse group of women to represent their brand, and it showed me that they care more about being inclusive than presenting a certain image of who should wear their clothing.

We hiked Denny Creek, a gorgeous moderate hike in the Snoqualmie area, and stopped at the natural waterslide for the photoshoot. I was especially nervous about this part, since I have never modeled in a real photoshoot before and honestly feel extremely uncomfortable when anyone but my very patient boyfriend takes my photos. Thankfully, the photographer was friendly, encouraging, and made us feel at ease.

Some fun facts I learned about Girlfriend at their Hike & Hang:

• The team is super lean, at only 6 members! That means there’s only one person fielding all customer support, one person handling their (amazing) marketing and social media presence, one person handling their logistics and operations, and so on.
• The co-founders, Ellie and Quang, are married and have a real life baby and two cats in addition to their Girlfriend Collective brand baby…#relationshipgoals af.
• Their most popular color, besides the neutrals like Black and Smoke, is Plum (which, of course, is currently sold out).
• Because they’re a slow fashion company with a very small and agile team, they’re able to respond directly to what consumers want. For example, a customer said they didn’t have her size, so they expanded their sizing range and even worked with her to make sure the styles fit her correctly. If you really want a certain color or style to come back, or have sizing requests, make sure to let them know. You never know what could happen!

The Girlfriend team hopes to do more Hike & Hangs in the future, in different regions of the country (hang tight, Florida sister).

In the meantime, you can check out their insta-famous sports bras and leggings (they’re restocked in many of the colors we’re wearing in the photos)!

In these photos, I’m wearing the color Rose Quartz, along with my Patagonia fleece and Ahnu hiking boots.

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