Markover - stylist Afiya Francisco, make-up/appearance specialist Janine Falcon and hair stylist Greg May, photography Rannie Turingan
Mark’s aka Mark’s Work Warehouse has decided to change focus and is now trying to get people to think of them differently. They’ve changed their name to Mark’s to rid themselves of the work warehouse moniker. With this they’ve changed some of the offerings in the store to appeal to a larger audience but still serve that core business of workwear.
To get the word out about this change they invited members of the media to:
Come experience the latest in style and innovation from Mark’s Work Wearhouse. We’re pleased to invite you to an interactive style event, featuring the Spring/Summer 2010 clothing line from Mark’s Work Wearhouse.
They called this a Marksover and we used it as a hashtag for twitter conversations. This would include a talk with Marks representatives about the new innovations they have added, a stylist to help you select a perfect Marks outfit, hairstylist to work your do and a makeup artist to round out the whole package. I was told it was an exercise to see the reactions from different media groups to the clothing. I represented some of the fashion group.
Markover - stylist Afiya Francisco, make-up/appearance specialist Janine Falcon and hair stylist Greg May, photography Rannie Turingan
We invite you to try on pieces from Mark’s Spring/Summer 2010 collection, engage with both our Mark’s team and local style experts (stylist Afiya Francisco, make-up/appearance specialist Janine Falcon and hair stylist Greg May) and document your style experience with a personalized photo shoot. And as an added bonus, all attendees will be given a gift voucher to spend at a local Mark’s retail location so they can bring the Mark’s innovation story home with them post-event.
Mark’s core audience is still your typical middle class white couple with kids and busy schedules. They are looking for ease of use, simplicity and comfort. Obviously, I’m not their demographic and I was very skeptical that Marks has changed enough to impress this fashion lover. Curiosity was burning me up so I accepted. The High Road team created this huge production with the stylist, hair and makeup. I had to see it for myself.
First we learned about the new innovations at Marks which included moisture wicking materials, built-in bras, shapewear inserts, colour fading resistant materials and shoes with better support for comfort. There are more which you can read on the website. A lot of problems the Mark’s staff mentioned as being issues to their customer aren’t mine. One innovation is called curvetech which is basically bras and shapewear features added to tank tops and dresses. I never worry about breasts support. I’ve got model tits. I can go without a bra. Even if I wanted to us this product I couldn’t, the small would never fit me. There were shirts that were wrinkle proof; I like ironing. These weren’t my issues but they were bang on for their target market.
Next, I met with Afiya who had some items for me to try on, mostly sporty things. A lot of things were hit and miss. Mark’s had jean leggings which looked promising until I tried them on. They weren’t true to leggings didn’t fit like the second skin I expected. Perhaps if they had a smaller size but I was at the limit. I expected this to be honest, most places like Mark’s or Reitmans don’t make sizes I can fit into. I finally found some denim shorts that I like and would wear. This was paired with a grey colour fast safe tank top. The tanks and tshirts from Mark’s are very comfortable. Sizing was an issue for trying on some button up tops that looked good. The last three pieces were a red belt, a black cardigan with a very fashion cut (friends couldn’t believe it was Mark’s when I told them) and a vibrant blue spring jacket. As for shoes I got these little red runners that look like P.F. Flyers. The shoes use something called Quadcomfort (A Mark’s innovation) which provides cushioning, support and comfort. We were given the complete outfits in addition to the gift certificate. I’ve worn everything given to me outside of the event except the running shoes and shorts so far. They are some nice pieces. I think the blue coat is my favourite of the bunch.
Markover - stylist Afiya Francisco, make-up/appearance specialist Janine Falcon and hair stylist Greg May, photography Rannie Turingan
After styling I got a slight trim by Greg May. I was now able to see that “I got my hair did by Greg May.” If I was a white girl he would be my hair stylist for sure. Janine Falcon, a fellow Worthy 30, did my makeup and it was awesome. I have to book an appointment to learn what she did and how to apply it to myself. I suck at using pencils, brushes and the like. I grabbed some accessories for the photo shoot with Rannie aka Photojunkie.
Monday night I finally used the giftcard. As I expected I had a hard time finding things in small. Mark’s why do you make it so hard. I ended up leaving with two scarves, two watches and a really cute and colourful water-repellent packable anorak. No real clothing at all. Does Mark’s have a new customer in me? Not really, but I have some pieces that will get a lot of wear. I might go back for another anorak in an obnoxious colour, they are just so cute.