LuLaLa!

Stick around any “mom” group on Facebook, and you’re likely to be inundated by requests to purchase all sorts of random items through some multi-level marketing platform. Pills, teas, skin care products, makeup, scented candles, personalized bags, jewelry, seaweed contraptions to wrap around your belly to lose weight — all are supposed to be LIFE CHANGING! for both buyer and seller.

Ok, so I exaggerate. A little. Work-at-home moms, military wives and enterprising moms of all stripes look for creative ways to make extra money to support their families and find these options to truly be life changing. And the savvy sellers, regardless of their background, know how to make it work for them, like one of my favorite consultants, Tuneka, whom I’ll get back to in a minute.

A few months ago, I got another online party invite through Facebook. I was tempted to press delete instantly, but the pictures of happy women in cute clothes skipping through meadows intrigued me. I clicked on the link and discovered a world of comfortable dresses, skirts and printed leggings in a dizzying array of colors, shapes, sizes and styles.

This was my introduction into the world of LuLaRoe, and little did I know, many of my colleagues had already been hooked.

Most know or learn of LuLaRoe through its “butter soft” leggings, and enjoy collecting said leggings in multiple prints. I like the leggings. I have about six pairs now. But I might be different from most LuLa addicts in the fact that the leggings might be my least desired item in the collection. Nothing against them – I’m just more into the dresses and skirts.

Here’s a quick introduction to how it works. LuLaRoe consultants sell the items through Facebook or in-person parties, often called pop-ups because of their limited time window. Potential buyers attend a party and scroll through the consultant’s Facebook photo albums looking for the items they want. When they find pieces they like, they type “sold” under the items, receive an invoice, pay and get their items in the mail from the consultant a few days later. (I’ve never had a bad consultant who’s been late with shipping!)

In-person parties exist as well, but social media makes it possible for a consultant in say, California, to sell an item to me in Dayton, Ohio.

Ok, sounds cool, right? But why would I want to buy from a consultant in California? (Hey, that’s where Tuneka lives!) And why are these clothes so in demand, enough for 30,000+ consultants to sign up and make enough money to keep their businesses going?

The skinny: Only 2,000 items are made per print pattern (solids are more plentiful) and items are distributed randomly to consultants throughout the country, meaning that you have to follow multiple consultants and attend numerous online parties to find the piece you want in the print you want in your size. It makes shopping like a treasure hunt, with many of us in constant pursuit of our “unicorn” items (like my awesome-sauce skirt with 1980s-style cassette tapes).  I’ve found a few amazing consultants this way, but even they don’t always have exactly what I want.

The clothes are also very comfortable and flattering for women of all sizes, ranging from XXS to 3XL. Lots of moms swear by them, as they have forgiving waistlines for our post-baby bellies and are loose enough (even while being form-fitting, in the case of some styles) to provide a comfortable fit that plays up our assets – whatever we think those might be! I have a little junk in the trunk, as the saying goes, and the Cassie pencil skirt makes me look downright hot sometimes, RAWR!

They’re also great during pregnancy too. If I had known about LuLaRoe last year, I might have skipped buying a closet full of maternity clothes I can no longer wear and just invested in LLR instead.

Since going to my first pop-up party in April while never leaving my home, I’ve joined random women’s VIP groups in Utah, California, Illinois, Alabama, Maryland and other states just to find a Cassie pencil skirt in hot pink with white dots (found it!) or a short circular white Azure skirt with black hearts (never did!).

Each clothing style has a name, and the more you learn about LuLaRoe, the easier it becomes to speak the lingo. Dresses include the Amelia, Julia, Nicole and Carly (all named for relatives of the company’s founder), and skirts are called Cassie, Maxi, Madison and Azure, among others.

So back to Tuneka. We “met” in another mom group and she told me she was a LuLaRoe consultant. I was already a believer, but Tuneka offered to send me a few items I hadn’t tried before to help her share the love with many of her customers. She sent a Madison skirt and a Carly dress (a new style). Here are my reviews.

I work outside the home, so I wore the Madison to my job as a communications director at a local university. I paired the skirt, which falls slightly below the knees and has a more structured waistline, with a button-down white shirt. Here are the results… don’t I look professional and stylish?

The Carly, one of the newest styles, is a fun circular “swing” dress. These run large, and Tuneka sent me a medium at my request. It was a bit too big in a medium, but I styled it with a belt and a jacket, as you can see below. If I order another, I might go down a size or two, but boy do I wish I’d had this dress when I was pregnant last year! Carlys run big, so size down when you buy!

And here’s a picture of my favorite style, the Julia, which I wear to business meetings frequently. For a T-shirt dress, it’s amazing how well it works in formal, professional settings while being comfortable enough to wear casually as well.

Want to buy something, well, right now? Or at least in the next few days? Check out Tuneka’s VIP group, and she’ll get you in on all of her great sales. You can search Facebook or just Google to find other consultants, or ask around in some of your other social media groups to see who might be selling LLR. They’ll be happy to add you to their groups, and between all of them, you’ll find your unicorns.

Happy shopping!