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Welcome to the Optimist’s Outlook, Edition 06 — our quarterly communique with the inside scoop on how Optimism is coming to life in our design studio, across our communities, and through our efforts to give back.
The glory days of summer are upon us and we’re closing Q2 with fresh learnings and wins worth celebrating. Let’s look back!
CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE
There’s clearly a collective appetite for getting away, and we feel it! In early June we introduced our Choose Your Own Adventure Giveaway on Instagram, inspired by the beauty of endless possibility, as echoed in the design inspiration for our summer collection. We empowered a member of our community to dream big in planning their biggest, boldest vacation yet by giving away a $500 Airbnb gift card. It’s time to get into your favourite lightweight styles and choose your own adventure. Where will you go this summer?
PAVING THE WAY TO A MORE OPTIMISTIC WORLD
We’ve been busy building out our Amplifier Program and are gearing up for its much-anticipated launch, coming early July. As part of our mission to Amplify Optimism, we’ll be telling the stories of those paving the way to a more Optimistic world. So as we grow our community and introduce ourselves to new friends, we’re on the search for like-minded Optimists who share and embody our values. If you’re making waves of positive change in your community, we want to meet you!
BETTER THAN SUNNY SIDE UP EGGS
Given our community’s appetite for dad jokes, we celebrated April Fool’s Day this year by bringing to life limited-edition coffee mugs imprinted with some of our favourite jokes. They’re still available online but going fast, so pick yours up while they last. The best thing to accompany your morning coffee is a side of dad jokes, and what’s breakfast without some eye rolls, anyway? And if you have a favourite dad joke, spread the love and share it with us by emailing optimism@kitandace.com
LIVING AND LOVING IN FULL COLOUR
Love is love. In honour of Pride Month this June, we released another Spotify playlist — Amplify Pride — curated by our Queer community and featuring inspiring artists throughout the decades. We’re proud to celebrate everyone loving boldly and living into the most authentic versions of themselves. You may have also seen our Pride Month series on social of #ThingsOptimistsSay-inspired musings shared by Queer leaders and advocates. And if you’re close to a shop, stop by for some Pride themed #ThingsOptimistsSay stickers.
“If you can’t love yourself, how the hell are you gonna love somebody else?”
— RuPaul
#ThingsOptimistsSay
“WE'RE WORKING ON CREATING A BETTER SHOPPING EXPERIENCE ONLINE AT KITANDACE.COM”
OPENING OUR DOORS IN THE 6IX
In June we officially opened the doors of our newest shop on Queen Street and were delighted by the warm welcome from our Toronto community. With our video billboards lighting up Yonge-Dundas Square and pointing the way, we showed up in The 6ix with a splash. Shout outs go out to our friends at blogTO for helping spread the word by sharing their fave styles in a try-on clip on Instagram. Local fave Craig’s Cookies was also on site at the shop throughout the grand opening, serving up their fresh baked cookies. Between that ooey gooey goodness, plus blue gumballs, and limited-edition #ThingsOptimistsSay tote bags, our opening weekend was a success! Make sure to visit us at 333A Queen Street West if you’re in Ontario and join us as we begin a new chapter in a city of friends.
BIG THINGS UP AHEAD
Big things are coming for our biggest shop as well. We’re working on creating a better shopping experience online at kitandace.com, which will include smoother browsing and checkout. Keep your eyes peeled for these updates in the Fall. We can’t wait to see what you think of them.
“ THE IN-PERSON/IRL CONNECTIONS THAT WE’VE ALL BEEN CRAVING AT OUR SHOPS ARE BACK IN FULL SWING!”
RETAIL 360 °
With pandemic restrictions relaxing across the country, the IRL connections that we’ve all been craving at our shops are back in full swing! Our Gastown neighbourhood welcomed cruise ships back as tourism revives in this port city, and the teams at all of our shops were delighted to see international guests once again.
BEST DAMN PANTS
It’s no secret that we’re known for (and proud of) our pants, with the Navigator styles driving this category as best in their class. Our Spring campaign, Best Damn Pants, was an opportunity to celebrate this as we showcased both staple styles and new fabrics and cuts. Our shop teams across the country all noticed many oohs and aahs coming from the fitting rooms as guests unfamiliar with our pants fell in love with them. If you haven’t tried on a pair yet, check out the variety in shop or online — with more inclusive fits for styles both brand new and long loved.
And if you’re looking for styling tips, take a look at our recently launched Instagram Reels series for Best Damn Pants, highlighting key styles with tips and tricks from our shop Educators — the styling masters themselves — on how best to pair them and when to rock them.
IN THE DESIGN STUDIO
The journey continues with an ongoing focus on Elevated Essentials in our design studio. Classic cuts, staple styles, and beloved fabrics like Pima Cotton are back for summer, with newer fabrics like sustainably sourced and wood-based TENCEL™ also flying off the shelves. It looks like our guests are reaching for these soft and flowy styles as they await warmer shorts weather across Canada.
We’re delighted to see the return of dressing up as well, with sales of our elevated City Tech shirts on the upswing and selling out in some colours. Summer weddings and sunny days at the office also call for Navigator suiting that’s as big on comfort as it is on style — thanks to the signature stretchy, water-repellent, and moisture-wicking fabric.
With the hottest days of the year still up ahead, we’re gearing up with new lightweight styles of dresses and shorts, plus shirts in wrinkle-resistant poplin fabric made with temperature-regulating brrr° technology to keep you cool. Watch for new stripes and fun prints in these, plus an even bigger and better collection of shorts in an array of fits, fabrics, and styles. Also new styles in naturally wrinkle-releasing Stretch Micro Pique will be dropping soon and going fast, so make sure to stock up for carefree days of easy summer living. Cue the heat waves, we’re ready!
RELENTLESS OPTIMISM
We’re excited to see recent relief of some of the inbound supply chain challenges we started the year with. Our team remains braced for possible shipping disruptions, but with continued unfaltering Optimism, is working hard to deliver the styles you love in time for the sunniest days ahead.
As always, follow along on our social channels @kitandace and sign up for our email list for the inside scoop on everything we’re up to. If you have any feedback, questions, or dad jokes you’d like to share, please reach out to me directly at optimism@kitandace. com.
Enjoy the glory days of summer!
George
Chief Executive Optimist