Amber Tice
Although she doesn’t consider herself an influencer or content creator, Bonnie Thompson Smith has been fascinated with the fashion industry for nearly 20 years.
As a casual luxury fashion consultant for Fort Worth-based SWB Agency, Bonnie Thompson Smith sometimes encounters clients stuck in a particular era.
“Each comes with their own set of, I would say, struggles — as far as wardrobes are concerned,” Smith said.
Many of us can relate. Either we’re stuck in an era of wardrobes we once felt great in, and now it’s dated. Or we’re stuck in the same aesthetic, which is still a trend, but our bodies have evolved, and the wardrobe doesn’t fit.
“I tell every client, ‘Please embrace right where you are,’” Smith says. “I’ll have a gentleman tell me, ‘Well, I’m a 36 waist. But I’m going to get that 34, and it’s going to motivate me.’ Well, what good is that? What good is wearing a 34 when it’s going to be so tight? What are you going to wear in the meantime?”
Whatever the dilemma, Smith has fashioned a way to help. She solved wardrobe emergencies by assembling choices and coming up with an app that can navigate her clients’ fashion needs.
Amber Tice
“It’s a way for you to just tap a little square on your phone and kind of put the ball in our court."
Smith, founder and executive stylist of The SWB Agency, commissioned Hue & Stripe of California to develop the app for her fashion agency. Its services include curated shopping, styling, closet design, and virtual and editorial styling. Through the app, which was launched on Jan. 15, clients can upload photos from their existing wardrobes to receive styling advice and shop for new items their stylist recommends.
“It’s a way for you to just tap a little square on your phone and kind of put the ball in our court,” she says.
Although she doesn’t consider herself an influencer or content creator, Smith has been fascinated with the fashion industry for nearly 20 years. She launched her styling career in 2005 when she was in college. She was working at Neiman Marcus when she realized that she wanted to go into business for herself.
By 2009, she had founded her own business. Today, she is renowned for styling high-fashion socialites, celebrities, and C-suite executives across the U.S., and she has secured contracts with prestigious luxury brands and networks.
Smith says her agency has sourced more than 50 luxury designers and emerging brands, including Valentino, Christian Dior, Gucci, Saint Laurent, Celine, Fendi, Christian Siriano, Akris, Carolina Herrera, and Brunello Cucinelli. She keeps up with fashion by attending shows in Paris, New York, Miami, and North Texas.
Smith’s app resulted from her success on social media. She launched an Instagram account, and her brand took off.
“As far as social media platforms, it’s probably the strongest in the fashion world versus Twitter or TikTok,” she says. “It was a great avenue for me to connect with like-minded people and a great way for me to connect with people who needed and wanted our services.”
Smith says her clients tend to be about 70% female, with an average age in the late 40s, “financially stable, and living a very social, very active, very busy lifestyle.
“They have a little movement regarding their willingness to try new things. So that would probably be our demographic,” she says.
Before you scroll to an app store to find her, be aware that the SWB Agency app is set to be private. Smith says potential clients must schedule a consultation on the website. A questionnaire is sent to start the relationship, and a complimentary 30-minute consultation could follow.
“That’s because we don’t need a bunch of strangers creating their own profiles on our database,” she says. “You’ll need to be vetted.”
Upon being successfully vetted, clients are onboarded in the app and can purchase time with stylists, which puts Smith to work on aggregating wardrobe choices.
“As far as style and aesthetic, there is nothing I would say no to. I’m very inclusive when it comes to sizes, preferences of a look,” she said. “Just because I wouldn’t wear it means nothing. If you have a certain image in your head, I know exactly where to find those pieces and put that puzzle together quickly for you.”
Smith says she caters to people who want to sort through the choices.
“It’s exhausting,” she said. “So, to be able to access a very expert trained stylist in your pocket on an app and to bring to life the pieces you already own, to me, is a lot of value.”