When the pandemic hit, Vicky and Nikoleta Lirantonakis knew their glam dress-rental business, The Best Dressed, would be greatly impacted. Since they’re adept at creating business models on the fly, they quickly launched The Style Filos (thestylefilos.com), which gives women the opportunity to receive curated fashion-accessory boxes containing everything from scarves to jewelry. It’s not a subscription service; customers can explore accessories ad hoc and pick boxes that work for their personal style. We caught up with these wizards of curation to learn more about the launch and what customers can expect this winter.
This business was born out of necessity, but also your desire to get dressed up during our collective Zoom calls, right?
Vicky Lirantonakis: We really missed getting dressed up. There’s so much to be said for taking the time to get ready in the morning. It helps set a tone for your day, and whether it sounds cliche or not, we believe when you look your best, you feel your best. To us, that means adding accessories to our outfits, whether it’s a scarf or some earrings—it really helps to brighten our moods.
How does Style Filos work?
Nikoleta Lirantonakis: You can choose to curate your own box with any three accessories you want, or pick from a styled box where we’ve preselected the items from seven categories like scarves, earrings, hair accessories, rings and bracelets. Some of the curated boxes have names relevant to our times, including the Zoom Princess box and the Virtual Hangout box.
Your favorite pieces right now?
VL: We’re currently obsessed with the oversize scarves; they’re awesome for when you need to bundle up or for changing up your look on Zoom calls. Another thing we’re loving this fall and winter are gold chain necklaces. We find ourselves reaching for them to pair with sweaters, blazers and all different necklines. They’re so versatile and make you feel camera-ready.
Style icon?
NL: Our mom. She was always chic. While other moms would be in jeans and a T-shirt [at events], our mom would show up in high heels, red lipstick and gold hoops. Cut to 2020 and that’s totally us now—we live in gold hoops!
Photography by: Lightshed Photography Studio
