It all started with an idea. Women wanted clothes as unique and special as they were, and wanted to enjoy shopping, again! And, women needed flexible ways to work…not asked to choose between family life or a career. Carol Anderson, a successful fashion designer and Kimberly Inskeep, an accomplished Management Consultant, dreamed of creating one solution to address both problems. Together with the 10 co-founders, they wondered…would bringing designer fashion into a girlfriend’s living room with a Stylist offering personalized style and ideas bring back the joy of shopping while offering a fun and flexible career option? The answer turned out to be a resounding, “YES!”

After our first year, it was clear—women were loving the cabi Fashion Experience and wanted more! With only 105 Stylists, we surpassed 2,612 shows by the end of 2003. Fast-forward to our 20th birthday, and we’ve had nearly 1.5 million shows across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.

What is The Scoop?

Think New York Fashion Week…cabi style! Balloons and confetti drops, music that has you dancing in your seats, hugs from friends from all over, and clothes…oh the clothes! Stylists across the globe gather for the unveiling of our newest Collection in a runway show. At this bi-annual event, Stylists receive in-depth training about the Collection, the season’s latest trends, and business updates so they’re equipped to serve and style clients well. Thousands of women in one place dressed in their cabi cutest? Yeah, they have a whole lot of fun!

Cabi debuted its first Heart of cabi item in Spring 2008, the Ticking Tote. Since then, the Design Team has selected a special item from each Collection as the Heart of cabi item. Proceeds from the sale of these pieces are donated to The Heart of cabi Foundation to fund domestic restoration efforts. This includes giving away free clothing to communities hit by natural disasters and partnering with local nonprofit organizations to serve women going through vulnerable life circumstances. To date, we’ve hosted 282 giving events, where 7,075 cabi Stylist volunteers have given away 330,000 clothing items in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.

Fashion was hitting the Internet through style blogs, so cabi jumped into the arena with our weekly blog, The cabi Canary. Soon after, @cabiclothing joined the social media buzz and introduced cabi to a whole new online audience. Today, the #cabiclothing hashtag has been used over 263,000 times on Instagram as Stylists and clients alike share style tips, mix-and-match options, and their overall love for cabi. Keep it coming, ladies! We love seeing you in your #cabicutest.

Established in 2008, our Make a Change Program funded small business loans for women in the developing world. But in 2010, The Heart of cabi Foundation designated all donations to Opportunity International, our nonprofit partner, to support schools and children in Rwanda. This happens when cabi clients round their order total up to the nearest dollar or pound, and we’ve raised $2.7 million to date! Education has become our third pillar of empowering women, providing 14,630 Rwandan students and their families with hope and opportunity.

Love for cabi had always been spread through word of mouth—one woman complimenting another’s outfit, the watercooler moments at the office of oohing and ahhing ultimately leading to invitations to a cabi Fashion Experience. But after years of being the “best-kept secret in fashion,” word got out! The press couldn’t get enough of our gorgeous clothes, our unique style of sharing them, and, of course, all the women who love them.