The Story of cabi Clothing | #cabi20thAnniversary (2024)

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF cabi

The author of Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White, said “Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.” We’ve had plenty of opportunity to do just that over these 20 years simply because a small group of women decided they could “affect lives through relationships” with clothes! And, since that moment, thousands of women have shown up with clothes and a heart to serve.

Wonder is a beautiful thing. Yet, it is more like a fire than a furnace; and fire needs attention, the interaction of oxygen, stoking, and fanning to bask in the glow.

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF cabi

Wonder is a beautiful thing. Yet, it is more like a fire than a furnace; and fire needs attention, the interaction of oxygen, stoking, and fanning to bask in the glow.

We’ve paid constant attention to the wonder of relationship, explicit about what supporting one another means and addressing divisiveness, asking everyone to be proactively for one another and to put “we” before “me.” The result was (and is) a beautiful, active conflagration of trust, friendship, and even love—wonder.

I believe a business run on real relationships can weather it all…recessions, natural disasters, and even pandemics—and keeping the wonder of relationships ablaze will always make us ready “for such a time as this.”

As we celebrate 20 years, we’re enraptured by the wonder of it all. Wonder was the curiosity that first opened the door—for Carol, me, Syd, all the Co-Founders, and thousands of other women, wondering what goodness this business could hold for them and those they served. And at this inflection point, we hold fast to two types of wonder—both looking back in awe and looking forward with curiosity and excitement for what the next 20 years hold, inspired by our first.

If you find yourself intrigued by wonder but flooded with the fear of our times, take to heart these words from E. E. Cummings: “Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”

We hope as you encounter the wonder of cabi, relationships will broaden and deepen, and as a result your life, like mine has, will be positively affected.

CEO & Co-Founder@kimberly.inskeep

The year was 2001, and the world of retail had women leaving the mall deflated by the anxiety and inefficiency of endless, isolated browsing. Clothing designer Carol Anderson began wondering if there was a way to better serve women by giving them the focus, help, and guidance they desired. She had a devoted following of women across the country and thought if she could just circumvent the store process, by providing full, unedited collections directly to the women she designed for shopping would forever be changed.

At the same time, management consultant Kimberly Inskeep had the realization that there was a growing need to help women fulfill their desires for a more flexible career amidst the growing demands of life. As Carol and Kimberly talked about how women needed both a better way to shop and a better way to work, an idea surfaced. Could these two needs be met by one solution? They asked 10 like-minded friends to brainstorm with them and, although they didn’t know it at the time, they were quietly transforming the retail industry through what became the cabi Fashion Experience.

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By bringing a uniquely-styled clothing line to a home setting, women received an opportunity to hear about the hottest trends and discover their true style in the company of close friends. Our trained cabi Stylists transform that looming question of “What do I wear?” into an occasion to enter one’s closet with a sense of boldness, confidence, and even fun. Our customers build functional wardrobes that are so completely “Them” while supporting a woman as she builds a substantial career that lets her call her own shots.

During their early brainstorming sessions, there was one phrase Carol, Kimberly, and the 10 cabi Founders kept in front of them as a source of inspiration: “…Affect lives through relationships.” This became cabi’s Creed. So much of retail is about just making another sale, and cabi set out to be much more than that. The opportunities to shop these days—whether online or at the mall—are endless, but the opportunity to form meaningful bonds between women is a unique part of the cabi Fashion Experience.

From 12 founding women to thousands of cabi Stylists today, it’s official: our women have changed the retail game. We’ve come together for a common purpose: developing a culture centered on women helping women—serving rather than selling, collaborating rather than competing, and transforming not transacting.