Styling Notes With Sammi Smith

Meet Sammi Smith, founder of contemporary loungewear brand, Soft Focus. For the past 10 years, Sammi has been living and working in Toronto for some of Canada’s top fashion brands, which developed her knowledge and skill in the apparel industry. We recently connected with Sammi and asked her she would style our Convertible Belt Bag and Street Slide for a typical day in her life!

What sparked you to begin Soft Focus?

I've been doing the work-from-home thing for almost seven years now, so I'm pretty comfortable with it, and over the years have figured out how to relish in the laid-backness of it. I love to work in bed, on the couch – while also learning to create some structure so I don't go crazy. 

Starting to work from home was what created the initial spark for Soft Focus. I left my last corporate fashion job in 2014, decided to start freelancing, and working for myself from home. After a while, I realized I was facing a style query of "how do I get dressed for work if my office is my couch," and the rest just slowly grew from there. 

I love the idea of bringing a sense of style and play to the clothes we wear to feel at ease and comfortable. I want to carry those feelings with me in how I dress whether I'm at home or out in the world, so the collection is always designed with that in mind – made for lounging, styled for life.

Outfit #1: Running Errands

Whenever I leave the house these days it's usually to run as many errands that I can fit into an outing. Running errands all day is very typical for small business life.This also usually involves a giant IKEA bag to carry everything around. It's a pack-mule sort of life  and The Convertible Belt Bag is super handy for a day like this. Here I'm bringing a few curbside pick-up orders to my friend's gorgeous shop – Souvenir. The owner, Danielle, is a friend and also one of Soft Focus' (very first) stockists.

Outfit #2: Coffee Run

I love wearing these silky pjs out – now that the weather is warmer it's perfect for it. Mixing it up with some denim keeps it feeling casual and less  "you're wearing your pjs outside." I threw on the Convertible Belt Bag and Street Slides for a quick coffee run to get some coffee and sunshine, giving myself a break from the computer.

Outfit #3: At-Home Lounge (90s mom-inspired)

I'm very into dressing how I imagine my mom would in the 80s/90s. I paired the Soft Focus Scrunch Sweatshirt and Bike Shorts with The Convertible Belt Bag (and scrunch socks and sandals) – to live out this nostalgia fantasy.

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