Graduating in Style: Fashion Expert Alum Chronicles Time at MIT

For many alums, time at MIT can sometimes be a blur. Classes, research, employment, internships—the MIT experience can be difficult to reflect on, especially directly after graduation.

Fortunately, Kendall Herbst MBA ’13 processed her experiences in real-time. Herbst documented her two-year journey at MIT Sloan on her blog, Business Casual, at fashionista.com. Beginning with a blog post one month before classes began and culminating with a post earlier this month, topics included work-related trips to Israel, Tanzania, and Hong Kong; finding an internship; and building a startup.

Herbst’s matriculation to MIT was atypical. Before enrolling at Sloan, she worked in the fashion industry, including stops as assistant fashion editor at New York Magazine and fashion news editor at Lucky. Today, she runs StyleUp, a fashion platform that sends daily style suggestions based on your preferences and the weather in your area. She developed the startup with Ryan Choi MBA ’12 while both were students at MIT.

Samples from Herbst’s blog are below. Peruse her entire catalog of Business Casual entries at fashionista.com.

“What Business School is Really Like (Hint: Hard Yet Fun),” December 2011:

“I’ve been at MIT Sloan for three months now, and I’ve gone through almost every human emotion: elation, frustration, contentment, sadness, exhaustion, delight, etc. This portrayal might seem overly dramatic (and OK, maybe it is), but at least among my friends, this roller coaster is pretty standard.”

“My life lately has been crazytown. Meeting with one of Pinterest’s co-founders. Shaking hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Playing with robots at Intuitive Surgical. Touring Sequoia Capital’s office. Listening to Polyvore’s CEO. Though these experiences might appear varied and disconnected, one motif binds them all: entrepreneurship.”

“Your life goes from being surrounded by many, to a few, to one. At business school, I was constantly surrounded by people… Now that I’m working on StyleUp full-time, I spend a lot of my time alone. Strip away the distractions, put on your blinders and just crush it.”

“Let your failures move you along…Many of my classmates went into school certain that they wanted to do this job or work at that company. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s hard to know when to keep fighting and when to re-direct. As long as you work hard, you’ll end up where you are supposed to be.”