I did not grow up dreaming of working in fashion. Before studying mechanical engineering in Slovakia, I had studied business and banking. Then, in 2008, I moved to Oxford with Michael just as the global recession made finding an engineering job almost impossible. Zara was simply the job I could get at the time, and I expected it to be temporary until something more sensible came along.
I was not particularly interested in following trends, but working in retail changed the way I thought about prices. Zara’s sales were extraordinary, and I learned quickly that many things sold at full price would eventually become deals. Waiting mattered, and knowing where to look mattered even more. That lesson gradually became part of the way I shopped.
I have always loved a sale, and even now I find it difficult to pay full price when I know that, with enough patience and research, a better deal may be available somewhere else. Of course, this does not mean that every discounted item is a good purchase. I learned that part later.
Years after Oxford, Michael encouraged me to buy a better-quality everyday bag. I chose a black Valentino by Mario Valentino camera bag and paid full price. Not long afterwards, I discovered a deal-sharing app and found a small blue quilted Versace Medusa bag at a price that made designer fashion feel suddenly more accessible. I was sure it was authentic and felt genuinely excited by the find. It was one of the first times I fully understood that luxury did not always require paying the expected price.
A place to make outfits
The first version of Haute Frou Frou came a few years later. I loved putting outfits together, especially around accessories, because shoes and bags were usually the part that interested me most. I wanted a name that felt French, high-fashion and slightly glamorous, but not too serious. Haute Frou Frou felt right because “frou frou” is playful and a little frivolous, which balanced the more polished side of the name.
The original logo said, “HFF accessories your outfit,” which captured the idea at the time. Instagram was not really a business plan. I saw it more as a work studio where I could build outfits, research brands and enjoy the creative process.
I imagined the audience as people who were interested in luxury fashion and accessories, although in truth I was mostly creating for myself. I liked arranging pieces, thinking through combinations and finding ways for an accessory to change the feeling of an outfit.
The problem was that outfit inspiration already existed everywhere. I could spend hours researching and building a post, only for it to disappear into the same endless stream of beautiful clothes, polished grids and recommendations. At one point, I considered linking every item so people could shop the outfits directly, but it quickly became too much work to sustain.
I tried sale finds, styling posts and “keep it or return it.” Some of it looked attractive, but it did not always feel like me. “Keep it or return it” was particularly uncomfortable because I do not enjoy showing myself on social media. More importantly, I began to realise that simply displaying beautiful products was not enough, especially when very few people were watching the reels.
More than another recommendation
Low engagement made me question HFF many times, but I still enjoyed the work behind it. Even if I could not keep shopping all the time, I could continue researching, comparing and sharing what I found.
Around that point, I started thinking about whether I could combine fashion with something from my professional life. The connection did not come from Zara. It came from my earlier studies in business and banking and, later, from my career in finance.
I began to wonder whether the same habits I used professionally, such as researching, comparing, questioning assumptions and assessing value, could be applied to everyday shopping decisions. My first attempts took the form of educational posts. They were meant to be useful, but they felt too childish, not editorial enough and, strangely, not very financial either. I also knew that I would probably not stop to read them myself.
That led to another version of HFF, one that tried to combine the pleasure of fashion with information that could actually help someone make a decision.
Your shopping companion
At some point, a friend asked what my dream job would look like. I said that I loved shopping, so perhaps I could become someone’s shopping companion and continue shopping every day. It was partly a joke, but the idea stayed with me.
A shopping companion is not someone who tells you what to buy. A good one pays attention, notices things you may have missed, asks useful questions and tells you the truth, even when it is not what you hoped to hear. That became the direction for HFF, and the magazine format followed soon afterwards.
The phrase “shopping intelligence” came later, when I was trying to define the project more clearly. In plain language, it means being smarter about how you shop, although I do not mean smarter only in a mathematical or practical sense.
A smart purchase is not always the item with the lowest cost per wear, the biggest discount or the strongest resale value. Sometimes a purchase is smart because it makes you happy, gives you confidence or simply brings pleasure at a moment when that matters. Emotional value is still value, as long as you understand the decision you are making.
That is part of what I find missing from much of fashion and shopping content online. Too much of it tells people what they must own, what they need to wear, what they should eat and even how they should look. I do not want HFF to become another voice saying, “You need this.” I want it to say, “Here is what you should know,” and then leave the decision to the person reading.
The things shoppers do not always see
Fashion content often focuses on the visible part of a purchase: the item, the styling and the excitement of opening the box. The less glamorous details matter too, including shipping costs, return policies, warranties, pricing structures and what happens when something goes wrong.
Retailers and platforms naturally write policies that protect themselves, which means the customer is not always in the stronger position. Shoppers should understand those terms before spending money, especially when using unfamiliar retailers or buying discounted and pre-owned goods.
This is also why I want HFF to separate verified facts from personal opinion. My own experience can add context, but it is still only my experience. Someone else may have a different personality, budget, tolerance for risk or understanding of value. A fact should remain a fact, and an opinion should be presented as an opinion, because trust depends on knowing the difference.
I also want HFF to challenge the idea that someone must buy a dupe simply because the original seems out of reach. With enough research, patience and a willingness to consider discounted retailers or pre-owned pieces, it is often possible to find the real item at a price that feels achievable. I would rather help someone understand those options than convince them that imitation is their only route to the look they want.
Learning how I shop
HFF has also forced me to look more honestly at my own habits. I used to become almost frantic when the sales started, because a discount made an item feel urgent even when I did not need it. I bought things that were never worn, and the fact that they were reduced did not make them good purchases.
My style also changed after moving from London to Seattle. I missed the way I had dressed in London, and I think some of my shopping was an attempt to recreate a life and wardrobe that did not quite fit my everyday reality anymore.
I still shop impulsively, and I do not want HFF to pretend otherwise. Having a monthly personal budget has helped because it creates a pause. Instead of asking only whether I can afford something, I also ask what else I might want more before the month is over.
Sometimes I still choose the unnecessary thing, and that can be fine too. The important part is understanding the choice rather than pretending every purchase needs to be justified as an investment.
What HFF is becoming
Today, I think of HFF as part magazine, part research project and part shopping companion. It is a place for honest views, useful facts, good finds and the emotional side of buying something you love.
I want people to see that a dream bag may be more accessible than they assumed. I also want them to feel comfortable exploring discounted retailers or pre-owned fashion without embarrassment or judgement. Buying pre-owned does not make an item less special, paying less does not make someone’s interest in fashion less genuine, and paying full price does not automatically mean the purchase was unwise.
The real question is whether the purchase makes sense for the person making it.
Eventually, I would like HFF to become useful as a tool as well as an editorial project, perhaps through a website where shoppers can search across deals and find reliable information in one place. For now, I am most excited to tell stories about what I bought, how I found it and how it made me feel, because the feeling is part of the decision too.
A different kind of work
HFF gives me a place to express a side of myself that does not always appear in my finance career. The less polished description is that it gives my inner shopaholic somewhere productive to go.
It may also become a different way of working. I do not imagine spending the rest of my life in a traditional eight-to-five structure, and because I love travelling, I would like to build something I can continue from wherever I happen to be.
Working with AI and Codex has made that possibility feel closer. I have learned that I do not need to know how to code before I can begin making something beautiful. I still need the idea, judgement and patience to keep refining it, but I no longer need every technical skill before I can start.
HFF has required a great deal of refining. The format changed several times, and the idea itself shifted along the way. It began as an outfit inspiration page, but I now understand that it is really about shopping intelligence, companionship and honesty.
I hope it eventually feels like shopping with a trusted friend. Not someone who agrees with everything you say, but someone who gives you the information, tells you what they genuinely think and still leaves the final decision with you.