Earlier this year, M.M.LaFleur’s CFO Mel Lau found herself at a crossroads.

“I’ve always found getting dressed for work harder than it should be,” she admits. “It can take me a surprisingly long time to figure out what I’m going to wear. I’m not someone who naturally thinks about styling or putting looks together.”

The irony is not lost on Mel, who has spent the better part of her professional life working for apparel companies, and who now runs the financial operations of a company that has staked its entire identity on helping women get dressed with ease. Her two 10-year-old daughters have never been especially sympathetic. “I’ll come downstairs thinking I look fine,” Mel says, “and one of them will look at me and say, ‘Mommy, you look ugly.’ And I’ll say, ‘I appreciate your honesty!’” (Her husband has amiably pinch hit as her stylist for years).

But this morning routine was beginning to take its toll, and Mel was both eager to get some time back in her day, and, with an ever-expanding roster of in-person commitments on behalf of M.M., she knew she needed to embrace a new era of professional dressing. When the opportunity came to try Bento+, M.M.LaFleur’s subscription styling service, Mel realized she had the opportunity to change her morning routine (and her kids’ opinions) forever.

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How does Bento+ work?

Named after the Japanese Bento box (a concept close to the heart of M.M.LaFleur’s founder Sarah LaFleur, who grew up in Japan), M.M.’s Bento styling services are designed with the idea that a well-assembled wardrobe, like a well-packed bento, is efficient, balanced, thought through, and of course: delightful.

Bento+ works like this: after taking a short quiz about your preferences, fit, lifestyle, and budget, you’re matched with a personal stylist on the Bento team. Your stylist curates a personalized lookbook of pieces they think will work specifically for you, with notes on why and how to wear them. You browse, order what appeals to you, and receive access style guides in showing how to put it all together, with looks you can return to any morning you’re standing in your closet and drawing a blank. Each experience is individually tailored, and when you join the program, you sign up for a new Bento+ to be delivered to you on a cadence that makes sense for your life.

Mel chose to pair her first Bento+ with a virtual styling appointment, which gave her stylist Monisha a fuller picture of her wardrobe before her lookbook was built. (The virtual appointment is a separate offering; Bento+ itself is entirely text and lookbook-based.) What they discovered was that Mel knew exactly what she wanted. She just didn’t know how to take that next step toward making it a reality.

Mel’s Ideal Wardrobe Comes to Life

Mel came to Monisha with a practical list of requirements: She wanted comfortable, functional pieces she could care for easily, in classic, easily-paired colors. Machine washability was a must, as were pockets, and she was laser-focused on cost-per-wear (can you tell she makes a great CFO?). She wanted to be sure that she would wear any new styles that came into her closet over and over again.

“I was pretty clear about what I wanted,” she says. “But I didn’t know how to translate all of those criteria into a wardrobe. I could look at an individual piece and think, ‘I like this,’ but I wasn’t always thinking about how it would work with everything else I already owned.”

Monisha recognized Mel’s profile immediately as one close to her own heart. “Clients who are busy working moms typically know what works for them: polished, easy, washable,” she says. “I’m also a working mom so I totally get it: we can easily get comfortable with the comfortable: Our go-to’s are easy to wear and we can get ready fast. In the process, though, we can lose a bit of our sense of style, and we often don’t have the ability, or time, to explore new options.”

Her approach: Take the decision fatigue out of the process of putting outfits together, while nudging Mel slightly beyond the boundaries she would have set for herself. All, of course, within the criteria Mel had signed off on.

Mel’s Bento+ Favorites

Monisha’s lookbook was, as promised, tailored to everything Mel said she was looking for, and Mel and Monisha corresponded throughout as it came together. “The fact that the styling is virtual makes it much easier to fit into a busy schedule,” Mel says. “You can text when it works for you, and you don’t have to spend a Saturday afternoon walking around a store trying to figure out what you should buy.”'

1. Priscilla blazer, Choe top, Elena pants

2. Leslie tee, Zosia cardigan, Drew shorts

3. Daria jeans, Soma jacket, Choe top

4. Zosia cardigan, Leslie tee, Daria jeans

5. Leslie tee, Maura sweater, Elena pants

6. Paige tank, Zosia cardigan, Elena pants

Several of the pieces Monisha included were things Mel would have scrolled right past.

Take, for example, the Elena Culotte. Mel was a committed skinny-jeans-only person, and the Elena’s swingy silhouette would have otherwise been outside her default, but everything else about it fell squarely within her criteria: lightweight fabric, easy pull-on waistband, roomy, washable, pockets. She put them on, and was sold. “Before M.M., I just couldn’t see myself wearing wider pants, and here we are.”

Monisha also recommended adding the Soma Jacket in Oxford and the white Leslie Tee to give her an in-office pairing that conveyed high polish but was secretly incredibly low maintenance. Mel almost immediately put this pairing to the test, when she wore them on a gnarly two-hour commute one morning that happened to include an unexpected coffee spill. She arrived at the office feeling sanguine, however, and texted Monisha that she was grateful not to worry about the outfit she was wearing: she could throw everything in the wash when she got home.

The piece Mel raves about most, though, is the Zosia Cardigan. “I would have completely overlooked it on my own,” she says. “But once Monisha talked me through how versatile it was, how it fit into my existing wardrobe, how easy it was to wear and wash, and the fact that it had this really beautiful woven detail that made it feel more special, I decided to try it.”

She documented her first wear the following day: “The cardigan is incredibly soft, and I love the beautiful woven pattern. Wearing this outfit makes me feel classy, comfortable, and effortlessly casual. I absolutely love it. I wonder what the cardigan’s cost per wear will end up being.”

When she came downstairs that morning, her daughters gave her the seal of approval. “You look really, really good,” they said.

What Mel Learned

Mel came away from her Bento+ experience with a clearer picture of her own style, and a different understanding of what working with a stylist could unlock for her: Monisha didn’t just put together looks for Mel, she helped her understand why each look worked. Monisha’s style guides have been a critical part of streamlining Mel’s mornings, and instilling confidence that on any given morning, pieces she reaches will work together and look great, no matter what.

“You don’t have to be someone who loves fashion or wants to completely change your style to work with a stylist,” she shares. “What I found most valuable was having someone who understood what I was looking for and could help me connect the dots: Not just ‘here are some clothes I think you’ll like,’ but ‘here’s why this works for you, here’s how you can wear it, and here’s how it works with what you already have.’”

Mel’s also more willing to try things she’d have ruled out on her own.

“I’m not giving up my skinny jeans,” she says, “but I’m glad I was willing to try something that initially felt very ‘not me.’ I don’t feel like I need to reinvent my style, but I’m more open to trying something outside of my default when I can see how it fits into the rest of my wardrobe.”

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