Most people who are familiar with celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe have seen her Bravo show, The Rachel Zoe Project, in which everything from red dresses to perfectly groomed celebrities to an amazing pair of sunnies (sunglasses, for the uninformed) is buh-nah-nuhs, and the right pair of earrings will assuredly elicit an approval rating of “I die” (yup, that’s high praise). Or perhaps you’ve discovered The Zoe Report, the online counterpart to her reality TV show that lets the public get a free taste of the advice she offers Hollywood A-listers for beaucoup bucks (the site urges visitors to “be glamorous. every day.” – like Zoe herself, it delivers deadpan platitudes in sound-bite size). Of course, if you haven’t downloaded a little app called Pose, you could be missing out on the full spectrum of Zoe-isms. And apparently the renowned stylist is putting her money where her mouth is; she not only posts to fashion-sharing site Pose, she and her husband (Rodger Berman) have also added their names to the short list of investors.

Despite the fact that Pose was created with fashionistas in mind, it has thus far garnered most of its funding from the tech quadrant, including such diverse companies as Mobile Roadie (an app developer, not too surprising since Pose just launched the app version of their site), 23rd.com (a discount retail site), and Trippy (an app that offers trip-planning services). This makes stylist Zoe, who is herself an icon amongst fashion circles, the first real industry name to attach herself to the project, which is seeking investors in order to expand operations and begin selling through their site.

At the moment Pose is like many others out there dedicated to sharing inspiration. Comparisons have been drawn to Pinterest, the site that mixes social networking with the ability to create pinboards that feature your many interests. But while Pinterest certainly showcases much love of fashion (with some of the most popular subjects for pics including custom manicures and exotic high heels), it isn’t specifically devoted to featuring the hottest trends in fashion. In truth, so many businesses have glommed on to Pinterest’s rising star of popularity that it might not be long before you see a pinboard populated by warning signs (with links pointing back to PublicLiabilityInsurance.org – Business Information) right next to photos of delicious and decorative cupcakes, cute baby animals, and a shirtless Ryan Gosling (oh, exquisite man-candy).

Pose, on the other hand, currently gives their fashionable followers the 4-1-1 on the latest trends, from peplum tops to mellow yellows, while encouraging them to share their own style inspirations with other fashion-seekers like themselves, helping to keep the entire community fashionably appointed. And their ultimate goal is to offer access to the very items they exhibit by including a “buy” feature. So if fashion is what you want, Pose is the place to be. At least that’s what Rachel Zoe is banking on, and she doesn’t need business liability insurance quotes to know that this site is likely to have plenty of style-lovers saying “I die”.

Editor’s Note

Thanks to Evan Fischer for this quest post. He is a freelance writer and part-time student at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California.

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