To be honest, it’s still surreal to be sitting here writing out a #rStheCon recap. It seemed like such a distant goal to me… If you would have told me I would be attending this time last year I would have thought you were crazy. But in August I stopped treating Strawberry Chic like a hobby and by February I received that invite I never expected to come. Not going to lie.. I cried happy tears. Thinking about how hard I worked towards the end of 2018 finally felt justified. Balancing a blog + new growing youtube channel + a full-time job as a physical therapist is no joke, but now I finally see where all that hard is taking me.
What is #rStheCon?
If you’re not familiar with #rStheCon, it’s an annual conference hosted by Reward Style in Dallas every Spring. Reward Style is the platform that created LIKEtoKNOW.it, the shoppable version of your Instagram feed. You can read more about how affiliate marketing works, but it allows content creators to earn commission off what they share. Every year they invite the top 200 influencers on the platform and brands interested in working with them to meet and learn in Dallas at #rStheCon. I’m not trying to toot my own horn saying that, because I know there are a lot more successful influencers on the platform that don’t attend due to travel or disinterest, but I was still beyond thankful and excited to receive an invitation.
Here is a recap of each day at the Reward Style Conference, along with all my outfit details!
What do you do at the Reward Style Conference?
Day 1 #rStheCon
I had a 6:20AM flight to Dallas and was able to check into the hotel once I arrived. I would definitely recommend either coming a day early or requesting an early check in. People who arrived later in the day had to wait a few hours for a room and weren’t able to change before the start of the conference.
If you want to see what I packed for #rstheCon, I shared all the details here!
JUMPSUIT | SIMILAR SCARF | SIMILAR DENIM JACKET | SANDALS | SIMILAR SUITCASE | PRELOVED NEVERFULL
I actually scheduled an appointment at Dry Bar that morning because I didn’t expect to check in early, so I headed to that appointment shortly after. I can’t say I was blown away (ha, pun intended I guess) and I re-curl my hair once I got back to the room. I met my roommate Mrs. SimplyLovely and we headed to Shake Shack for some lunch.
SIMILAR DENIM JAKET | TANK | SKIRT | SHOES
Mrs: SimplyLovely’s outfit on the left: TOP (I have this too, see it in my Express Try on Haul!) | SHORTS | SHOES | WATCH
Lace and Lashes outfit on the right: DRESS (I brought this in pink!) | SHOES
The conference kicked off with a brand meet + greet that afternoon, and it was exciting to meet some friends from Instagram in person. Some of the brands I spoke with were eBay (I actually teamed up with them for a post this earlier month), QVC, Kendra Scott, Colleen Rothschild, Banana Republic, Mary Kay, and JC Penny to name a few. It was great to meet those contacts in person and potentially work together in the future!
TOP | SKIRT | SHOES | SIMILAR SUNGLASSES | BAG | EARRINGS
I had about an hour to relax in the room and get ready for the kickoff pool side party with Sole Society. It was an Amalfi-coast inspired party complete with a lemon wall, limoncello cocktails, cannolis, and pink Vespa.
outfits from right to left:
#1: TOP | PANTS | SIMILAR SHOES | BAG | HAT
#2: TOP | SKIRT | SHOES | SIMILAR SUNGLASSES | BAG | EARRINGS
#3: PINK DRESS | POM POM BAG | SHOES
#4: still looking!
After this party I couldn’t wait to take off my makeup and change into comfy clothes, it had been a long day traveling in and kicking off the conference!
Day 2 #rStheCon
Day 2 of the conference was the first full day and jammed packed with lectures, brand meetings, and workshops. It was a very busy day running around to keep up with the schedule. The morning started with lectures on the state of influence, consumer expectations, and what’s to come on the LIKEtoKNOW.it platform. Did you know that the majority of sales in 2018 were online?
#1: GREEN DRESS | NEUTRAL HEELS | GOLD HOOPS
#2: RED AND WHITE DRESS | CORK SHOES | LV NEVERFULL
#3: ROMPER | HEADBAND | BAG | SHOES | EARRINGS
#4: BLUE TOP | WHITE JEANS | TAN WEDGES
#5: STRIPE JUMPSUIT | SCALLOPED NUDE HEELS
After lunch with Mary Kay I changed into this look for brand meetings, which was probably my favorite from the weekend! Throughout the weekend, I met with the team at Bonoboos, Victoria Emerson, and Wayfair. It was essentially speed dating where you meet for 10 minutes and tell them about your brand to discuss ways you could potentially work together.
Day 2 ended with a cocktail party hosted by eBay. I wore this fun off the shoulder dress and received a lot of compliments on it! The small fit me like a glove. I also decided to keep it comfortable in these wedges. I knew I still had a long weekend of heels ahead of me haha.
PINK SWEATER | WHITE JEGGINGS | SHOES
After the eBay party I changed into something comfy and casual and a few of us went to Mi Cocina. If you go, order the small guacamole. It was delicious but the large was surprisingly way too big for the three of us. And we all know I can put down some guacamole 😉
Day 3 #rStheCon
Day 3 was similar to-day 2 with a busy schedule of brand meetings and more learning workshops on how to optimize your earnings with LTK. I wore this comfortable gingham dress for the morning then refueled with lunch hosted by JC Penny.
PardonMuah’s outfit: PINK TOP | DISTRESSED JEANS | NUDE HEELS | HEART EARRINGS
My outfit: EYELET DRESS | BOW SHOES | BRACELET | ROSE GOLD WATCH
It was nice to have a little extra time on Day 3 to relax around the hotel with some of the girls and not rush to get ready for the LIKEtoKNOW.it Finale Party. Lets just say they know how to throw a party. There were ballerinas in LIKEtoKNOW.it leotards, multiple rooms installations to explore and take photos in, and a live set by St. Lucia. I actually don’t have the photo with my finale outfit (it’s on someones phone somewhere..) but my dress is sold out anyways. I had another dress option but I decided to save the money and go with something comfortable I already had.. haha! You can see the dress + more #rStheCon details on my Instagram highlight.
Day 4 #rStheCon
STRAWBERRY TEE | SIMILAR DENIM JACKET | WHITE JEGGINGS | PINK SANDALS | SIMILAR BLUE SUITCASE
Sunday was a travel day back home and my flight wasn’t until early afternoon. Yes these white jeggings are comfortable enough to travel in! At the airport I ended up being #6 overweight with all the free goodies I was bringing back. Luckily I brought an extra empty carry on bag just in case this happened!
A few tips if you’re attending next year
- Try to get ready early and head to the event spaces before they start to get your outfit pictures out of the way when it’s less crowded
- It’s really hard to balance staying in the moment and being present on social media. I really liked waiting to recap the day on Instagram stories the next morning instead of trying to post in the moment. Plus I had a lot of really good feedback on them because they were actually put together in a way that made sense! You can still see them in my #rStheCon highlight
- Network with other bloggers as much as possible. At every conference I attend, the most valuable take away is new friendships with other girls who are hustling like you are.
- Bring more outfits than you think. I packed for 3 outfits/day, and shockingly I wore everything! I was able to pack in so much upcoming content throughout the weekend, which helped to have content prepared for the following week.
- Wear your comfortable shoes during the day. The schedule is jammed packed and you’re walking between two buildings to get to workshops and brand meetings. I wore these during the day and never had any blisters or foot trouble!
- If I get to go again next year, I’ll probably go a day early. I’ve never been to Dallas and would like to explore it a bit more. Plus flying in that morning made for a very long day.
- Even though there was plenty of food to grab and go throughout the day, I was glad I packed along a few of my favorite bars to snack on when needed.
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Thank you so much for reading and for supporting my content by shopping through my links.
xo Amanda John
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