Yep, I'm LuLu — a real person. I do get asked if there is a, LuLu, behind Planet LuLu. Of course there is! I've had the pleasure, honor really, of writing thousands of Planet LuLu emails over the years. But when asked, "where, how, when did LuLu start," I kinda scratch my head.

LuLu didn't so much start as, begin. Like a party, it had its own life from the very beginning.

LuLu "popped" many moons ago. In fact — and this really is a fact — and anyone who relishes a bit of web-research will see, LuLu kicked-off the "Online Sample Sale" dealio way back when.

How many times would we see LuLu-coined phrases like, "Save The Date," or "You're SO Invited" get copied? Endlessly. It was almost funny. And by mid 2004, more online sample sales swung onto the scene. I was cool with it. The web was bursting and we were excited to be there. And as my Ecuadorian mother would frequently say, "For every one thing you do first, best, five others will tell you they did it better, before you."

That said — LuLu Shop Online began in a tiny loft in downtown Los Angeles. I remember having to kindly ask the homeless man sleeping in front of our gated door to scram, but not before buying him a cup of coffee and a doughnut. His name was, Vaughn. A lovely, smart guy.

It was cold, for Los Angeles, and our brick building was an ice cube. Inside, it smelled like an old TV set. TV sets smell? Yep! Rubber and plastic meets electricity. Right? Oy.

Dee-dee and me, we'd be wheel'n racks of Melanie Apple, Trina Turk, William B., Seven Jeans and more into the freight elevators. Ten floors up, down the hall and around the long, wrap-around corridor. It could take hours to unload the truck. Still, it was a hoot. I was young, or younger, and loved meeting all the kooky-nutty-fun people in the clothing business. In fact, our building was full of designers that would soon be well-known, or already were.

LuLu was breaking new ground. It was a new retail model and no one — no one — could help me figure it out. Daily, someone would say to me, "So, your store's not open 24/7? Just once a month, for two days? It's invite-only? Are you insane?" Now, being "invite only" online is like a big'ol deal. Go figure.

Thankfully, LuLu had its own life. And LuLu shoppers were and are the very best — we're very lucky to have you!

Welp, I'm still wheel'n racks of clothing up the stairs and into the freight elevator. I'm smile'n and wave'n at all the new faces. I'm have'n tons of fun — that's happy-making. What more could I request from the heaven's...

LuLu's back. We took a quick break.

Whopper deals, that's the scoop. Swing in.

See you on the planet,

LuLu Sophie