San Francisco e-retailer Lyon + Post, named for the cross streets of the founder’s residence, aims to create a retail model for the next generation of online shopping.

Founded in March 2015 by customer experience-minded engineer Lawrence Wisne, the startup says it is shipping the best elements of brick-and-mortar dressing rooms directly to women’s homes.

“Online shopping is broken,” Wisne said. “It’s the opposite of how we’ve historically been taught to shop.” He believes that Lyon + Post can help fix online retail and make it feel more luxurious by giving members the chance to try on clothes before paying for them. (Membership is free, as is shipping.) Wisne thinks that Lyon + Post will encourage customers to say goodbye to shopping in actual stores and, eventually, to bid fitting rooms farewell forever.

Having worked as a software architect for over three years at PopSugar, Wisne was familiar with the tastes of the customer base that Lyon + Post is beginning to capture. He’s chosen his team carefully, hiring stylist to the stars Colleen McKinnie (Beyoncé is among former clients) as the fashion director behind the shop’s offerings — think brands like Elizabeth and James, Amour Vert and Milly. The company is “bootstrapped and working on our next round of funding,” Wisne says.

Wisne and McKinnie have been building Lyon and Post’s following in major cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, but they’ve noticed that a lot of their customers are from out of state, often Texas and Georgia. They plan to grow the brand organically through the steam they’re gaining via their Instagram following of 18,000, stemming from blogger promotions and partnerships with the likes of Jackie Welling, Brittany Maddux and Violet Benson, the comedienne behind the famed Daddy Issues account.

A strong social media presence and the brand’s transparent, easygoing subscription model is well suited to their younger Millennial customers, who are accustomed to accessing options. The company boasts over 10,000 members — a goal they reached before their initial deadline of February.

Much like a Netflix DVD queue, subscribers can line up dozens of items they’d like to try. Within a day or two, a sleek tissue-lined box of up to four items will arrive. A prepaid return envelope is included so shoppers can keep the items they like and return unworn items they don’t want within a week. Payments are charged when a customer keeps an item.

This model of customer service brings the Lyon + Post experience closer to the feeling of browsing in a boutique. A similar philosophy is apparent in the company’s curated gift boxes, which launched in time for the holidays. While the experience is expertly curated (similar to Stitch Fix or Trunk Club), there are plenty of options. After customers select cost parameters and the gift recipient’s size, they’re presented with up to five editorialized gift boxes, ranging from “Everyday” to “Night Out.”

“Lyon and Post is made for modern women who appreciate fashion, know what they like and want the freedom to choose,” said McKinnie. “To me, this perfectly describes city women in general, and more specifically, the San Francisco woman.”

— Valerie Demicheva

Lyon + Post: Sign up at www.lyonandpost.com