Tillys wasn’t a land of fast fashion. It was a carefully curated marketplace, housing brands that had already built their own empires—Adidas, Vans, Dr. Martens, Dickies. Unlike my previous quests, where I helped craft and shape brand voices, my role at Tillys was different. Here, I wasn’t creating—I was ensuring accuracy.
Product listings weren’t about telling a story; they were about technical precision. Bullet points replaced creative flourishes, and every description had to align with brand guidelines while remaining clear and scannable for the consumer. The only exception? Tillys’ own in-house women’s brand, where I was able to weave a little creativity into the copy.
But this was 2020. The world had changed.
COVID-19 emptied offices and left teams scattered. Social distancing turned what should have been a collaborative role into a solitary one. The eCommerce office sat largely vacant. Only two copywriters—myself and one other—remained in separate offices, distanced from even each other. Our manager checked in maybe once or twice a day. The work was steady, but the environment was quiet, almost eerily so.
This wasn’t just a new writing challenge; it was a test in independent work, self-discipline, and finding motivation in isolation.
At Tillys, each brand already had an established identity. My job wasn’t to create a voice, but to uphold and maintain it. That meant:
Unlike Windsor, where storytelling and SEO were key, Tillys’ product descriptions were purely informational. SEO efforts were focused on category pages, and metadata was handled by an external agency. My role in content optimization included:
With COVID-19 slowing down product turnover, copywriting wasn’t always in high demand. When there were no new products to write, I took on additional tasks:
While this quest wasn’t about creating groundbreaking content strategies, it was invaluable in refining my understanding of structured brand writing and independent workflow management. Key takeaways include: