A U*styled Story

Allow me to take you on my own Fashion journey. Because inviting me to help you with your personal style and brand image means that I’ll get to know you pretty intimately, I want to allow you to really get to know me a bit more.

Refusing dresses and frill from a young age, it’s always been about functionality.

Of course, it’s also all about dressing up from time to time.

My early years involved a Catholic schoolgirl’s uniform which simply meant I didn’t have to worry about what to wear unless I was playing after school or on the weekends. This was GREAT!

It was when I started at a public school that I really started to get into clothes and making myself look and feel pretty. I still remember how painstakingly I chose my outfit for my 5^th grade school photo!

Then came a move to Hinsdale (a suburb of Chicago) from a Detroit suburb in 5th grade. Coming to a new town where image was more important coupled with being the new girl in school led to a complete frustration with my wardrobe.  There were MANY mornings of ‘nothing to wear’ outbursts.

Slowly but surely I managed to negotiate a seasonal clothing budget that would allow me to start building a wardrobe (mind you, this was still fairly soon after being in a uniform every day, so I was pretty much starting from scratch).

This is really when my love for Fashion and style started and grew. Once I was able to start dressing myself every day for school, I really started to enjoy it. It made me feel special and pretty. What little girl doesn’t want to feel that way? For that matter, what grown up woman doesn’t want to?!?

It’s also around this age that I started visiting my grandma by myself or on a ‘girls trip’ with my mom. First we were visiting Denver, but then a few years later we were visiting San Francisco (enter an ongoing love affair with San Francisco). Once she was in SF, visiting the Nieman Marcus on Union Square was the cornerstone of every trip … even as I grew into my college years!

Often, we wouldn’t even buy anything, but simply look and indulge our visual and tactile senses with the luxurious designer clothes.  Sometimes we’d splurge, but my mom and grandma are just as particular as I am.

Oh, I haven’t mentioned anything about being particular, have I?

That’s a huge part of it! Oh my gosh, is it! I drove my mom crazy with my need to never mix black and brown (which I actually like now!) or always match my purse or shoes to my outfit. Yes, everything about my outfit still must be just so – even if it’s an outfit for errands, I must accessorize!

Moving into High School where I ran track, managed the boys basketball team, played Lacrosse as an member of the inaugural team and enjoyed golf and tennis in the summers it’s safe to say I still had to balance being a tomboy with loving to play with clothes.

Again, I had to be comfortable AND look great.

I have to say that I think I really started coming into my own style in high school. While I definitely had to deal with the usual cattiness that occurs with young teenage girls, that experience actually made me define my style and who I am with that much more confidence. I might not wear what I did back then ever again, but I really have no outfit regrets. In fact, I LOVED my prom dress and that is one thing I would still wear.

When I came out to LA for college it was total culture shock.

I came to USC without knowing a soul. I was the only student from my high school who came out to USC as a Freshman. You may guess that Midwestern style is as different from LA as are the cultures.

However that may be, this is when I discovered the beauty of designer denim and how a great pair of jeans can transform your look and your confidence (not to mention, your bum!). This is true when anything fits you really well! Now this is when I REALLY came to love my jeans I’d always loved them, but this was a whole new realm of love!

I flirted with Fashion while in college, but since I was studying business a career in Finance or Real Estate seemed much more sensible. Glad I came to my senses!!

It was in the two summers working at Nordstrom as a Sales Associate that I truly discovered how transformational it can be for a woman to find that great fit and perfect outfit that really is all about THEM.

I LOVED helping women who were shopping for an event, totally exasperated and ultimately getting them incredibly excited about their new special occasion outfit.

I got really serious with Fashion in my Junior year Entrepreneurship class. The assignment was to write a Feasibility analysis and mine was for a denim-only store that had associates who could take all the hassle out of jean shopping.

Come to find out the following spring that this exact concept was being opened in SF, Chicago and LA … and it’s now one of my go-to spots for personal shopping with clients!

The trouble was, while I was looking for a job my Senior year, I didn’t know how I could merge my love for Fashion with my love for Business. I learned of the buyer training programs at various big retailers mid way through my year and knew that was exactly what I wanted to do.

Of course, it didn’t work out exactly as I’d planned, but the job I took at Robinsons May’s accounting department was a step into the Fashion world and I started a week after graduation while everyone else was enjoying a European Adventure. What can I say, I was ready to have an income!!

Come to think of it, I still really don’t know how to sit still and relax. It’s something I continue to work on!

Anyway, the one thing standing out in my memory of that first year is that getting ready for work was never fun. I mean, I tried to look cute, but there’s only so much you can do with Business Casual (or so I thought). There were some days where I’d plan out my outfit (my birthday!) and I’d feel SO great. Yet, why didn’t I do that everyday?

Well, that time at RobMay led to a job offer in the merchandising department at BCBG (Inner voice: “OMG! Perfect! Business and Fashion brilliantly merged into one job at a glamourous company!”).

Upon making my rounds to say goodbye at RobMay, one person in the advertising department commented ‘wait, you weren’t a buyer? I always thought you were a buyer because of how you dressed.’

Apparently, I’d been dressing much better than I’d thought (we never do give ourselves enough credit!) and lo and behold I’d landed my dream job because of it.

My time at BCBG was an amazing learning experience where years were experienced like dog years. I worked with top-level executives daily, enjoying New York Fashion Week backstage while playing a very significant role in the assortment that would ultimately be in stores for our customers and style our photo shoots. Not to mention communicate the branding and image to the marketing department!

I definitely amassed a great wardrobe (in both size and quality) during those years!

Ultimately, though, I knew I had a talent for helping other people. Specifically with styling, I’ve always innately been able to read people, understand their personality, guess their sizing and pick out the perfect item (trust me, my friends appreciated some great gifts during those BCBG years).

Bsically, I wanted to get back to basics. I needed to serve and empower women to always look and feel their best by transforming their style from Good to GREAT.

My time at BCBG also gave me the opportunity to evolve my style under the watchful eye of some of the most recognized creatives in the industry. Participating in the photo shoots of each delivery was just as fun as the action backstage during Fashion week!

I continually apply my principles of always clearing out what you don’t wear or what doesn’t serve you and ALWAYS PLAYING with your clothes. I don’t even shop much for myself anymore unless it’s something I simply MUST HAVE. Instead, I have a lot more fun playing with clothes I already have (and taking that money and going on a fab vacation with my guy!).

So, are you ready to live your life in style with me?