A Spiritual Approach to Connecting With Fashion

I am back in fashion! It is the best feeling. And just in time for a new year! As I reviewed my blog dashboard preparing for this post, I saw that despite my five month hiatus in luxury retail, I only missed writing in the month of October. This is a real testament to me that I have come a long way in my passions and what is important to me. During my brief affair in administration, I noticed the sadness I felt when visiting my professional profile on social media and seeing a disconnect from all of the amazing connections I was no longer identifying with, and all of the inspiring vocations in luxury sales that I was no longer able to aspire toward. As I start my journey at Ted Baker next week, I do experience fear. Ted Baker is a powerhouse, being in the top 100 luxury brands in the world. But in 2019 Ted's took two enormous hits. First the founder had to step down at the beginning of the year for misconduct, fully resigning mid-year, and then the company fabricated its assets...

I have always been connected to the French culture. From my laissez-faire demeanor to my under-stated appearance, I found confidence in my style when I turned 40 and realized that I was in fact fashionable, even when my wardrobe wasn't trending. I remember when I was 20 visiting my Nanny in a new outfit. She greeted me as I walked up the stairs to her porch and said I looked "Very French". She was an austere woman, and I believe that's why I have so few memories of her. But when she was clearly pleased with me, I knew something special was happening. I knew I was receiving a huge and rare compliment, and so that is a memory of her that I hold dear to my heart. In the present day, having had a career as a Style Advisor and taking strides to learn and grow for my business, I now navigate another twist of my spiritual journey through fashion. Unravelling the emotions that are intricately woven in labels, sizes, trends, money, celebrity, and society, taking me one l...

Images taken from the Saks Fifth Avenue app.

I was truly hoping to write a September piece, but wasn't really sure it would happen. The Spring 2020 fashion marathon started yesterday, so I was optimistic, but not entirely convinced. Then I had my first real moment of missing my job in fashion, just a few short hours after I completed the last day of my first month in my new job. I saw a picture of Kate Middleton , and I knew exactly a designer or two who I could have referred a client to, should someone have been wanting that "look" (and in some cases, even the designer label itself). After seeing the image I felt for the first time in 4 weeks that maybe I made a mistake leaving luxury fashion sales, but instead of letting fear overcome me, I decided to go onto the Saks website and see what was new. As I wrote in a  previous piece , there is an excitement in retail where there are many moving parts that work fast, and a little re-arranging even of floor plans or backdrops can lift the mood and foster inspiration,...

Today is the last day of the month of August and I decided this early evening to write a post. I was not completely comfortable not writing for the month of August as my goal for this blog and for my spiritual blog (linked in profile) is to write at least one piece a month. But on August 10th I left the fashion industry and in so well suspected the demise of this blog, my "journey through fashion". Two or three weeks prior to leaving the fashion industry I also apparently left my boyfriend. He was the proponent behind my industry writing. All of my fashion projects outside of my style advisor job was really him propelling me, encouraging me, and giving me strength to be more than an employee just doing my time, but to study, apply, be informative, and influence others. I will be moving into my fourth week in a new job that is such a fringe industry I don't even want to describe for it is not important at this time and in this fashion. Pun intended. But I do miss workin...

I’ve been feeling inspired after working with a first-time Saks customer who I am hoping will become a client, as we set out to find her a dress for a wedding where there will be complicated relationships and themes to adapt to. Often times when I am approached by a customer who wants to find a dress, I want to run the other way - especially when that dress is from the ball gown department. And something I realized last night while discussing my sales work and my fashion writing with this lovely beautiful woman is that a reason why dress shopping is so difficult is because of the emotions involved in the dress and in the expectations of the events for which the dress will be worn. I can sell denim no problem. I have reached such a level of blazing confidence with denim that I can even sell brands to women who are not familiar with that particular cut or wash or who were looking for their "comfort" style but I will hand them something originally unthinkable to them, and t...

I'm doing much better at my job as a Style Advisor. I have gained more confidence and am building relationships with my customers who are becoming clients. I am becoming much more comfortable with fashion and have been basking in my accomplishments of meeting my monthly targets and gaining more trust from management. So it's been a bit more difficult to come up with a new article this month since I haven't felt as much need to look ahead. I have been simply staying in the moment. So much so I have had no ideas of what to write! Therefore this piece is going to be a bit more personal: an update of my relationship with fashion over the past couple of months, and I hope it's relatable! My journey through fashion more recently has been up and down. The other week I finally started trying on clothes at work. It was a slow night and I decided it was time to get more intimate with what it is I'm selling. I tried on blouses, denim and dresses of my favourite designers, a...