A Spiritual Approach to Connecting With Fashion

Cardigans are in fashion. I’ve waited my entire adult life for this moment. Listed are some of my top picks. Images taken from Saks Fifth Avenue app.

In the pandemic, I was temporarily laid off from my job with Ted Baker, and while I am not sure of my official fate with the company, I have decided to do my best to get back into high fashion. While there were a couple of MONTHS in the pandemic when I threw my hands up and believed that retail would never rebound from this crisis, where I considered upgrading my education and tried to think of digital careers, as we now enter the 9th week, officially now in the third month, I had a shift in thought and feeling. I really believe fully now that luxury fashion selling is where I want to be. And seeing that women are already buying now that the stores in some states are reopening, I am so optimistic. But really, I always felt secure in high-end fashion selling, even in brick-and-mortar, because when women are spending hundreds to thousands of dollars, they want to be in a store to see, touch, try on, and finally, get professional assistance.  And while I also reached an entir...

Well, Paris Fashion Week 2020 has come and gone, and I didn't blog about it. That's not to say that I wasn't paying attention, however, and I must say, the Chanel show really blew me away. I have a huge soft spot for Chanel. She was the first designer I really learned about, it's an accessible brand if only for fragrance and cosmetics, and Karl Lagerfeld passed away during my first real job in fashion when I worked at Saks Fifth Avenue as a style advisor. This is Chanel's second collection to be shown after the death of Lagerfeld (the first for the fall/winter season), and I love the direction that his right-hand and now new artistic director Virginie Viard has taken. For the first time watching a runway show, I actually could imagine myself in the pieces, and the way they would feel on me and the beauty that I would feel in them. A part of this visualization also has to do with my new-found confidence and knowledge acquired by working at Ted Baker, and also havi...

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,...