Here’s My Story…

Style has always been my undebated, completely immersed passion. The way something as simple as a outfit can let you be whoever you want to be or tell whatever story you want to tell, is so powerful to me.

I’ve had a lot of experiences that have shaped who I’ve become and have lead up to the founding of my brand, Style Outside the City. Style has without a doubt been a primary part of those experiences.

Here I’m sharing some of the stand out moments, both positive and negative that helped shape my brand and the person I am today.

• As a child I would spend hours on end tracing paper dolls and creating clothing for them. It was here that I started to understand that creating style is art.

• I grew up in small town Pennsylvania and each year before going back to school my mother and grandmother would take me shopping at the mall. It was the most thrilling day for me as a kid. To be able to buy new clothing and create outfits to reflect who I wanted to be for the upcoming school year, was fulfilling at a deeper level than I realized at the time. I would always put on a fashion show when I got home for my grandfather. My grandma was the emcee.

• When I moved to college, I had to loft the bed in my dorm so I could have more space for my closet. I brought a jewelry box so large, my aunt thought it was an armoire. (This was before I learned about closet edits. :-)). I lent out a lot of clothing to my sorority sisters in my four years at school. This was my first experience at styling other real humans and it lit me up!

• A big reason for my move to NYC was the ability to be closer to the heart of fashion. When I landed my first advertising gig, that wasn’t fashion related, I would spend my lunch breaks studying the trends and window shopping on 34th Street. A lot of my evenings were spent at the Fashion Institute of Technology building my professional fashion knowledge.

• I once held myself back from wearing an outfit I loved to brunch in NYC because I was afraid of what the people at brunch would say. (It was a dress with a giant alligator mouth from Zara). I was so uncomfortable in my own skin that day I went back to my apartment to put on the alligator dress in the middle of brunch. I learned to go with my style gut that day.

• During my career in corporate advertising, often in the fashion and beauty space, I loved creating professional outfits that pushed the boundaries on creativity. I got to a pretty senior role and interfaced with some pretty big clients. I truly believe my style helped get me those opportunities, both from building my own confidence and in others’ perceptions of me. It became clear to me that good personal style is powerful.

• After moving from NYC to a local suburb and having two kids my style took a nose dive. I felt like I no longer had the permission to dress as creatively as I wanted with a changed body and environment. I was wrong and worked to get back to myself and my style. This helped me understand style blocks and gave me a new perspective - that of someone who might not always have a positive relationship with style.

• After my father passed away in 2021 I realized life is too short. I was ready to live my calling and began to build my personal styling business. I solidified my skills by getting my personal styling certification and then began helping others more deeply than I was able to in the past.

• Now my clients build onto this story with their own unique style stories and transformations!