In fashion
ALL-rightey. Since we hit the road, making our way up to NYC, we made a little pit-stop and met some of DC’s finest. Enjoy the newest edition of MVIS on the road!
Kelly Collis Fredrick loves shopping. Founder & CEO of CityShopGirl, DC’s finest daily e-note, delivering tons of shopping and fashion finds to your inbox every day, launched CityShopGirl in 2008. Kelly began her career on the hill and Kelly says, if you’re ever in a place where you don’t know what to do with yourself, go work on Capitol Hill. It’s a training ground for diverse experiences.
Since working on the Hill, Kelly worked as a publicist then the director of marketing at National Jean Company (wow, can you say dream job!?)
“Prior to launching CityShopGirl, I was consulting others, telling others how to build their brand; when I launched CityShopGirl, I had to build my own brand, my own voice.”
What does Kelly ♥ about her job? (Besides shopping for a living…) I’m a native Washingtonian and I love getting to show our readers how great a city DC is.
What makes Kelly a STRONG woman? “Growing a business, seeing its pitfalls, keeping my womanhood, being a mom and having a young family has made me a passionate dynamic woman. To be honest, some days I don’t do any of my jobs well because I’m pulled in too many directions. But I don’t beat myself up over. What makes me strong is being able to totally put something on the back burner for my family.”
SPECIAL EDITION! May.18.2010
My Voice is Strong goes International interviewing some of Paris’ hottest fashion bloggers.
Rebecca Perry Magniant
Chic Shopping Paris
What I do:
I share the best of Paris with visitors to the city by taking them on off-the-beaten-path shopping tours.
How I got started:
When I moved to Paris in 2002, I had to reinvent myself. I was an Art Therapist in the US, but at the time, that field didn’t really exist here in France. I always loved shopping and started to find little, unique shops in Paris that I thought others would love, so I built a website to offer my tour services, and voila!
Why I love my job:
I love helping others find their joy in something that screams “got this in Paris!” be it in a LBD (little black dress) or a gift for a loved one. A recent client jokingly called me her “paid friend in Paris,” and I like that too- that I am someone’s new friend here, helping them finding their way around the city for an afternoon.
Why I Loove Paris!:
I’ve lived in Paris since 2002. I’m originally a midwesterner (from Missouri), then went to the west coast for graduate school. I looove getting out of the metro and being blown away by the architecture, the people sitting in cafes and strolling down the streets. I love the gorgeous gardens here (especially Jardin du Luxembourg in spring), cheap (but good!) wine, and, of course, fashion!
One bit of advice I’d give my fresh-out-of-college self:
Wow, that’s a tough one. I really feel like the choices I made then led me to where I am now…I guess I would tell myself that it will all work out, better than expected, and to never give up on your dreams!
My Style:
I’m pretty classic, but like to mix in trendy pieces each season. You can never go wrong in Paris with great jeans, converse or ballet flats and a trench.
My must-have!:
My Chanel bag, given to me by my husband two birthdays ago. It’s classic black leather, but has a little camellia on the chain, which I love.
Chapstick (I’m an addict), and a good red lipstick. I’m holding on to the remains of my Hermes Rouge lipstick, which they don’t make anymore!
Susa Bernard
What I do:
During the week, I am an English teacher. On the weekends, I float away as a fashion blogger. I put into action my creativity. Have fun with fashion, arts and exploring Paris.
How I got started:
I started blogging three years ago. I wanted to portray Paris. And also posted my artwork. Then a little under a year ago, I realized that fashion had become my luscious passion. And that was when my blog got baptized …with champagne…to sweetly carry the name Susu Paris Chic.
Why I love my job:
As a fashion blogger, I love being able “to paint” on my body. This means that the pieces of clothing are like colors and textures, spread on me, creating interesting – and hopefully inspiring – ensembles. I love presenting different places in Paris. Sharing the joy this metropolises procures in me. What is equally important to me is presenting a positive image of an active woman. Kind and gentle, beautiful inside out, yet up-to-date and knowing when and what to consume. How we ladies want and choose to. Showing girls that we can be actors in fashion, not mere passive consumers. Proving that with little means you can be “a glam gal,” in Paris and elsewhere.
Why I Loove Paris!:
I moved to Paris eight years ago. I started with an internship at a language school, then obtained other short contracts. I lived under the Paris roofs, in a tiny little servants room. A very classical thing to do. Before becoming a proud-to-be-so, adopted Parisian, I lived in Finland, Florida and Wisconsin. All of these places have a special meaning to me, their own identity and influences gently cast upon me, making me what I am today.
What I love about Paris is that it is a city where things are refined. People pay attention to detail. Art is everywhere, small and big. High quality and somewhat not so. This city is like a moody lover who doesn’t shower you with over-flowing compliments on the first encounter. Here you have to earn your place. Put your satin heels gently but surely onto the door step. Once you do have seduced this town, you can be sure that you have deserved your place in the lemon macaron tasting sun.
What I’d tell my fresh-out-of-college self:
I’d say to that young lady to believe in herself. To be bold in going after her dreams. To be a dash tougher as well, since not everything comes easily. But good events do find their way over, if you keep trying.
My Style:
I am a modern city chick with an attraction to anything feminine – satin, sparkly and feathery. I love outfit-spicing accessories. Mini skirts and stay ups delight me – and my French husband alike.
My must-have!:
Deep down I am not at all that materialistic, but to go with the playful spirit, I’ll bounce…a leopard tunic! I found one on rue Passy in the 16th district of Paris, from a small, and quite affordable boutique, and I have adored this snazzy frock ever since. It is soft and comfortable, yet makes me feel sexy and happily alive. This is the very sentiment I long to promote though my fashion blog.
May.2.2010
Ann Roth has a shoe in. Queen of the espadrilles scene when she first began her career as a designer, Ann has become the go-to girl for ballet flat fanatics, heel lovers and any diva with a shoe fetish.
Ann graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a degree in business, found herself on the fast track to data entry and computer software engineering and realized she needed a major life makeover.
The story goes: Ann was backstage at a rehearsal when the heel broke off her dance shoe. She stitched it back together and the resulting set of heels had more style and class than the age they came from. This was over four years ago and this year, Ann is celebrating her very own, new studio and showroom.
But what we love about Ann the most is that she cares about other women and has been known to be a great mentor for women in the industry. While she can’t always take emails or phone calls, her dedication and commitment to give back to the growing number of women designers in Atlanta is uncanny. Plus, that girl sure knows a good shoe when she sees one.
Want to know where you can see Ann Roth shoes? See the PINK ladies at May 6, 2010 event, Spring into Ownership event.
Wanna know why we got a pic with Ann at Emily Giffin’s HOTM book launch partay? Ann Roth’s Shoes are one of Emily Giffin’s Fave things. Check out what Emily has to say about her fabulous heels!
We <3 Ann Roth Shoes!
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April.18.2010
Brooke Helfen is hungry. For change, for decreasing waste in landfills and up-cycling. A designer on the west-side, of course 
, launched her business So She Sews a few years back. It started out as a fun get together with her best friend. They had sewing meet-ups and made cute, edgy dresses covered in embellishments like cut outs of octopi. Then Brooke made the leap. And quit her day job. Every artist has to do it at one point. For the past year she’s been fusing plastic bags, yep, the ones you carry your groceries in, into durable, faux leather-like pouches, wallets, cardholders and pocketbooks. And they’re selling like crazy on Etsy. It’s hard work turning Etsy into a business, but Brooke’s been smart. “I have a niche,” Brooke says. Like any entrepreneur, Brooke works hard. Especially because she runs an online business and smart, hip chicks never stop shopping online. “I work really hard, but I also am deliberate about being selfish every once in a while. I just block out two hours in the day to do something I really love.” You can find SoSheSews at the Inman Park Festival, April 24 – 25.2010 and online at SoSheSews. Share
April.4.2010
Susan Nethero, fondly the “Bra Whisperer,” could never find a bra that fit her as a young woman. But she still loved beautiful things and didn’t think she had to sacrifice fashion for size or support.
So she launched one of the country’s most sophisticated lingerie stores, {intimacy}. And it was a hit.
Women were swarming the store to get their “bra makeovers” (a 30 minute one-on-one bra fitting with a “B.R.A. Certified” fitter) and they were filling up their cups with confidence.
The research {intimacy} has conducted shows that a whopping 85% of women wear the wrong bra size, and 55% of women don’t know how to build or care for a bra wardrobe.
So many women come in feeling down. They are slumping their shoulders, and they have back aches and support issues, Susan says. But when they leave, their shirts fit better, their breasts are perkier (and not all bulging out on the sides), boning isn’t digging into their rib cage and they feel sexy.
{intimacy} sees tons of mother-daughter duos pop in the shop to help make their daughters feel better about themselves. (Remember what it was like to be a teen? How awkward it was to get your first bra? Eck!) At the end of the day, Susan says, we just want women to feel beautiful and fun. Not to be tethered down by big ol’ grandma bras.
(Click to read more about a first-hand experience of a “bra makeover”)
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March.21.2010
Lariadi de Artiste has class. An artist from the beginning, picking up her first drawing pencil practically before she could walk, just launched her first line of vintage re-purposed designer clutches. Lariadi grew up all over, received a degree in art from Oakwood University, an Alabama HBU, but now calls Atlanta her home. Her many vibrant and eccentric paintings have been enjoyed by the likes of Janet Jackson, Ashton Kutcher and Janelle Monae. With a passion for fashion, Lariadi put her brush to the test launching a line of vintage couture clutches that are as vibrant, With Lariadi’s peppy personality and down-to-earth demeanor, she’s used her experiences, both good and bad, to inspire women around her to fight for what they love. Lariadi suffered an accident a few years back that left the doctors saying she would never run or walk in high heels again, but here she is strutting her stuff and proving once and for all you can’t keep a strong woman down. 
March.7.2010
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Rachel Pepper has got fly. This designer, behind the schnazzy handbag and accessory line, KiNGFLY, has been stitching colorful leather catches since she ransacked her bff’s dad’s leather shop in college.
But once she stepped out into the real world, and didn’t have any super lucrative work to show for her Art school degree, she knew it was time to set up shop.
At her first 9-5er, a corporate job that required the same uniform every day, Rachel never felt original. It was all monotone-blah, even though she was bursting at the seems with her sparkling personality and quirky sense of humor.
“It’s kind of like wearing really cute undies,” Rachel says of the I’m-a-party-on-the-inside handbags, “you look normal on the outside, but you know you’re awesome on the inside.”
February.18.2010
Tian Justman is a designer living it up on the west end with a bunch of chickens and artists. Yeah, you read it right, didn’t think there were livestock ITP? Think again. This molecular-bio student turned custom-couture designer, with an eye for ruffles, pleats, folds and a knack for matching fabrics, is one of Atlanta’s hottest young designers. She’s got a whole slew of celebrities she’s dressed, including Laura Turner Seydel and Ciara, but she’s more than just a driven entrepreneur. When she knew she couldn’t bear the medical field, she made her voice heard. To her family, to her friends, to the industry, and most importantly, to HERSELF. Tian tells My Voice is Strong how she grew her voice Share
