In the 'Details'

I love New York! It's probably my favorite city in the entire world. I was extremely excited to go there because I knew I had a lot of good meetings set up and a job styling a men's shoot for GILT man. On top of that, my mom and my sister were coming to hang out in NY. It was my mom's first trip to the Big Apple, and I wanted it to be really special. 

Working with GILT group was fantastic! I was so happy to be working again with men's clothes, creating looks that I would wear and hopefully that people would want to buy. They are a very talented and organized group to work for. Not to mention handsome… haha! Yes I would be referring to Tyler. I have known Tyler for about six months at that point, and he is a really great guy. He is definitely known as one of the really handsome straight guys in the NY fashion world, and I knew I could have a lot of fun with him. He was a very good sport. I thank him a lot for bringing this project to me and for making the experience so great. BTW, he is NOT single, so don't even think about it ladies!

Speaking of ladies, I couldn't imagine my life without my best girlfriends Annebet, Danielle, and Tracy. They have been in my life for a long time. Tracy and I have known each other since the first day of ninth grade, and I met Danielle and Annebet while I was interning at Vogue. We have had SO many good times together running around NY! I love them so much. Whenever I am stressed out or need advice, they are there, no matter what time of day. They are so, so special to me. 

One of the things I discovered when I went out on my own was that some jobs you get paid for and others you do for free with the hopes of being hired again or on a more permanent basis. It was becoming frustrating to me, because the jobs I was doing were costing me money (shipping clothes back and forth, paying for assistants, etc.) but I was getting to a point where I needed to land jobs that were actually paying. Being able to speak to Danielle about this really helped me out, because as a stylist she completely related to how I was feeling and was able to steer me in the right direction with the good advice she always seems to have. I know I can count on her to tell it like it is! 

At this point, I felt as if I was gaining a little momentum with my career. Being on the east coast and trying to juggle upcoming shoots and fittings in LA as well as dealing with getting samples back to the proper showrooms was a lot to handle on my own, so any break that I had was spent trying to answer the tons of emails I was getting. I knew that although business wasn’t booming, I needed to begin to put the pieces in place if I was going to push forward into the next level of my business. In a sense I was living by the mantra, “If you build it, they will come.” I was worried that if I hired an assistant that they wouldn’t have enough to do, but I figured I would deal with that when it happened. I knew that I was in the beginning stages of creating a business, and I didn’t want to make a mess of it right from the beginning. If I had someone else to bounce ideas off of, manage my schedule, and help me with all of the logistical things, it would allow me to focus on the creative side of my business and generating business for myself. 

Lindsay was the concierge at the hotel I stay at in NY. She was the same every time I interacted with her: chipper, helpful, professional, willing. I remember her pulling me aside and saying that she wanted to work for me, and I was taken off guard. The more I thought about it, the more I began to see that she may be exactly what I was looking for. She reminded me of me when I was pursuing a job with Rachel: pleasantly persistent, but not giving up until she got the job. Good quality to have. She quit her job at the hotel right after I told her I wanted her to come work for me. It was real. She was packing up her life in New York and moving to LA and I now had an employee that I was responsible for. YIKES!I have been so lucky to have the support of InStyle magazine. My first big women’s fashion story was for them. I styled model/actress Liya Kebede in the SS11 Jil Sander collection for their March 2011 issue. It was a huge deal for me, and I am grateful to have styled many shoots for them since. When Ariel Foxman, Editor in Chief of InStyle, asked me if I would be interested in doing a monthly page for InStyle, I was over the moon. My first thought was “WOW! My mom is going to have field day bragging about this one to the residents of Port Perry, Ontario.” The concept behind the page was that it would be a place where I would discuss all of the things that were exciting me/catching my eye. From red carpet mavens to my favorite desserts and my fave hotels, whatever was striking my fancy at the time. My own page in InStyle?! Things seemed like they were really motoring, and thank goodness for that because my mom and my sister were flying into New York and I was excited to share the news with them.

Everytime I was in New York I would call my mom and say, “You have to come here! You will love it!” And finally, she was here. I was ecstatic to show her the city I love so much. My sister, Mandy, had been to New York before to visit me while I was interning at W magazine, but I had not seen her for many months, so I was happy to have both of them by my side. 

I am VERY close with my mom and my sister. I always have been. People used to think that my sister and I were twins (she’s two year older than me) when we were younger. We were inseparable. We are still very, very close and try to visit each other as much as possible. She has been my biggest supporter since we were super small. She has always been very protective of me…still is. I can’t imagine my life without her. I love her sense of humor, her big heart, and her laugh. So excited that she got engaged to her boyfriend over Christmas! I have the honorable duty of styling her. Can’t wait!

What can I say about my mom Debby? I love her so much. She has been through it with me…everything! She is so gentle and kind. Walking with her through New York was a dream come true. One of my fave parts of this season is when my mom and my sister are in the room together discussing whether or not they should open the box. It’s too hysterical and SO them. Can you imagine if someone had put that box in their room and they opened it? The devastation. We had so much fun on this trip! You will get to see more of it (and them) on next week’s episode.Going into Details magazine to pitch concepts for a potential photo shoot was one of the most nerve-wracking things I had ever done. I didn’t really know what one did in a pitch, how they were structured, etc. and that freaked me out big time. I also knew that getting this shoot would be a game changer for my career because Details is such a well-respected men’s fashion magazine, so the pressure was on. Everyone at Details was really nice, but business is business and an idea is either good or not. During the meeting I knew it wasn’t going well at all, but kept trying to act as if I was just holding out on my best idea. Saving the best for last! When I walked out of the building, I felt as if I had blown it! 

I was so happy when Gary came back from London. New York had been a whirlwind and I was excited to see him and hear about his adventure. When the phone rang and I saw that it was Andrea from Details calling, you can only imagine how hard my heart was beating. Being put on hold was absolute torture, but then the good news came as did the tears. They were tears of joy! I finally felt that after all of the meetings, all of the phone calls, trips back and forth to New York, getting jobs and losing jobs that things were finally starting to happen, that I was on my way to becoming a successful stylist.

Thanks again for tuning in last week! I am beyond happy that you are enjoying the show!