Meet Melissa…
I have always been obsessed with fashion. My mother enjoys telling stories about my younger self. According to her, the fashion bug hit me as a two-year-old. Every morning I would line up all of my clothes, try them on, and proudly show my mother what I came up with. I progressed to playing “Boutique,” setting my porch up as a store and selling the clothes to my imaginary shoppers.
Even at a young age, playing dress-up for me was more then just pretending to be someone else, it was about how I felt wearing the clothes, the places that I pretended to go in them. This may seem dreamy or romantic but my love for fashion certainly paved the wave for my career.
My fashion career began at Nordstrom in 1996, working as sales associate in the Towson, Maryland store. I worked my way through the ranks and was eventually offered a Footwear Buying position, in Miami, Florida. I took the position and quickly realized that being a buyer was a calling. It was a wonderfully glamorous job, travelling to New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles to seek out the most stylish footwear from numerous designers—but I did get homesick. I said goodbye to Nordstrom, packed it all up and headed back to Baltimore.
For the next several years I worked for companies including Anthropologie, JCREW, Faryl Robin Footwear, D. Myers & Son’s Inc, and Barefoot Tess, working in various capacities as Store Manager, Account Executive, and Product Development Manager. I’ve been a Stylist, Sales Manager, Blogger, Production Manager, Buyer, Marketing and Social Media Manager—it’s safe to say if it’s a position in the fashion industry, I’ve done it.
After all that experience, a few years ago I started working for South Moon Under, and felt a true sense of belonging. I spent several years as a Store Manger and was recently promoted to Associate Footwear Buyer—which meant a big move from Baltimore to the Eastern Shore to work at South Moon Under’s Corporate office in Berlin, MD. I am a self-proclaimed “city girl,” but I’m starting to settle in to a new way of life and I love it! Join me each week as I explore coastal fashion, and bring back stylish tips from my travels.
The Bona Style: City Chic Gets Beached
As a transplanted “city girl,” I tend to get myself in trouble when dressing for events that I attend here. Sunday night I went to a bonfire on the beach. This was my first and I had no idea what to wear. You have to take in account a number of things– sand, cold, smoke, and trying to stay fashion forward all at the same time. I went through several outfits and thought I found the perfect look until my friends picked me up and immediately started to laugh at what I was wearing. Who knew that heels on the beach were not acceptable? I had to scramble but in the end came up with the perfect beach bonfire attire that needs to be shared.
The look I ended up going with is affordable, and you may even have the pieces in your wardrobe already. I paired a dark grey pair of jeans with a black tank top (I always wear tanks, I love to layer) light grey t-shirt, and a huge blanket sweater–this is a big trend right now think Aztec prints and a sweater big enough for two. I happened to have bought the one I own last year from H & M for under $30. You can find these at boutiques, online stores or if you’re looking for a bargain, check your local thrift store, sometimes they tend to look more authentic the older they are. To top it off, I threw on a specked scarf–I love to mix patterns. I ended up swapping out my heeled boots for the UGGS that I have had for years. You can also find look alike UGGS in almost any shoe store for a third of the price.
Fashion Rules to Remember:
1. Be comfortable, following trends only work if the trend suits you otherwise you will feel like you are in a Halloween costume.
2. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to dress like a “fashionista,” most of my favorite pieces are things I have found at Forever 21 or in a thrift store.
3. Dress for your body type, I am pretty curvy and short (double curse) but I embrace things that work for my body.
