I’ve always loved fashion and beauty.  In first grade I had the coolest pair of gaucho pants with rainbow embroidery stitched across the legs and a pair of white patent leather go-go boots that I would have worn everyday if my mom had allowed it. In third grade I begged my mom to let me start wearing make-up (she of course said NO).  In middle school it was all about Jordache jeans and Nike tennis shoes.  High school brought the “tuck and roll” jeans, neon sweatshirts, big earrings and aqua net hair spray.  My first job when I turned 16 was at a women’s clothing store.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  They were going to pay me to put display mannequins together and help people pick out clothes?  Seriously?

 

Flash forward to college where I decided to turn my passion for fashion into a career.  I majored in Fashion Merchandising with the goal of becoming a retail buyer.  When I graduated from college I was fortunate enough to land a job with a major national retailer in one of their buying offices as an administrative assistant.  I climbed the corporate ladder quickly and achieved my goal – I ended up as a buyer and worked there for 7 years.  It was fantastic!  I loved my job!  I traveled to NY every month on buying trips, I knew about the latest trends months before they hit the stores, I shopped for a living and I was so incredibly happy. 

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However, there was a down side....things weren't as glamorous as you might think.  The buying industry was extremely demanding.  I worked hard – very, very hard.  The schedule I kept for most of my time as a fashion buyer was work a 10-11 hour day in the office, leave work, get home and heat up a microwave dinner and then turn on my laptop and work for a couple of hours from home.  I also went into the office at least one day on the weekends.  I eventually got burnt out and ended up leaving the fashion industry for a job as a buyer for a family run furniture store.  After 7 years of working my tail off in fashion, I finally had a job working normal hours.  I wanted to rest and reenergize myself for a few years and then return to my passion.  That was 20 years ago and I have not had a job in fashion since.  I’m on my third job since I was a retail buyer and each one takes me further and further away from what I really love.  I decided about 6 months ago that I needed an outlet for my true passion.  That’s how I came to the decision to be a blogger.  I to share my love for all things fashion, beauty and lifestyle. 

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I will be the first to admit that I don’t know the first thing about blogging.  I expect that I will stumble along the way as I learn how this all works.  I've realized in my life that making mistakes is all part of the process.  I don’t know where this new journey will take me but I am so excited about the possibilities ahead of me!

Shine On, Kelly