Inspired by Fashion Weeks? Learn the secrets to styling success from #GirlBoss Jeannine Adams
Roadtrip Nation recently told us that having spoken to thousands of hugely successful career women around the world, the one thing they have in common is quite simply that they love what they do. Ready Pretty founder Jeannine Adams is certainly one of them, so we couldn’t wait to catch up with her post-fashion month to discuss entrepreneurial endeavours and the secrets of styling!
Traditionally, finding a vocation was less about internal passions and more about external pressures. We’d browse a vanilla list of job titles and pick one that vaguely matched our skills and salary expectations and that’d be that. Now, we’re encouraged to find an avocation. We’re encouraged to translate our interests and innate curiosities into successful careers. ‘I had been styling my friends and family for years and realised that the right outfit can be an instant confidence boost’, Jeannine muses. ‘So I set out to create a way to give more women that sense of confidence through the clothing that they put on everyday’.
Speaking of her first job as a junior stylist at a mall store, Jeannine recalls how at 15 years old she was completely in awe of the fact that she got to help pick out outfits as a job. Therein lies the simple secret to success: seek out work that feels like play. Indeed, if work feels like play you’ll have no qualms working harder at it. ‘I’m a firm believer in the harder you work, the luckier you get, and as an entrepreneur that couldn’t be more true. It’s exciting and empowering – and also terrifying! – to be really be in charge of your own destiny’.
Acutely aware of the direct correlation between how hard she works and Ready Pretty’s ability to succeed, Jeannine works long days, but not begrudgingly. ‘I feel so lucky to do what I do’, she says as she recounts the touching story of her first ever paying client. ‘She had recently gone through a bad breakup and was headed to a wedding where her ex-boyfriend would also be. Needless to say, she wanted to look as good as ever. It was my absolute mission to find her the perfect outfit, and together, we did’.
For those of you who have been inspired by the recent fashion weeks and are now considering a career in styling, an emotional investment in your work is evidently one of the biggest secrets to styling success. ‘Our users are truly looking for a friend to help them shop’, Jeannine agrees. ‘We take the time to get to know our clients, understand their wants, needs, bodies and budgets. That’s what makes a good stylist and that’s what we offer at Ready Pretty’.
Zara, ASOS and H&M are Jeannine’s go-to destinations for affordable, on trend looks. Flares, she tells us, are a must have staple this season – ‘and not just denim!’ A great work option, they can be paired with a long and lean vest with a wide belt over the top for that perfect 70s power look. She reminds us that fit is everything as we ask how we can make a high street outfit look as though it’s come straight from the catwalk. ‘I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a piece altered in order for it to fit just right’. There’s that caring, personal touch that makes Ready Pretty styling successful.
