Hello Fashionistas! My name is Jennifer Leland, and I am thrilled to begin my first semester as a Style Guru this fall for CollegeFashionista. I currently reside the beautiful place I get to call home—Seattle, Washington. I am about to embark on my senior year at the University of Washington, where I am majoring in communications with a specialty in public relations. I aspire to work in the public relations sector of a company within the fashion industry.
My love for fashion started at a young age but really developed as I worked as a sales associate for Nordstrom over the past year and a half. Being surrounded by the different designer collections and seasonal fashion made every day of work feel like a trip to a museum. My time there consisted of being the denim specialist for my department, which led to eventually working with the stylist office, taking styling appointments for young/teen customers. This is where I established a love for helping others find their unique style and express themselves through fashion.
While I love helping others find their individual style, I can’t seem to place my finger on my own. This is because my “style” is a collaboration of a little bit of everything. I have always been one to bend the rules just a little bit, and fashion is no exception. Perhaps it has to do with my fear of staying in one place or my restless personality, but I’ve been told I have a little bit of a bohemian mixed with feminine, mixed with edgy and sometimes preppy style that not even I could describe. Bottom line, when someone feels good and confident about his or her outfit, that is when he or she looks their ultimate best.
Fashion is a puzzle to me, and every day I get to play with different colors, textures and silhouettes to express my individuality. Since describing my style comes as a challenge, picking only one outfit to kick off this opportunity with posed yet another challenge. When in doubt, one will never regret wearing solids. Running with that, I chose an Olivia Palermo off-the-shoulder top that contains buttons and delicate lace detailing on the sleeve. I paired this elaborate top with a simple pair of white nautical shorts, a strappy tan Sam Edelman sandal and a tan hat to complete this look of trendy simplicity. I finished this look off with my go-to Rebecca Minkoff cross-body in a stone color that contains fringe detailing.
I am so grateful to begin this journey as a Style Guru and to share different trends, styles and looks with all the Fashionistas out there! Be sure to follow me on social media to stay updated on all my latest posts.
