The Discovery of Brainy Chic

Ladies, here is where your professional fashion questions will be answered.

There is this constant battle for women to find the fine line between professional and fashionable. Whether heading to your first interview or trying to climb the ladder in your existing employer, no matter how intelligent and competent you are; The Fashion Matters. What you look like matters; what you wear matters. Not in the sense that you have to wear expensive couture clothing but there is a requirement to look appealing and put together. The right outfit can give a woman the confidence and the self-definition to put themselves out there for an interview at a company or a job promotion.

The childhood experience that sparked my passion for this topic was when I was 12 years old. My mother was in the Army for 9 years and after the tragic 9-1-1 terrorist attack happened; she was deployed overseas for 2 years. During her absence, my two other siblings and I were left under the care of my maternal grandmother. While my grandma was a good caregiver, she hated the mall or any kind of shopping center other than mandatory run to the grocery store. 2 whole years without the Saturday afternoon shopping trips that was a reoccurring event during my childhood. This may go without saying but I had no fashion sense or the ability to go out and change that. Fast forwarding to my mother's return to the states, one of her first tasks when she returned was when she took us shopping. I remember going through the mall, finding and mimicking trends that I seen on television and in magazines. My mother made it her top priority to provide us a presentable wardrobe. When I returned back to school after my "transformation" I recollect new connections I made with my peers discussing brands and trends of the late 1990's and early 2000's. Personally, I discovered my love for clothing and that I can create different outfit to visually communicate my moods. It is a way to speak without words.

Brainy chic, is the idea that while we are post-college women embarking into Corporate America that good fashion sense is a requirement to be cohered alongside our educational successes.


- Desiree'