Today we’d like to introduce you to Sahra Brandt.

Hi Sahra, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
It all started in Kindergarten…I was very particular about my clothes. I had a favorite pair of stirrup leggings and black and purple sweater that my mom would have to wash basically daily so I wouldn’t throw a fit. I loved clothes that made me feel a certain way. Flash forward just a bit; I’m in middle school, watching Lizzie McGuire on this tiny TV in my brother’s room and drawing outfits in my sketchpad that I think each character should wear. In high school, I still loved drawing outfits and expressing myself with my clothes. I started modeling, which was a great way to get free clothes and to play dress up. My senior project in high school was a fashion show I produced and designed all the clothes for with a fellow sartorially inclined friend. After graduating a year early I moved to NYC to pursue modeling, and then soon attended NYC’s prestigious LIM college where I studied fashion merchandising and minored in visual merchandising. Every year of my college career I was required to do hands-on internships and to work backstage at fashion week. After schooling I worked as a corporate menswear buyer and then a womenswear buyer in Washington, DC. Seeing the very flat, corporate style in DC inspired me to want to help the people I was seeing dress better, have more personality, and shop in fresh and exciting places. So, Shop the City was born in early 2017.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’m very risk averse, so I kept working my day jobs for many years while building my clientele and streamlining my process. After I had kids I went full in in my business. There were definitely slow months, and the pandemic threw some curveballs, but business is going so well!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a personal stylist specializing in taking the mental load out of getting dressed; I’m known for an approachable guide to finding your personal style.

What makes me proud and sets me apart from other stylists I think is the same thing – that I truly take the time to understand each clients’ preferences, needs, and personality and infuse the into their styling. Every client leaves feeling more like THEMSELF than they have in a long time.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I am very risk adverse; I like to trial things with the homes of reverting back and not make any big changes all at once. That being said, when I officially quit my day job to go all-in on my styling in 2021 I was TERRIFIED. What if I didn’t make enough money to support my family? What if I needed to return to a day job I wasn’t ultra passionate about? It was a roller coaster, for sure, but I’m so grateful and proud to have taken that risk.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shopthe.city
• Instagram: instagram.com/shop_the_city
• Facebook: Facebook.com/shopthecityus