We were lucky to catch up with Amanda Vargus recently and have shared our conversation below.

Amanda , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?

20 years ago, 5% of people paid to get their lawn mowed. Today 40% do. What does this have to do with the personal styling industry? Well, nothing and everything at the same time.

Today, we understand that time is our most valuable commodity. With that, we’ve seen examples of huge growth in service industries. Many of us employee a house cleaner to save us time from mundane tasks. But we’ve also seen the shift to outsourcing or bringing in professionals to help better our lives when we don’t have the expertise – such as a personal trainer or a business coach.

The retail industry has dramatically shifted over the past decade and the pandemic fueled this further, faster. The Mall, once the destination for shopping, is no longer and retail stores are lacking both selection and sizing. The world of shopping has become fragmented and overwhelming with social influencers and billions of online shopping options. And with most of us trying to build personal brands for our own businesses or areas of expertise, the pressure to look the part is at an all-time high.

This is why I see people understanding the benefits of working with a personal stylist. Once thought of only for celebrities and people on television, entrepreneurs and executives are better understanding how outsourcing their wardrobe needs to a professional is hugely beneficiary. Shopping can take a lot of time and often we don’t know what we are looking for, which results in hours of scrolling, last minute stress shopping, purchasing pieces that don’t work and ending up with clothing that not only isn’t functional but doesn’t make you look your best.

As personal stylists we understand retailers, brands, body types and how to balance proportions, colors and styles to create outfits so that you don’t have to. If this is an area someone struggles with, working with a stylist can be transformational in all areas of life.

In the age of digital shopping, virtual calls and tools created to digitize your clients’ closet & wardrobe, this is becoming an increasingly sought after service and with less time and friction than ever before.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Amanda’s belief is that style is much more than just your outward appearance. It can truly change the way you view yourself and develop a greater sense of how you present yourself to the world. Clothes are the means to bring this transformative inner confidence to you during the styling process.

Amanda’s love of fashion began at a young age, as she spent hours creating outfits for her dolls. She grew up flipping through the pages of VOGUE, sparking the dream of a career in the fashion industry. She spent years in corporate before joining The RealReal, the largest luxury consignment e-commerce company in the United States. While there, she developed a deep knowledge of designers, brands, retailers and specialized in closet editing for over 1500 clients. Having both a background in fashion and business, Amanda understands the importance of developing a strong personal brand through style and how this can impact success both personally and professionally. She’s taken those skills to build Wave + Woven, a full-service concierge styling company, whose mission it is to help others look their best and save time doing so.

Amanda’s styling expertise, editorial work and trend forecasting can be found in USA Today, GLAM Weekly and Marika Magazine. She currently writes a quarterly style column for a local Boston-based magazine. She specializes in wardrobe curation for both men and women executives and entrepreneurs, as well as interior styling. Her knowledge, attention to detail and fashion-forward vision has made Amanda a recognizable talent and tastemaker for her clients in Boston and beyond.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Shortly after the pandemic hit and we were all living on virtual calls, I started feeling off in my work. All of the glamour of going out, entertaining clients and having an office overlooking the Boston Harbor had been stripped away. All that was left at that point was the work itself and I wasn’t inspired, motivated or challenged any longer. I I had been in the industry in media advertising sales since I graduated college and continued to move up. But a stable career and a paycheck just wasn’t doing it for me anymore. So I hired a life coach and went through the process of self discovery and exploration. From a very young age I would create outfits my dolls and grew up flipping through the pages of VOGUE. I had always loved fashion and editorial but I lived in Boston and was unsure how to make a career from a passion. One day with my coach, and I’ll never forget this, I did a visualization exercise and she asked me to see myself in my next career. I saw colors, textures, felt fabrics and saw myself living out this dream career. The feeling overwhelmed me. I started sobbing. I knew I had to go out and pursue this for myself, but as a 36 year old divorced mother, this mountain felt almost impossible to climb. I gave myself 6 months. In that time, I made the decision to give myself almost a $200,000 pay cut, join a fashion e-commerce resale company and completely start over. While I was there, I committed fully to the role and completely immersed myself into the world of retail to learn everything I possibly could. But since it wasn’t really about the money or a long term solution, I told myself was that when I stopped learning, I would reassess and find something new. And that time did come, and it’s the day I took the entrepreneurial leap of faith and work on building my own business, my own clients and on my own terms. Today I style some of Boston’s top executives & entrepreneurs and working on co-producing my first Runway Show later this year. Sometimes in those moments you pivot from things you feel a sense of loss initially, but this redirection is truly often a path for bigger and better things more aligned for you.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I have read so many self betterment books, podcasts and I’m obsessed with the entrepreneurial journey. So often we hear about the success at the top and not the struggles in the thick of it. I love How I Built This with Guy Raz and books by Mel Robbins, Sarah Blakely and Jamie Kern Lima who successfully built their own brands. I don’t come from a family of business owners and my parents are pretty risk averse. I don’t have many other friends who started their own companies. So I really try to surround myself in knowledge and advice of those who have done it before. I also have gotten great insight from other authors and hosts like Ryan Holiday and Jay Shetty. The mental game in building a business is so important so self-awareness and understanding what you can and cannot control has been monumental for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.waveandwoven.com
• Instagram: @waveandwoven
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandavargus/