We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Larissa Ybarra. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Larissa below.

Larissa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Fashion and style have always been a constant presence in my life. As a child, I’d see my grandmother dress in these incredible outfits, some of which she’d tailor to perfection with her sewing machine. She’d mix patterns, use the right colors to accentuate her best features, find ways to pay homage to our Mexican heritage, but the common thread was she’d always tell a story with what she’d wear. I remember thinking that I wanted to do exactly that – tell my story with clothes.

I was always into the arts and I use painting as a medium to express myself. Using fashion to do the same just seemed like a natural extension. As I grew into my style and gained confidence with clothes (and made plenty of fashion faux pas along the way), I learned three important things. First, fashion comes from a place of honesty. If you’re more introverted, you might feel more comfortable in minimalist clothing. Wearing a big poofy dress or statement jewelry might make you feel inauthentic and therefore, unable to truly be yourself. Second, first impressions matter. If you show up to a corporate job interview in a graphic t-shirt that says something distasteful and distressed jeans, your style might communicate that you’re not the right fit for the job. And third, when you honor who you are, you’re empowered to be your best self. We live in a time – and this is especially true with my generation – when individuality is prized and no one wants to conform. When you’re authentic, you’re best equipped to further your own mission – whether that’s your profession, giving back to the community, or chasing your dreams.

I’m grateful to have strong, powerful women in my life who’ve always told a story of who they are with the choices they make. My mission is to help everyone do the same – find out who you are, help you tell your story with your clothes, and empower you to be your best self.

Larissa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have always dreamed of being a wardrobe stylist but never imagined it was something that I could do as a career. I grew up finding my confidence through my clothes, even though looking back at some photos I completely cringe at some of the fashion choices I made. There are some photos I look at though and remember everything about how it made me feel – powerful, confident, and fully myself. I did not go to school for fashion, nor have I had a mentor in the styling industry, but I have met amazing people along the way that have taught me a lot. I have also spent countless hours doing research and reading everything I could get my hands on, which helped me grow both personally and professionally.

Fashion comes from a place of honesty and I help my clients find their authentic, confident, and powerful selves through wardrobe styling. I help them identify how to dress for their body type, use color theory as a way to narrow down which colors best compliment their skin tone, and ultimately produce a personalized outfit formula to help them look their best at any time. The pandemic has truly changed the way the world works – even industries that were reluctant to come online are now in the midst of digital transformation. To that end, I offer virtual, in-person, and hybrid services that offer anything from styling one special event to creating a few outfits to add to one’s wardrobe to completely revamping an entire wardrobe.

I’m honored and proud to have clients that are strong, hardworking, and creative individuals in tech, government, fashion, retail, sales and several other industries. They have amazing careers where they give back to their communities and to have a job that helps them feel and look their best is incredibly rewarding and fun! I’m grateful to have the opportunity to continue to work with brilliant people in the future.

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

I am constantly listening to podcasts, watching Youtube videos, or reading books from creatives I admire. If there is a stylist I look up to, I look for interviews or content they upload to absorb all of the information they put out there. Jason Bolden is a celebrity stylist that I admire, so I’ve watched his Netflix show Styling Hollywood more times than I want to admit to see what a day in the life looks like from him and I keep up with his socials to see any behind the scenes he shows. Another stylist I follow is Maeve Reilly, she has her own Youtube channel to show BTS of her work and has done several podcasts that I love to listen to. This brings me to The Skinny Confidential podcast, this one is gold for any entrepreneur out there. They have interviewed the most incredible people in a wide range of industries and I love playing them back to take notes and always feel more inspired after listening to an episode from them. Autobiographies from people that are in your industry are another major resource that I always turn to when I need inspiration to keep going on this challenging journey and is a great way to learn from others’ mistakes.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social media is a huge part of building your brand and networking in almost any industry today. I take a serious and consistent approach to my social media strategy. I constantly learn from peers on how to be noticeable and authentic online. The most important piece of advice I have on building your brand on social media is to just put it out there. It does not have to be perfect, but timing is everything. The longer you wait on starting that Instagram page the longer it will take for your audience to find you. In addition to this, be true to yourself. Trends come and go but authentic content resonates with any audience and that is the reason they’ll keep coming back to you. My brand has evolved in many different ways from the colors I have chosen for my website, to the type of content I put out into the world, but my mission has always been the same. I waited for years to start a website because some aspects didn’t look perfect or I couldn’t get the right photo to post with an article I wrote. No one ever saw that content I came up with because I didn’t put it out there. I say, look at what others in your industry are doing, look for what’s missing, and just put your content out there. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Eventually, you will find what works for your brand and it will take off.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.larissathestylist.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larissathestylist/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larissa-ybarra-268261148/
• Other: The website is under construction currently but will be up again soon.

Image Credits
Julianna (Jules) Montano – photographer Instagram: @miramira.co