We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sara Acevedo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sara below.
Hi Sara, thanks for joining us today. One deeply underappreciated facet of being an entrepreneur or creative is the kind of crazy stuff that happens from time to time. It could be anything from a disgruntled client attacking an employee or waking up to find out a celebrity gave you a shoutout on TikTok – the sudden, unexpected hits (both positive and negative) make the profession both exhilarating and exhausting. Can you share one of your craziest stories?
When I first started styling, I had this funny experience in New York with a now-famous A-list celeb.
I wasn’t exactly well-prepared by the senior stylist who sent me there nor did I have enough experience in general. The fitting was anxiety inducing – the client didn’t love any of the looks, her publicist was stressed out, and we ran out of clothes. I left overwhelmed.
Later that night, back in my hotel room, the publicist and I stumbled upon an outfit I’d kept in reserve, it was one look only.
As I was packing up for the next morning, I spotted a makeup stain on the white silk top the client was supposed to wear but there was no time to send it for cleaning. So, I tried to remove the stain in the sink, but by 5 am, the shirt was still damp, and she was supposed to wear it by 7 am.
To make a long story short, just when it seemed like everything was falling apart, the client decided to wear the outfit I had tucked away. She did her interview, and everything turned out fine!
Funny thing, though – she later wanted that white top for another interview, only to discover I’d shrunk it. Lucky for us, it wasn’t a big deal, and we switched to another look. So, what did I learn? Two things: stuff tends to work out if you keep at it, and always be ready to handle unexpected hiccups.
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?
I’m a wardrobe stylist. Simply put, I provide the wardrobe and styling suggestions to individuals and for advertising. After working in other related areas, I worked for a more seasoned stylist before venturing out on my own, picking up valuable insights along the way.
I believe what sets me apart is that I don’t consider myself as working solely in the ‘fashion’ business. This industry is about people as well as marketing. Whether I’m marketing a product or an individual, I always bear in mind that people are the ones making the choices. Celebrities, too, are individuals, and clothing should communicate something authentic about the person or brand. I think many people want to focus solely on the clothes, but, in reality, I see clothes as enhancing the person, not the other way around.
It’s fun to connect people with brands and styles that communicate who they are!
Have you ever had to pivot?
Definitely after COVID I had to look at what was important to me and start thinking about ways to scale. Having so many restrictions for two years made it very clear that I needed to keep the elements that I love about my work to stay happy yet figure out how to be more independent. The various economics we face can knock us down, like the current writer’s strike. People in entertainment are really having a time and it’s rough. So I think learning to keep what you enjoy and fundamentally what you do but learning other ways of branching out, or delivering, in order to survive is super important.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I want people, particularly women, to feel good about themselves. I think style and wardrobe can do that. Feeling like your physical self represents your attitude and feelings is helpful and it helps others to understand you as well. It’s not curing cancer but I do think it’s important and I have seen first-hand how it changes people.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.saraacevedo.com
- Instagram: iamsaraacevedo
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IamSaraAcevedo
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamsaraacevedo/
Image Credits
Photo by Ian Spanier