Small town, humble beginnings!

Dress - Forever 21| Cardigan - Kristin Davis x Belk

Somewhere on the map lies a small town with a big heart! A place where people are genuine, they smile first, and always stop to ask how you’re doing.  For me, it’s my town of Sedalia! I remember finishing up graduate school and having a conversation with my advisor.  As I was discussing my future plans, as it relates to a career (I wanted a job in Fashion PR), his only response was, “If you stay here, it will be a dead end!” I have played those words in my head, over and over again, especially when things weren’t going the exact way I’d planned (I’m a Virgo).  My intent was to prove Dr. K wrong, but it was going to take a lot of work.  On a quest to find the perfect fashion job in a nearby city, it was looking dismal. No fashion PR jobs in sight.  It appeared that Dr. K was right, and I’m going to have to pack up the BMW and head to New York.   Until that day I met the renown, Preston Bailey.

Mr. Bailey was a keynote speaker at an event I attended, and afterwards, I muscled up the courage to introduce myself.  As we shook hands, he asked what I did. It was my turn to say Fashion PR, and so, I proudly owned it.  I also told him that it was slow around here and I wasn’t sure if people “get it!” His reply overshadowed Dr. K’s.  He said, “Then it’s your job to make them get it! Make them get You!” And at that moment, I decided that I would use my small town as my playground.  If I made mistakes, I would learn the lessons try again! I created fashion outlets here, from Fashion Shows, successfully representing two Beauty Queens from the Miss Universe Organization (Miss NC USA 2010 & 2013), to having my own Fashion and Beauty segment on our morning news shows!

Dr. K’s views weren’t totally wrong.  I mean, nobody says fashion and think North Carolina, but you can now say, YC, and you will automatically think FASHION! Carve your niche! Small town, humble beginnings!

Photography by Torey Searcy of Torey Searcy Photography