MEET THE BLOGGER / BELLES & REBELLES

Belles & Rebelles

Posted 13 July, 2010 in Meet the blogger | 0 Comments

FASHION AND STYLE 2010: INTERVIEW WITH BLOGGER AND STYLIST M. FROM BELLES&REBELLES.

LS: Hello Megan! It's such a pleasure to have a talk with you.
Please start with a little description about you - how old are you, where you're from, and everything you'd like to say to start.

 

M: I am a 24 year old native New Yorker. I grew up on Long Island and graduated from a prestigious liberal arts college with a degree in Art History. Always interested in fashion, in High School I used to recycle clothing by cutting them up to make them new and more interesting. My best friend called herself the "fashion disaster" and would call on me, whom she called the "fashion master", to dress her for everything from a casual night out, to Halloween, to dances and events! I always found joy in creating my own new trends as well as making sure I was on point with current trends! I always looked to make things my own and always gave my look an almost tomboy-ish twist! And Not too much has changed with that!

 

LS: The film that changed your life?

 

M: This one is going to sound goofy, but the one film that changed my life is from back in the early 1990s. The movie was called "Little Giants." The reason that it changed my life is because in one scene the girl plays football while wearing her cheerleading skirt. It was the first time I realized that I could mix and match boys and girls clothing! I've always been a tomboy, and I was 9 when I saw the movie, yet, to this day I still mix and match masculine and feminine pieces and still have that tomboy style!

 

LS: This morning you woke up and..?

 

M: The first thing I do every morning (it is the ONE constant of each of my days), is work out! It gets my brain ticking and gives me energy for the day. Then I have a nice breakfast! Breakfast foods are my favorite! I think I could eat them at every meal!

 

LS: We know you as a blogger, but you're also known as a stylist. What's the most rewarding part of your stylist career?

 

M: I consider the blog to be part of my career as a stylist. I style my own photo shoots for it as well as other shoots outside of the blog. As a stylist I have assisted other stylists as well, whether it be aiding in personal shopping or assisting on their photo shoots. At the boutique that I work out, we are personal stylists to clients and we help people put together wardrobes, whether it be for their everyday life or for events! The most rewarding part of all of this is having the ability to inspire others with what I have been inspired with. I love to excite people with the things that excite me! Also, opening their eyes to up-and-coming designers or the trends that will be coming before they even know about them! The best thing is when you can make others happy, when you can make someone feel good and excited about fashion, themselves, and what they are wearing. That is very rewarding.

LS: Describe your style.

 

M: I am a TOTAL MUTT. I will mix and match anything and everything. I make my own rules! I would like to say that I am very eclectic.

 

LS: First designer item you ever bought?

M: I think it was a Louis Vuitton Speedy Bag. That bag is timeless! Before then, I was also given a designer item in High School that was pretty special. My cousin was able to give me a denim Dolce & Gabbana jacket that was used on a photo shoot with the then very popular boy band ‘NYSNC! I shared it amongst my sisters. It was much too big but we would wear it anyway. I think it was worn by Joey Fatone. We still have it, of course!

LS: In a nutshell, your philosophy is:

 

M: Be open and be flexible. Have fun. If you aren't having fun, it isn't worth it. Be open-minded. I am working on saying "yes" as much as possible, taking chances, and taking as many opportunities as I can handle. Also, NEVER be quick to judge anyone or anything, especially when it comes to fashion. It seems like every time that I immediately decide that I dislike something, I end up absolutely loving it about one day later!

LS: Let's talk about Belles&Rebelles.
How and when did you get started blogging and what do you wish you'd known back then?

 

M: I began Belles&Rebelles in October of 2009. I was very addicted to reading fashion blogs and a friend of mine suggested that I should start my own. I hadn't really thought about it but then decided, "why not?" I thought it would be fun to show my tastes to an audience, as many bloggers had done for me. I wish I had known that it would be so much work! I would have never guessed just how much work it would be! But it is definitely work that I enjoy!

 

LS: Who or what has been your greatest fashion influence?

 

M: At the moment I am most influenced by Mary-Kate Olsen and Erin Wasson. They both nail that "glamorous-yet-casual" look. Alexa Chung is great too. They all always look effortlessly chic. I look to them often.

 

LS: Your fashion tip for the upcoming season?

 

M: My tip for EVERY season is to always be open minded. Allow recycled looks to return. Have fun with fashion! And be comfortable!

 

LS: Trends to look out for?

 

M: Velvet! There are many more, but I am most excited for the velvet trend! It started to make appearances this past year and will be back in full effect this coming autumn season. I am on the lookout for an oversized velvet tee! Any suggestions as to where I should look? Send them my way!

 

LS: If you owned a shop, what would it be called?

 

M: Wow, I would love to own a shop! If I was to own a shop, I think I would call it "Avenue." Pronounced "Ave-a-New!" It's a little play on words that incorporates my last name as well. Or maybe "Bucks," which also brings my last name into the name of the shop! This idea was kind of stolen from the Kardashians, a famous family here in the USA, who have a boutique called Dash! I look to them often for styling ideas; they are great and very relatable. Or maybe I would go a whole different route and call the shop "Sundance." I think I quite like that. It was the name of my first dog as well as the name of a beautiful location of a very famous film festival (where some of my very favorite films were discovered!). There are quite a few possibilities and I am having some fun thinking with this question!

 

LS: Lindestore.com is famous for its attention to new designers: who are your favourite emerging designers and what is it that you love about them?

 

M: This is my favorite thing about Lindestore.com because one of my main goals on Belles&Rebelles is to find and expose emerging designers. I am always on the look out for new, fun designers. It is so refreshing to stumble upon great up-and-coming designers that no one else knows about! I love to be the first and/or only person to have things, so I truly support these emerging designers. Recently I discovered a new brand called Barlow, which I am completely in love with. Their designs are inspired by masculine influences like, for example, American football uniforms, WWE Wrestling uniforms, and even fishermen jackets! They bring a sense of humor to fashion and each garment is just FUN, which translates to fun to wear! Plus, as I said before, the tomboy element is just so me! I am also bias towards a new line called Nire Collection as I personally know the designer and was even asked to model for her look book! She creates comfortable pieces that are perfect to wear day-to-night! Same with Plastic Island, another line I recently blogged about! They have great, soft and comfortable knits and tees with unique cuts! There are so many more and I have blogged about many of them on my site!

 

LS: What are your upcoming projects?

 

M: Lots of really great projects are on the horizon! I am actually about to head out to check out three new Holiday Collections today! I am also hoping to book a trip to Miami, FL to get to Bathing Suit Fashion Week in July! I just returned from Vancouver, BC and Alaska, where I saw some very unique fashions that are very different from any other fashions in the world! I will be posting about all of this very soon! You will have to stay tuned at Belles&Rebelles to see everything!

 

LS: Finally, what's the one question you wish people asked you but you've never had the opportunity to answer? (And what is the answer?)

 

M: Wow, this is hard! Plus this interview was filled with some really great questions that I have never been asked before. Hmm, I wish people would ask me what my favorite color is! It's funny, I would have thought I would be asked this by now, but I never have been! And regardless of the fact that most people would say that my favorite color is probably Black since that is what I am mostly seen wearing, my favorite color is RED!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to work with you! This was a GREAT interview! I had a lot of fun thinking up the answers to each question! I look forward to seeing the finished product and hopefully working together again in the future!!

LS: Thanks to you Megan, we did love to work with you too.

 

Read the complete interview here: DOWNLOAD PDF FILE

 

You can all find Megan at http://www.bellesandrebelles.blogspot.com and at http://www.youtube.com/user/BELLESandREBELLES

Here you can find Megan's selections from the Fall Winter Preview by Lindestore.com: