Steven Onoja is a style influencer and visual storyteller that uses his keen style eye and aesthetic to tell visual stories. Starting out as a mission to elevate the IG menswear fashion to another level with timeless looks and classic styles… Of course in today’s world of big brand social media influencers, Steven is telling a lot of brand stories through his personal style expression.
Born in Nigeria and moving to NYC, Steven says “It was difficult to leave the place where I grew up and considered my home, but I felt ready for a new challenge. New York in America was the right place and I moved to Brooklyn. Here I learned a lot because I understood that I needed to adapt to be competitive in a new country. Switching mentality was fundamental to keep expressing myself and New York helped me to do exactly that.”
If you follow Steven you’ll see a very restrained but beautifully minimal style palate that emphasizes timeless colors like black, white, and grey tones.
Style can involve a deep and more intimate perspective – like outwardly presenting your own vision of who you are.
– Steven Onoja
“I’m Grateful to God and feeling very blessed to have made it this far and grateful for all the people I’ve met in the process, both blessing and lessons.”
Style, travel, and motorcycles, Rachael Dickhute’s blog is definitely not one to go unnoticed. Rachael combines her years in the fashion industry along with her passion for travel and motorcycles in her successful blog, ‘Everything Hauler.’ Rachael has been running this blog for four years and as a pretty large following. Her unique combination of fashion and motorcycles not only makes this blog pretty badass, but it also makes it intriguing to a variety of audiences. “I worked in the fashion industry for years in the creative marketing fields. The blogging spun from that and evolves each year as I grow personally. Whether it’s my interests or style that expands, so does the site almost as if it were a living extension of myself,” Rachael says.
Her style
From a very young age, Rachael loved to explore and had loads of creativity. “ My father raised me on vinyl and my mother is an artist and avid reader. My family traveled often, military family, all over the world. I was exposed to culture early on which fed my thirst for education and mental expansion,” Rachael says. You can definitely see the inspiration from her childhood in her present style.
Rachael’s style is so eclectic yet so well put together at the same time. You get a vintage vibe with bohemian flare with a moto twist. She can also clean up nicely as well taking classiness to new levels.
“My style evolves over time as my interests change. When I travel, I pick up on styles in the areas I visit. My favorite genre of music is classic rock, so depending on which songs put me into which moods, that’s what mostly fosters my style evolution,” Rachael says.
Motorcycles
Rachael has an eye for fashion and a passion for motorcycles. “I believe the obsession with motorcycles came from listening to classic rock (ACDC, CCR, etc) my whole life. I decided I wanted to ride and reached out to a local Moto Club, the Venice Vintage Motorcycle Club. They have organized group rides every third Sunday out of Venice beach, which I found on Facebook. I had already purchased my own gear so I just showed up and literally hopped on the back of one of their bikes,” Rachael explains. Now, a year later, Rachael owns her own vintage Harley Sportster. She also rides with two local clubs and have made lifelong friends. “The style side of riding motorcycles is really just a perk! Can’t go wrong with denim and leather.”
Branding
Previously, Rachael worked in the marketing field of the fashion industry. Her years of doing that left her with an extensive network. “I am the type of person that can have a lasting relationship with a brick wall if I wanted to. So I think with my social personality and eagerness to meet people, I have really fallen into some amazing opportunities,” Rachael says. Her personality and drive is what brings success to her blog. “I never falter with my ‘personal brand voice’, if you will. I noticed an increase in engagement the more genuine my writing is.” Her personalization has been key to keeping viewers intrigued. She adds her personal touches to each post by allowing her audience to gain insight on the things that inspire her the most. “I started to embed which song inspired my posts into the post themselves using Spotify. I was more interested in giving the music, art and inspiration behind my writing rather than telling people what was ‘in style’. I also noticed that the people that were engaging were actually reading the site, versus just peeking at the pictures. They would comment personal things like ‘I felt the same way when I listened to that song!’ or ‘I love that quote from Kerouac!’ That really made me love what I do,” Rachael says.
As for the future of Rachael’s brand, who knows what may be in store. “I am more the type of person that lives day to day. Hopefully, I will be still riding my Harley and empowering women all over to do what they love and share it with the world,” Rachael says. She would love to incorporate more of an empowerment movement along the way. “I feel with social media, existing body image issues and self-worth beginning to slide down a dangerous path of measuring self-worth. I would love to team up with others with an influence like myself and do something powerful toward good. It seems like a massive undertaking but I feel we have the platform, we’ve established a voice, now we need to do something greater with it,” Rachael says.
Rachael also wants to continue her travels around the world. “I’ve got tons of travel in my future and I am constantly brainstorming on how I can deliver higher quality collaborations with my efforts while working with brands.”
“ Buy the ticket, take the ride.”
What style/fashion accessory is your favorite?
Cross body bags have come in very handy now that I am riding motorcycles. They are the perfect size and won’t fall off my shoulder when riding. My Herschel backpack is also a key accessory. It’s my personal Mary Poppins bag, it fits everything!
If you can/could consider yourself an expert in one area of style/fashion, what would it be?
Music. I can identify a song just two notes in. I memorize lyrics easily and go to live shows and concerts often.
Can you give me a tutorial on how people can best incorporate that style/fashion advice in their life?
The best way to incorporate style/trends into their life if the make it their own. Get inspired by others and then adjust it to fit your custom flare. I find myself getting outfit inspiration from other bloggers and then I change it to fit my personality and preference. That way I am comfortable and being unique and forward at the same time.
Julie Sariñana “Sincerely Jules” is the consummate Southern Cali girl that lives by the motto ‘Dream , Believe, Achieve’
Julie Sariñana founded Sincerely, Jules (a fashion – style blog 💻 in February 2009). She now travels the world to exotic and beautiful destinations showing her authentic and bohemian SoCal touch to high fashion and giving her high profile influence to brands that she believes in. Julie says she had a tough time coming up with a blog name and kept jotting down names in a notebook and it finally dawned on her to call it Sincerely, Jules—as if she was signing off from her everyday journal.
With the literally millions of Fashion Blogs out there it’s so hard to tell what makes one stand out and be so much more successful than another 🤔. There are a couple of things that I noticed about Sincerely Jules that can give some insight into why she has become so successful
Perseverance: she started in 2009 and she’s still going strong today.
Authentic style: Julie has a real attractive SoCal comfortable style that she sticks to and doesn’t deviate from even when the brands she works with are varied, she makes it work within her style
Timing of IG blowing up in popularity: so many bloggers that were just on the cusp that had great beautiful images were able to really go into hypergrowth with the growth of IG in the 2012-2014 years
Julie says she likes being inspired by things that she finds cool and intriguing.Being creative about your inspiration can trigger a different look each day!
“White jeans aren’t always the easiest to wear let alone style. I sometimes find it hard to find a pair that can be versatile and love the fit, but once you do find the perfect ones, it’s the best thing you can add to your wardrobe- a classic item!”
Sincerely Jules
“After choosing to create my own path in life, I’ve been supported and even praised by friends and family on following my heart. It feels damn good to do what I want, when I want!”
Sincerely Jules
“When I’m back home in LA, I always stick to wearing comfy, simple pieces.”
“I’m basically just a regular guy with way too much clothing who takes pictures and makes videos while strangers walk past on the sidewalk and judge me,” Jovel Roystan says jokingly.
But all jokes aside Jovel is really the go-to person for promoting menswear brands and making them look cool. How fun is that! There’s no guessing that Jovel loves his career and has a lot of passion for fashion!
Start
For Jovel the journey began literally just doing what he loves.Who knew it would turn into a full blown career. “It really just started from me sharing what was interesting and cool to me. I made a Tumblr page back in 2010 and posted what I liked and what was real and relevant to me—from fashion and modern art to Bible study posts and pictures of pokemon (yes, I’m a total nerd)—and, what do you know, people actually cared about what I was putting out there. The following year, I launched a joint blog with a college friend of mine and that led to amazing projects, opportunities and memories that shaped the way I look at a lot of things, including my potential and the ability for someone to make their own way if they just focus and try. In the past two years, however, I’ve really tried to step out of the typical “blogger” box as it relates to my style and content, and I’ve been blessed to see amazing growth across my platforms. I launched my personal site at the end of 2016, and now, I’m just trying to continue building my brand and content in a strong and substantive way,” Jovel says.
“My style is like a mood ring!” -Jovel Roystan
Spark
Intrigued by his intense passion, I asked Jovel to reminisce on when he first felt the spark between him and fashion. He took me back to his freshman year of college. “Looking back on things, I suppose I always was interested in style, but it wasn’t until my freshman year in college that I really dove into this world. I was cast in the Homecoming fashion shows (as a model) at my school, Morehouse College, and our neighboring institution, Clark Atlanta University. The crew and other models were all so cool and fun to be around, and I started to appreciate the industry for its openness to so many different types of people, lifestyles, and personalities. Also, I found a new type of confidence through my style that really evolved to a greater confidence in myself as a whole, and that’s drastically changed the way that I look at and approach everything around me,” Jovel explains.
Journey
Jovel has had a wonderful experience so far in the world of fashion. When I asked him what was his biggest milestone, it was hard for him to pinpoint a specific moment. And that is exactly how life should be! “I think the journey as a whole is something that I’m really proud of. It’s sort of funny, because a lot of people look at me now and think I was just some pretty boy who comes from money and started posting pics on Instagram, but that’s so not the case. My family was always okay financially, but I was nowhere near being someone who could just ball out on clothing or trips or anything like that. I was a full-ride scholarship student who survived off of my refund check every year, and I’ve worked really hard for every single thing I’ve gotten since I left—from teaching myself all of the special skills that I use on the daily to disciplining myself to effectively balance two full-time jobs, a social life, and complete consistency with my content. Not to sound like an ass, but I honestly believe I deserve everything I’ve gotten so far,” Jovel expresses.
“However, I think seeing the fruits of my labor day after day has helped me build my faith and my life in a really strong, stable way. So I think my answer would be: just thinking about all that God’s been doing and everything that He has ahead. I mean, honestly, I sit back and just laugh sometimes in complete awe, and thank Him because He’s really doing so much for me that I could never do on my own. So, that internal sense that I’m doing exactly what He wants me to be doing makes me feel really good,” Jovel continues.
Think about the 80/20 rule; if you get 80% of your impact from 20% of what you do, what is that 20% for you as it pertains to developing and expressing your personal style?
I work on a lot of different types of projects throughout the year, but I’d say my style videos have really changed the game for me. It’s a small portion of my content mix, but they drive so much engagement.
What about discovering new styles to incorporate into your look and style?
For me, I really gather a lot of inspo from the ‘gram. Some of the guys that I follow… they’re just amazing, and they really push me to try new things. Also, my job keeps me pretty current on a lot of the seasonal trends that are coming ahead. For example, we’re pushing a ton of Westerwear right now and I’m obsessed with it. I plan on becoming a Brooklyn cowboy this spring, haha.
Who do you consider the icons in the fashion & design industry?
Honestly, I really don’t spend too much time thinking about icons. Not that I don’t respect them, because I certainly do, but they don’t cross my mind much. I’m way more interested in the modern game-changers, the future icons (if that’s the term you’d choose to use). I think Luka Sabbat is a king right now. I wouldn’t necessarily wear all of what he rocks, but his effortless swagger makes it all look perfect. From a design perspective, Daniel Arsham is always a source of inspiration for me—and someone who I’d definitely consider one of the leading contemporary artists in the game right now. As fashion houses, I’ve always loved Dior Homme, and Balenciaga has my attention at the moment.
“I always say that I first became interested in fashion when I started traveling and I saw how different women around the world dressed.” -Victoria Van Ness
Victoria Van Ness takes the entrepreneur lifestyle and does it with style and grace! “I’m a traveling entrepreneur + blogger. My publication covers all things travel, fashion, and beauty. I recently launched my business, Cheat Sheet co. – which helps small business define and execute their online strategy,” Victoria says.
“Whenever I am running low on inspiration going to a new place gives me more ideas.” -Victoria Van Ness
Start
With business on the brain and fashion in the heart, Victoria has created a masterpiece! As we began to break down all of the various moving parts of her life, I dived right in and asked how did all of this begin? “I dropped out of college after my first semester to travel. But I didn’t have the create outlet I so desperately needed. Therefore, I launched my blog in 2015 and it’s truly grown with me through such experimental years of my life. My blog landed me jobs in marketing, social media, etc. which then introduced my love of that world, which led me to launch my company,” Victoria glowingly expresses.
“Once a week my boyfriend (also my photographer) and I go out, explore a new area, and shoot for my blog or Instagram. We get to do something creative that we both love. We have different styles so when we come 50/50 together on a projects, it gives me a new perspective. Which funnels into different aspects of my life. Whether it’s business or personal – you have to look at things from a different view.” -Victoria Van Ness
Milestone
Of course being able to do the things she loves on a daily basis has many rewards. For Victoria, it has felt so good to accomplish so many things at such a young age. “I always knew it was something I wanted to do. It was a an end-term goal for me. I noticed my love for marketing, entrepreneurship, and truly connecting with other creatives was fueling my fire more than blogging, I decided to take the leap sooner rather than later,” Victoria exclaims!
However, her achievements hasn’t made her stop pushing for even greater things. After all, it’s the process that Victoria really finds exciting! “I don’t think I’ve had a real ‘pivoting’ moment. My favorite thing about my journey is really the journey. I’ve learned so much about myself in these past three years. From resilience and perseverance, to understanding where my weaknesses lie and adjusting. It’s cool to step back sometimes and take note of who you really are,” Victoria continues.
“My main focus right now is building Cheat Sheet co. Eventually I want to become more involved in offline connections, like conferences and mentoring girls my age with their business goals. But until then, then, I’m working on really making it more of a name in the space.” -Victoria Van Ness
What style/fashion accessory is your favorite?
I’m a bag lady through and through.
If you can/could consider yourself an expert in one area of style/fashion, what would it be?
Packing for any weather in a small amount of space! I’ve been living out of my suitcases for a year now. It’s gotten me through every season and 9 cities.
Can you give me a tutorial on how people can best incorporate that style/fashion advice in their life?
It’s all about a capsule wardrobe! Stick to one solid color, versatile piece of everything and your wardrobe will take you wherever.
“I started just sharing what I was loving in fashion and lifestyle generally. Slowly people started asking for specific content and I developed a loyal group of ‘followers’ that I engage with regularly which has grown and evolved into the resource that is www.WhitneysWonderland.Com. We cover everything from fashion and makeup to travel and fine dining, anything that I’m doing that I think people will enjoy hearing about really! My Insta page is an extension of the Blog and is somewhere I can show glimpses into some of the amazing things I get to do and experience!” -Whitney Valveverde
It’s funny how sharing just a little glimpse of your life can bring joy to so many other people. Whitney simply does the things that she loves and people take away a lot of inspiration from that. But it’s hard not to be inspired by her creativity and the thrill she brings to life!
Start
Whitney had been into fashion from a very young age. In fact when I asked her to share some of her first fashion memories, she went back to a time where would sew little dresses for her barbie dolls and coordinate fashion shows for them. As time went on she continued to advance her talents and even got her first degree in fashion and design. And with a little love and support, something she loved became a career for her.
“My partner is super supportive of everything I do and while it was always inside he gave me the push I needed. He suggested I start a blog years ago, almost more as a diary than anything else, I really didn’t think anyone would be that bothered about reading it, it was really just for me! Suddenly I was getting emails from people wanting to know where I had got a certain piece or how I thought they should style an outfit they had bought and it gave me the confidence to keep pushing and it just grew from there,” Whitney exclaims!
“My grandma was a huge inspiration in my life generally but also in fashion. Aside from being an immaculately turned out lady she sat with me making the dresses for my dolls and finding little offcuts of fabric for me to use. She was the one who sowed the seed all those years ago and it has grown into who I am today…with a lot of watering along the way.” -Whitney Valve
Accomplished
Whitney has been able to achieve a lot of things in fashion. I was eager to hear some of her proudest moments. “Gosh it’s really hard to single out different things as everything I have achieved and all the people who have helped me feel like an integral part of my journey. From getting my degree and creating that first collection that i am still so proud of, to those first steps in the blogging world and winning a cosmopolitan blog award at the end of 2016 to the first brand that believed in me enough to hire me and work with me when I was just starting out. Every step has been a real achievement for me and I am so grateful for every part of this incredible journey!
Outside of my own achievements, being able to help the people I love and the causes I feel strongly about has been so unbelievably rewarding. My dad always said to me that the best gift anyone can give you is to let you help them, I never understood it and used to think it was just a corney nonsense he would say to try and make me and my brother better people. The older I get the more true it feels. I love being able to help someone and see the difference that help makes in their life. It started when I gave a box of my old clothes ( I get gifted a lot of wonderful things so have a lot of clothes!) to a very poor family in costa rica for their daughters, I thought little of it but the children were crying they were so happy which made their mum cry and then I was crying but it was all out of happiness! Now I am so lucky to be able to continue doing things like that but also to support larger scale projects that can do even more to help. It’s hard to describe the feeling, but rewarding is a good start,” Whitney explains.
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Think about the 80/20 rule; if you get 80% of your impact from 20% of what you do, what is that 20% for you as it pertains to developing and expressing your personal style?
Accessories can change everything, if your looking for big impact from little effort then think about how you can add a little something to really make the outfit pop. A great example are the leather flowers sold by J Lang, they are magnetic fastend and can be added to any outfit to make it your own and lift a plain dress or bag to a whole other level! I also still add little details to bit I buy like stitching a cheap bracelet to the side of a pair of socks or even just adding a scarf to a bag or outfit can change everything. Every woman should invest in some scarves!
What about discovering new styles to incorporate into your look and style?
I am constantly traveling for work which is 95% blessing and 5% curse but it does mean I am exposed to so many different styles and cultures and they say mimicking is the sincerest form of flattery so I try and take something away from everywhere I visit and incorporate it into a look
Who do you consider the icons in the fashion & design industry?
Wow there are so many how long do you have! Azzedine Alaïa, Giorgio Armani, Cristobal Balenciaga, Sara Blakely, Pierre Cardin, Jacques Cartier, Hussein Chalayan are all heros of mine. The list is almost endless, having studied fashion I used to spend endless nights pawing through old collections and discovering new heros all the time! Coco Chanel’s life was an incredible story and unbelievable achievement from such a canny lady, Iris Apfel breaking down boundaries for so many years and still going strong! I have so many but these jump to mind in the moment!
“My mother always asked me to style my own clothes, and I grew up with this ‘exercise’. So I always had an eye for fashion from a young age, she made me mix different patterns and styles. So, when I started my blog in 2012, fashion was a natural choice for me. The blog started as a hobby, as a new way to communicate with people, I was young and I loved it!” -Simona Totaro
It’s funny how the little touches a mom adds to life can have an everlasting impact on you. That was the case for the lovely Simona Totaro. It was her mom who stressed the importance of style to her and it certainly stuck. Now Simona is a very popular influencer and yes, you guessed it, fashion is her niche!
Start
Since Simona was a little girl fashion was something that was always around. Her family owned a clothing store in Italy, so it’s no surprise that she’s always had a keen sense of style. As she got older, she worked in the family business as a buying assistant and she enjoyed it very much. She also had some amazing fashion experiences along the way. “I started super early, back in 2013, I was really young and I was already going to fashion shows. I was a reporter for L’Oreal and I worked as a dresser at Cavalli backstage for example. I always tried to be an fashion insider, I was always curious,” Simona shares. However, it was her new hobby that gave her the opportunity for her current career.
Influence
Simona took on the role as a fashion influencer and shares her knowledge of fashion with people around the world. In 2016, she even won the top Calvin Klein blogger competition. “I had to take pictures with Calvin Klein watches, in different places, so, in less than 30 days I posted more than 200 pictures about it, with the competition hashtag. As a prize, I went to NYC with the brand and it was an amazing experience,” Simona exclaims!
Think about the 80/20 rule; if you get 80% of your impact from 20% of what you do, what is that 20% for you as it pertains to developing and expressing your personal style?
Transparency of my personal style and being myself all the time.
What’s the next frontier in building your tribe?
I want to start doing some videos and start my own YouTube channel.
What style/fashion accessory is your favorite?
Hats.
If you can/could consider yourself an expert in one area of style/fashion, what would it be?
I would be a stylist for sure. I love choosing and mixing outfits.
Can you give me a tutorial on how people can best incorporate that style/fashion advice in their life?
First you should find your personal style, your essence, and don’t be afraid to be yourself.
Traveling can be great inspiration for style and your style can be inspiring to others you meet in your travels. This classic pairing of a love of travel and fashion is the foundation of Daniela Correia’s works. She has created a place to share her adventurous fashion and travels.
“I am sharing what I like the most in life, Fashion and Travel. I don’t pretend to be an influencer, I was just like to write about the things I’m passionate about. And I want to share with people that they can realise their dream to travel in the magnificent places that I am sharing or even wear the crazy stuff that I do as well. Nobody should be ashamed of anything in their life. We should just do what we like.
I share love for anybody who wants to receive it,” Daniela says.
Inspired
Daniela was into fashion for as long as she remembers. She grew up creating her own living room fashion shows and tearing down the runway in her mom’s clothes and shoes. As she grew older, the world became her runway. Living in different cities has inspired her fashion. For instance, living in California brought the free spirit out of Daniela. “I love to say that I am a hippy. I lived in California for a year and that really brainwashed me. I love the Boho style. Everything is so simple and colorful. I don’t know, it’s just the style where I feel the most comfortable. Unfortunately, Living in Switzerland is not easy to find those beautiful boho items than I did in California,” Daniela explains.
“I have always been a happy kid and really enthusiastic in what I did. When you grow up, you lose a bit this mentality but traveling makes me realise what really matters and I come back from my many travels with this mentality of being still this kid dreaming.” -Daniela Correia
Life lesson
The lesson here is to not be bound by anything if it keeps you from exploring the things you love. Let your adventurous side lead you to your dreams. It will leave you with a happy, loving and satisfying life. Don’t be that person that has to live with the doubt of not fulfilling your true destiny. Go after what you want, no matter where it leads you!
Can you give me a tutorial on how people can best incorporate that style/fashion advice in their life?
People must be feeling good about themselves otherwise nothing is gonna be beautiful on them. The most important thing on earth for me regarding fashion is to feel good about yourself and then we can work on which style reflects your personality. Because style is just a way to express yourself without speaking.
“I want people who follow me to be motivated every time i post something. I hope that people won’t hesitate to ask anything about style, motivation, goals, travel, fashion or even beauty!” -Daniela Correia
What are your favorite places to travel to? Why?
California, Los angeles (because of the craziness and the artistic way of this busy city)
San Diego (because it reminds me so much souvenirs in my head that changed me forever)
What’s next? & why?
I will be moving, I hope, pretty soon in order to accomplish my dreams in California.
For as long as she could remember, Atsuna Matsui has always had an interest in fashion. Fashion is Atsuna’s outlet to self-expression and since her childhood she was always very expressive through fashion, even if she wasn’t able to express herself in other forms. “I was always very much interested in fashion for as long as I could remember. It was always a form of self-expression to me and a representation of what I was feeling that day. Growing up as a kid, I had a very shy personality, but I always took bold risks with fashion because it was essentially a creative outlet for me to be whoever I wanted to be,” Atsuna says.
As far as her career in the fashion industry, Atsuna started off as a photographer. “Photography was my greatest passion since I was twelve and through photography, I learned a lot about composition, color, and lighting. When I ended up becoming a blogger, I used a lot of my photography knowledge and incorporated that background into blogging,” Atsuna recalls. With the love of photography and growing audience, Astuna tried to branch out and try something new. it only took one post to help her expand her goals and give her the confidence to pursue more. “I initially started out as a photography account on Instagram. Then, I posted my first outfit photo and noticed so much more engagement on that photo so I started incorporating more photos with me in them. Eventually, I converted my Instagram photography account to a beauty, lifestyle, and fashion account. One thing that I love about blogging and social media is the community you build with your followers and other fellow bloggers so engaging with other users was what made it so fun and motivated me to always self-improve,” Atsuna explains.
Personal style
Since Atsuna has been interested in fashion for so long, she has her personal style down pact. Her style is interesting, combining simplistic pieces with trendy counterparts. She is not afraid to make a bold statement. “As a born-and-bred Los Angeles girl that is accustomed to nearly year-round warm weather, my sense of style is minimal, breezy casual luxe with a touch of nonchalance. I balance between trendy pieces and classic, timeless basic threads to create fashionable ensemble,” Atsuna describes.
“I think, to a large extent people are defined by the things they say no to. I think this can also be applied to style and aesthetics. I try not to do excessive things and I generally stick to what I’m into the most.” -Atsuna Matsui
Accomplished
Atsuna has accomplished great things in her career. One of the biggest accomplishments was her ability to convert a hobby into a full blown career. Trust me, it’s certainly something that not everyone can do. However, with her perseverance and optimistic outlook on life, she was able to find the key to success. “I think the constant novelty and challenges are at times difficult, but they also make it new and rewarding. Being self employed, you need to be a self-starter and always striving and pushing yourself which is something that I know will never go away on this path I’ve put myself on,” Atsuna explains.
Stay True
I find reaching people on social media to be so fascinating. There is so much potential there and yet there is a dark side to it as well and I want to address that here. I am by nature a very private person, but I also want to deeply connect with my followers. Navigating through the pitfalls of adult life we learn so much and can go through many hardships, but I hope that whoever reads this doesn’t ever lose hope in themselves and in the importance of maintaining values and virtue while doing it. Nobody talks about integrity and virtue anymore and I think that’s something that’s lost in our culture today and I don’t think it needs to be that way.
“I want everyone who reads this to know that I believe firmly in the fact that you can always improve and that nobody out there is better than you, no one.” -Atsuna Matsui
Who do you consider the icons in the fashion & design industry?
Youji Yamamoto, Rick Owens, Ellen von Unwerth, Ryan Mcginley. I know the latter two are photographers, but they have had an impact on me.
What’s the next frontier in building your tribe?
First off, I love that you used the word tribe, I think it speaks to the true essence of the need of belonging for people. I want to continue to just fine tune my social media outlets. Curate better and take things in a more interesting direction.
What’s next? & why?
In general, I am always looking toward the future, but there are so many possibilities right now, I just haven’t completely decided on one yet, so we will have to see.
What are you reading these days?
I think we all don’t read enough these days, so I can’t say that I have been reading that much at the moment. Alain De Botton is a writer and philosopher that I always enjoy reading and there’s another book, Triggers, by Malcolm Goldsmith.
Amy Roiland is the definition of capturing personality in a single snapshot. With her unique style, inspiring settings and mesmerizing beauty, each and every photo she creates is magic. Seeking inspiration from a variety of sources, when asked how she would describe her style, Amy sums the complexity of her style in a simple sentence. “My style is 1960s meets Wes Anderson meets current Gucci with a modern twist. I wear what I like and I don’t follow any trends,” Amy exclaims!
Growing Up
Looking at Amy’s style, you probably wouldn’t guess that she grew up on a farm. “I grew up on a farm in the middle of nowhere up north in Manteca. I love nature and always have. I love incorporating nature and flowers into my shots. I love adventure too and lately I have been wanting to branch out more and take pictures in some awesome locations,” Amy describes. Her adventurous ways then transcribed into her style. Around the age of 16, Amy became hooked on fashion and hasn’t looked back since.
Vision
Amy works hard to capture her creative visions onto film. Believe it or not, Amy’s photos are not done by a professional. She takes her own photos or sometimes have a friend to do it. “I do my own photography always.. If I don’t take my own images I hand the camera to a friend who can take them and I go home and edit them. Lately my friend Heather has been taking my images with her awesome Canon camera. Any selfies you see or any close-up shots on backdrops are in my studio by me,” Amy says.
Inspired
Amy has many sources of inspiration. Looking at her style, the first thing you may notice is the nod to the 60’s mod era. Her infamous short hair, cropped just beneath her jawline, screams I LOVE THE 60’S! This paired with her love for Wes Anderson and many modern designers has created her unique flare. “I am so inspired by Gucci lately, Alessandro is a walking genius. Everything he creates inspires me. I watch their runway shows and I flip out. I also love watching anything and everything by Wes Anderson, he is my ultimate inspiration and has been since forever. I love his color theme in every movie, 60s pinks and blues. I also love watching 1960s french films as well. These inspire me to design more,” Amy describes.
FashionTap
Amy is the CEO of an increasingly popular fashion app. “FashionTap is an entire fashion social network where people can tag their exact items to their images and drive sales and make commissions. They can also be found and find others by what they do in fashion and where they are located. FashionTap also makes every social network shoppable: IG, Twitter, FB, Pinterest, ETC. I created the entire app because I realized a huge hole in fashion, you cannot locate anyone by what they do and where they live… It goes both ways.. Brands can now easily locate people to work with and people can be found for work. Not to mention we are SOCIAL COMMERCE, allowing users to drive direct sales for these companies.. We just got a new partner and we are expanding in China. Should be awesome,” Amy explains.
Future
While fashion and style will always play a tremendous part of Amy’s life, Amy plans to expand her brand beyond just blogging and her app. She has hopes of becoming a big, household name. She is also interested in expanding her collection of eyewear. She currently designs her own sunglasses in her free time and wants to increase that aspect of her brand over time. “I see myself becoming a big eyewear designer. I want to create an incredible eyewear brand, I have the entire idea in my head.. One day soon I can start, I need investors,” Amy exclaims!
What are you reading these days?
The China Study and The guide to spirituality. I am trying to grow my spiritual side and my healthy side lately.
What style/fashion accessory is your favorite?
Sunglasses/eyewear of course, I style my looks around them! #eyewearblogger
If you can/could consider yourself an expert in one area of style/fashion, what would it be?
Eyewear !
Can you give me a tutorial on how people can best incorporate that style/fashion advice in their life?
Whatever you feel most comfortable in, but try to add accessories to make any look super fun. Add some earrings or a hat or socks with your shoes.
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