I’m Alive … and Wanting

12/10/2015

Well, hello there! To all the faithful readers who have browsed pages in my absence—thank you so much for supporting and believing in me. Your readership has meant a lot over the past couple of years! So much has happened that I’m not quite sure where to begin, but I’m confident that you don’t want to hear all about school, school, and school, where is where most of my time has gone. The boutique and life in general have also kept me busy-busy-busy, too busy to do more than think about the blog every once in a while. However, now that I’m officially coming back, I want to get things off to the right sort of re-start!

On that note, I suppose I’ll address the most pressing matter from the get-go: I’m thinking that it’s time to move on from sleepy little Styleville—to begin truly making my way up in the fashion world. While I love the city and all it has to offer, and I’ve made great friends here and taken amazing strides within my own career, I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something else out there—something more, that’s waiting for me. So I looked around a little, and started hearing word through the grapevine about a place called Beaumonde City.

What’s Beaumonde City, you ask? An excellent question, seeing as I hadn’t heard of it myself before just a couple of days ago. Well, apparently, it is THE place to be if you’re anyone who wants to become Anyone in the fashion world these days. Beaumonde’s passion for fashion had flagged in the past—perhaps why I hadn’t heard of the place before—but now the community is coming back steady and strong, providing openings in retail, modeling, hair styling, cosmetics, and even clothing design for up-and-coming fashionistas such as yours truly! As if that weren’t enough to tempt me, apparently my grandmother left me an inheritance there, something from years ago. I’m not sure what it might be, but I do have a feeling that it will be key to establishing my place in this brave new space.

The only complication is that Beaumonde is far—quite far—from where I’m living now. So it’s going to take me a bit of time to pack my bags and say good-bye to Styleville University, and to the people who have taught me and helped me so much over the years. On top of that, I’ll have to do what may be the hardest thing of all—that is, say good-bye to Lilac Breeze, and hand it over to the assistants who have more than proven their worth through all the times they’ve been there to lend me a helping hand.

No one said it would be easy, but I believe I’m ready for it. And one way or the other, you can be sure that new adventures in fashion await us! Check back soon for more—and know that, for the time being, I’m back for good.

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Emmylou’s Valentine

2/2/13

Today Emmylou showed up at the boutique with Phillip in tow and asked for a casual, feminine dress. When I picked one out for her, she turned to Phillip and was all, “You need to learn, too! Let’s go downtown and people-watch.”

Cute, Emmylou!

 So that’s what they did, because I ran into them downtown that night, strolling along and talking about their relationship. Emmylou wants nothing less than expensive salted caramels for Valentine’s Day—something I’ll have to keep in mind if I want to also keep her as a friend! 

None of this cheap chocolate, y’hear?

Feelin’ Flirty?

1/25/13

I started my day by playing around with a bold outfit. Naturally, and because it was pouring snow outside, I kept it to a toned-down sort of look, without too much exposed skin. 

Whatever the style, I love prints!

On my way to work I walked through downtown, where I saw a couple of ladies snapping pictures.

Excuse me, but aren’t you freezing in that?

 They looked vaguely familiar, and then I realized why—I helped them in the store just the other day when I put together a flirty-stle outfit for the girl posing in the pictures. I guess Avalon, with the camera, is working to make her shy and yet undisputedly gorgeous pal June into an Internet fashion sensation.
I spent a little time at the store and browsed through the cosmetics selection before lunch, and that evening I hit the Buyer’s Center once the shop closed up. While I was over on that side of town, I figured I might as well stop by the new furniture store which recently opened up.

Hi, Harris!

It looks great, and I was able to get some new apartment furnishings. I’ve been dying to expand my furniture collection, but once those pieces get delivered, the question becomes not what my living room looks like, but where I’m going to store all this spare furniture when it’s not in use.

I’ve Got Style

1/15/13

Today I tried something I’ve never done before—I dressed in the outfit I was wearing outside of Styleville.

Pretty nice, no? No?

 And the best part was, when I wore it out and about, everyone noticed! I got a bunch of complements from my customers (and I even managed to sell similar ensembles to a couple of them). After working the shop for a little while (and selling outfits off of mannequins left and right), I decided to pop by downtown. It was the middle of the day, and I ran into Michaela and Ruby, whose grandmother founded Zhade, taking a stroll after getting lunch. Ruby even complemented my outfit, and promised that a Zhade branch would be opening soon at Styleville’s Buyer’s Center. I, for one, was pretty excited, because a lot of customers have been asking for luxury items lately. As soon as I heard that the branch was officially open, I headed over to pick up some things, and to get their brand rep, Kenna, to give me a taste of Zhade’s style.

That’s me, in the lap of luxury!

 I also stopped by Le Spark, another new storefront at the Center, and played it up with their fun, flirty style.

So much pink! Seriously though, Le Spark is the man.

 On my way home, I popped into the hair salon and cosmetics studio to grab a couple of things, and I noticed that a new store had opened up across the street from the Buyer’s Center. Wonder what it is? Well, the important thing is that I got my picture taken downtown and my face in the Street Snaps section of Nuances e-zine, which put a grin on my face when I finally crashed into bed.

Whose Assistant?

1/13/13

When I opened up shop this morning, one of my first customers was this gal Tristain, who asked me to find her a feminine, mature-looking coat or piece of outerwear.

No wonder, right? She’s got to be cold in that outfit!

 She snapped up the first thing I suggested, and then told me she was planning to apply for an assistant position at Ingrid’s cosmetics studio! As soon as I had a free minute, I told Shea to watch out for the shop and ran over to see how things turned out for Tristain. Answer? Ingrid has a new assistant! 

It’s so cool to see our businesses expanding like this!

Later that same day, a girl who came in told me that she got her hair done by Celeste’s new assistant.  I had just gotten a brand-new hairstyle that I picked out myself…

Pretty cute, right? Oh, and do you like Tristain’s makeup job? And that’s Xander in the background.

 …but it was worth getting a new ‘do to meet this guy. He’s super-nice, really outgoing and friendly, and he did my hair in the cutest style! 

Matches my makeup perfectly, doesn’t it?

I headed back to the shop then, and while I was going through the back room, I found a bunch of options for interior and exterior remodeling. I’d been getting a bit bored of the same-old-same-old inside the store, so I mixed things up a bit with a new interior and a completely restyled exterior, as well as a new men’s mannequin. The theme for the interior and exterior pieces I picked was “simple,” but my customers kept asking me for “pop” clothes…maybe I’ll have to remodel again soon? (Oh, good!) On my way out later that night, I saw a guy admiring the mannequin I’d put together, but I didn’t have time to help him because it was past closing time and Shea and I both had to get home. 

You’re welcome to come back tomorrow, of course!

Welcome to the Buyer’s Center!

1/1/13

Happy New Year! My New Year’s Day was absolutely packed, and I wasn’t exactly at full energy thanks to the fireworks that kept going off between midnight and two in the morning. As I was brushing my teeth and getting ready for the day, Emmylou stopped by and dropped off a package of clothes! It was a gift from Michaela, who encourages us, as walking representatives of Mira Luna, to always look our best. Of course, I already had a modest selection of items from my time in town, but it was nice to get some new additions to my wardrobe! There were pieces from a bunch of different brands, so I played around with my outfit for a while. I was also able to redesign my apartment interior—my options are pretty limited, but I at least swapped out the wallpaper before heading to the boutique.

See? Purple!

My shift started with a request for a “pop” style skirt from a new customer, but unfortunately we were all out. However, Daphne, another of Michaela’s fashion-world comrades, stepped in right around then, and she offered to give me an intro to the process of restocking. The two of us headed over to the Buyer’s Center, where Daphne works and where Michaela, Emmylou or I can go to purchase new clothes if our stock starts getting low.

My first look at the Buyer’s Center.

I was only looking for one specific item, so we went to the Mint Sprinkles store, where Connie, the brand representative, outfitted me in an all-pop ensemble. It was…um…bright. And yellow. And really freakin’ adorable.

Me and Connie! I love Mint Sprinkles.

Anyway, once I’d purchased the items I needed, I went back to Mira Luna and served a couple of customers before it was time to close up shop. But Emmylou didn’t have a key and neither did I, and Michaela had just stepped out to go meet Avery. Fortunately, I found them at the café right around the corner, and then Avery started talking about—contests?

Avery and Michaela, but more importantly, the way-adorable cafe!

She left before I could really ask what she meant, and by then it was pretty late, so I headed on home, where, as I was brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed, I had one last surprise. This guy Brad stopped by to deliver my purchases from the Buyer’s Center, because every time I shop there, I get the items I bought delivered to my personal closet! After a minute spent browsing the new arrivals, I hit the hay. All in all, an awesome first day of 2013.

I Got the Job!

12/30/12

Turns out I didn’t even need to fill out an application—I just walked up to the store, said hi, and got hired. There was this lady outside carrying a bunch of boxes and wearing a short-sleeved shirt even though it’s the end of December and pretty darn cold outside. Anyway, the actual hiring happened sort of like this:

Me: Wow, I love that mannequin in the store window display. And, um, I was wondering—

Michaela: Hey, thanks for noticing! Now, mind holding the door for me?

Me: Uh, okay, sure I guess…

Inside the store:
Michaela: So, I coordinated the outfit myself, and this is Mira Luna, where all the fabulous people come. And what about you? What’s your name? What’s your birthday?

Me: And you want to know this why…?

Michaela: Oh, I just like to pry that way. Hey look, a customer! You can help the next one, alright?

So I outfitted this customer in a really cute pair of jeans, and Michaela was all: You’re a natural! Want to work here? So of course I said yes, because this is just the break I’ve been waiting for! Mira Luna doesn’t pay hourly, but I get a 100% commission on everything I sell, which is a tough deal to beat. After the initial flurry of getting-hired excitement, my new boss said to come back and start work tomorrow. I’m not exactly sure why she’s open on New Year’s Eve, but apparently the fashion-conscious in this town never sleep. Anyway, I don’t have anything else planned, so why the heck not?

Tired after a long day of excitement.