We recently had the chance to connect with Melissa de Leon and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Melissa, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
I feel like I’ve had a lot lately, but a big moment that made me feel proud was a few months ago when I was traveling for a music video shoot. It marked the anniversary of a really rough moment in my life, and I was reminded of the date my a close friend of mine. She sent a “do you remember where you were last year” text which led me to crying in my hotel room. I had forgotten how broken and how defeated and how miserable I was just one year before, which was a stark contrast to where I was that day – living out dreams I never even thought were possible for myself or my business.
On work trips like this one, this simple reminder from a friend really made me proud of how far I’ve come over the past 10 years – let alone the past year itself. My business is thriving, but more importantly, I’m finally at a healthier place mentally. It’s easy to look at the past 10 years and see how far you’ve come, but sometimes its the work or the growth that you’ve had over the past week, month or year that needs to be acknowledged and celebrated.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a stylist, so I help dress private clientele for seasonal, semi-annual or special occasions. Along with my private clients, I also work as a commercial stylist for print or motion media to dress models, pro athletes, or celebrities depending on the scope of the work.
I began my career after college studying fashion design, and during my time there did my own research on fashion psychology. This is something I use every day with my private clients, and love piecing together a new and improved style for them that suits their personal styles, life and body proportions. I love taking disparate ideas and blending them together into a perfectly functional and fashionable wardrobe.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
I think one of the moments that really shaped how I saw my small part of the world, in women’s fashion especially, would be the time I spent working retail. For the longest time I just saw fashion as clothing — purely functional that we all have to partake in. However, it was during my own studies into fashion psychology and my work in retail that opened my eyes to an aspect of fashion that I was less familiar with and wanted to understand more: that fashion greatly affects our moods, can change behavior, and can be a form of communication that connects us to each other.
One incident in particular was when I realized I needed to be a stylist. I’ve shared about this moment so many times during my career, and it sticks with me to this day. I was working as the personal stylist at Anthropologie when a client came in. She was on the hunt for a pair of denim, but was barking orders at me, throwing pairs or jeans at me, and being aggressive and rude. I was trying my best to keep my composure and not lose my patience with this client, but she was slowly tearing me down. I went to go retrieve another pair of denim for her when I walked in on her in the fitting room, collapsed on the floor and sobbing. Come to find out, she had just found out that her husband was cheating on her, and all of a sudden her actions made sense to me.
Women are constantly being told we’re not enough; young enough, beautiful enough, strong enough, fashionable enough… the list goes on. Once we’re told we’re not enough, we believe it. We hear it on repeat in our heads constantly, like an annoying parrot pecking away at our self-worth. This client believed she wasn’t enough, and had come into Anthropologie hoping that a pair of jeans would make her feel worthy again, but they didn’t.
Apart from loving and appreciating fashion, this interaction – along with many others – were the reason why I became a stylist. I saw that the world was cruel, and that the fashion industry lies to us to make us believe that clothing is going to fix the parts of ourselves that we’re ashamed of or don’t like. I learned that so many people look to clothing to find their worth, and that’s exactly the last place we should be looking.
I wanted to change this. I wanted to break down what we know of the fashion industry and really help the person behind the clothing. I wanted to find their confidence and assurance before adding clothing in to the equation. That’s the only way we can really be fashionable is when we realize that the beauty comes from the inside, and not what we’re wearing.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
So many times! The early years were certainly the most difficult. Living in Raleigh, most people did not understand or see the worth in a stylist. I had to really take the time to educate prospective clients and the community itself and take the time teaching more and more about what I did before I had my first paying client. Even to this day, I’ll have people reach out to me who don’t understand what I do or see the worth in it, but I’m thankful that I have had so many clients that see that worth and want my expertise.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes, 100%. I don’t believe in being fake, that would be the complete opposite of what I’m constantly preaching to my clients. I think when you are yourself it helps build real and valuable relationships, and I care about that the most.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
I could geek out over fashion psychology all day everyday. Most people roll their eyes and think it doesn’t matter, but it does! That’s why I ask so many personal questions – not just questions about style or how they spend their time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.melissadeleonstyling.com
- Instagram: @melissadeleonstyling
- Other: TikTok @styledbymds
Image Credits
Emily Lyons-Wood
