What she’s wearing

Calling all fashion lovers! Calling all shopaholics! Calling all readers of What They’re Wearing! The perfect career for you has been found: wardrobe stylist. A wardrobe stylist’s job entails endless shopping throughout the day. One spends eight hours of non-stop, shop til you drop, going in and out of stores, spending $3,000 to $10,000 dollars of someone else’s money, and in the end, getting paid for all that! Stylists provide personalized outfits and fashion advice to people from all ages, genders, and sizes.
I happened upon one such fashion-forward stylist Malia Anderson at Miss CEO club at the Gilroy Library. Anderson is the CEO and main wardrobe stylist at Style by Malia. Her love for fashion started at an early age, back when she would DIY clothes for her dolls.
“I would make Barbie clothes out of socks. I even wanted my dolls to look unique,” she says.
When asked about her fashion inspiration, Anderson came up with five to 10 celebrities just off the top of her head. From the first lady styles of Laura Bush to the runway dresses of Viola Davis, and even the dapper style of George Clooney, Anderson proved that her unwavering love of fashion was universal.
“I take something from each person and add my personal twist to it,” says Anderson.
Her favorite stores include Lane Bryant and Nordstrom because of their reliability; Anderson can always find something nice and flattering in these stores.
She spends about three $3000.00 per month on clothing, which is a bit more than the average person, but to Anderson it’s a must, considering her position in her community. Now, back in her hometown of Santa Rosa, she is a bit of celebrity and attracts attention whenever she leaves the house.
“Before I would just wear a plain tee shirt to the gym. But after my business started gaining attention, I had to go out and even buy cute gym clothes,” she explains
Anderson’s love and expertise on fashion is the type that drives the fashion industry to great heights.
She explains “Fashion and style are two different things. Fashion is about the things you purchase. Style is putting your personal spin on it. I never want people to mix the two up.”
Sameera Khan is a student at Gilroy Early College Academy.