Did He Say Shoes?
Work was going great. I was working steadily with good clients and being back in Atlanta also gave me an opportunity to begin putting together a more professional portfolio of my work. I had a good friend who was an awesome photographer in Atlanta who helped me put together a shoot so I could get [...]
T.M.I.!
I had found a wonderful hairstylist in Los Angeles. Tony was good at hair care and styling and he worked at a really nice salon near the Farmers Market. On any given visit the salon was peppered with actors, comedians, and singers. It was a great place to network as well as to beautify. I [...]
The Place To Be
Los Angeles was turning out to be a great source of fashion inspiration filled with possibility, and I was sure to get out several times a week and venture into neighborhood boutiques and shops of local designers to find new sources for upcoming styling jobs and to network. On several occasions I had driven past [...]
“Beauty vs. Brains”
Galeno Francisco, the man and the shop was a hidden jewel in Los Angeles. Other than my fascination with the clothes in the window I had never heard Galeno’s name mentioned in any of the fashion circles I had traveled in, but in the short time I had been there since starting my internship I [...]
Sgt. Piper’s Lonely Harts Club
Galeno Francisco’s clientele never ceased to amaze me. From day to day, in between all of the over-the-top Persian bridal parties, and the bat mitzvah girls and their anxious mothers obsessing over every detail of a fitting, there was a steady stream of celebrity clients who were usually accompanied by their handlers. But often there [...]
Code Brown
Los Angeles and its residents were living up to some of its most prevalent stereotypes. LA wasn’t the chocolate haven that Atlanta had been. Where mahogany, soul, and roundness were celebrated in Atlanta, ethereal, gaunt, and blond were glorified in Los Angeles. I noticed the disparity as soon as I landed in California but I [...]
Oh No He Didn’t!
After the craziness of awards show season and the resolution of the code brown situation Galeno asked me to be his assistant. I was overjoyed, because not only was I going to be at the shop everyday but I would be getting paid to put up with Galeno, all of his obnoxious comments about my [...]
It’s All Just Hoopla
Galeno and I were hard at work when a client came in to be fitted for a gown she would be wearing to a well publicized charity ball. She had come in for a consultation twice before her first fitting and in those meetings her fabric choice and dress design were finalized, but Galeno unearthed a [...]
And It All Falls Down
Galeno and I were with a client when the phone rang. It was the bank. One of the Maria’s was there to cash her paycheck and the bank was calling to verify that the check was valid. It wasn’t the first time that the bank had called for that reason so I asked the teller [...]
Check Yourself
Only one day had passed since I last spoke with Galeno, and it was a sad day. I had no idea what to do with myself. I treated that day like an off day – slept late, watched a shameful amount of television, and had Chinese food delivered. I didn’t answer my phone, which was [...]