Introducing Nailah

Nailah is sitting in the same bedroom in Detroit that she would have been in had we come to talk to her twenty five-years ago; it’s the same bedroom in the same house in the same town that she moved to with her parents when she was 4 years old. Over the years, the posters of Disney princesses on its yellow painted walls gave way to J-14 posters and then in time to nothing at all as she outgrew the bedroom she grew up in, biding her time to save up enough to move out and get an apartment of her own. For now, she just stays out of the house as much as she can; she loves fashion and cafes and, when she isn’t working at the homeless shelter she is employed at, she spends her time hanging out with friends (who she hopes would describe her as “caring and honest”, while admitting she can be “bratty at times”), shopping, cafe-hopping, scouting shoot locations by searching Instagram hashtags, and traveling whenever she can afford to get away.

Let’s start with having you explain your style to us, Nailah...

My style has recently transitioned from being mostly neutral to extremely colorful. I love playing with shapes in my clothing, for example pairing a really poofy skirt with a slim fitting top. I want my style to scream 'notice me senpai…and everyone else in the room, notice me too.' I want my style to greet you before I do. I have many different styles as well, sometimes I’m a fairy princess and sometimes I’m a tomboy, sometimes I look smart and other times I look sporty. Growing up, I could never decide if I was Baby Spice, Scary Spice or Sporty Spice, and I think that’s an accurate way of describing all of my different styles. 

Would your friends describe your style any differently do you think?

I think my friends would say that my style is unique. Even though my friend Rudina and I quite literally own some of the same clothes, she tells me that I style them so differently.

Thinking of your friends, what’s your ‘style/fashion role’ in the group?

I feel like this is a difficult question for me to answer because most of my friends are located overseas. When I was doing my master’s degree in London, I met my best friend Jody. Her extremely colorful style inspired me to start dressing colorfully. So in that case, I was led and influenced. Conversely, in university many people used to ask me how I dressed so cute every single day. Even my bff Rudina asked me this before. I always responded with, “I don’t understand, how can one dress ugly if they don’t own any ugly clothes? I don’t buy ugly clothes, I only buy cute clothes, therefore I always dress cute.” I don’t remember saying this to Rudina, but I do remember this being my saying during university. Recently Rudina confessed to me that I changed her life with that quote and inspired her to always dress cute. So I would say that we all inspire each other. I think for all of us in my friendship group, we all take bits & pieces of what’s currently trendy. 

Who inspires you style-wise?

My friend Rudina, my friend Jody, the Instagrammers that I mentioned above, people on the street and anime characters.

In the public eye, whose style do you admire and are influenced by?

Harry Styles! I never cared for One Direction but this man certainly has my heart now because of his bold and gender fluid style decisions. Irene Kim, though she’s usually wearing a supplied look from Dior or Chanel, she wears it well. Rihanna, though she’s been out of the public eye recently, I’m still gagging over her past Met gala looks.

If you could ‘steal’ one person [in the public eye’s] closet, whose closet would you steal and why?

This is such a tough question. I’m not sure. My first response is to go with Rihanna, but some of her looks are too sexy for me. Same with model Leomie Anderson. Oh, I know! Zendaya!!!!!! I think Zendaya wears a nice mix of every style like me. Definitely her!

Where are the other places you’re getting style/fashion influence from?

Instagram, people on the street and Japanese anime.

Where are your three favorite stores to shop in for clothing/apparel?

ASOS, Nordstrom and eBay.

What is it about these stores that make them your favorite/preferred place to shop?

TALL SIZING AVAILABLE! A large selection of various brands. Great deals! I can earn eBay bucks on eBay and Nordstrom rewards on Nordstrom & Nordstrom Rack. They also have a large selection of colorful clothing. I love ASOS because they have videos that showcase the clothing. I love shapes and movement, so I want to see how a dress flows when a person walks in it.

Does the experience of those stores matter to you too?

ASOS and eBay are online so I can only speak about Nordstrom in this question. To be honest, I don’t shop at Nordstrom a lot in person… like at all! First of all, there’s so much construction near the one mall in Michigan that houses this store so it’s not even worth it. Secondly, I find that Nordstrom has more affordable deals online versus in-store. But yes, normally I want to walk into a clean store where items are easy to find. If it’s nicely decorated, then that’s a huge plus! But I don’t want to have to dig through piles of clothes like at a Salvation Army store.

What other stores/spaces are you shopping in and why?

Nordtsrom Rack, The Outnet, Saks off Fifth, Revolve, Poshmark and ShopBop. Large array of various brands available. Colorful clothing options. Affordably priced designer clothes (when on sale).

And then, going a little more specific, what are your top five favorite brands?

Alice & Olivia, Staud, Free People, Antik Batik and Sandro. The first 3 brands, I can stand by my choice. But for the last 3 brands, I kind of just tossed those in. The thing is that I am currently earning the most money that I have ever earned in the US. As my salary increases, so does my price range in clothing. So with the exception of Free People, I’ve only just now started purchasing from these brands. But I like these brands because they typically offer a colorful assortment of clothing, they fit well and the pieces are very chic and fashion forward. I don’t know the back story for any of these designers and I rarely purchase directly from these designers so I can’t say if they’re reliable or not.

What are your top priorities when it comes to buying new items of clothing?

- Colorful

- Fashion Forward

- Timeless (meaning that I can still see myself wearing this item 5-10 years from now)

- Not made with animal products

And why do those things matter to you in the order they do?

- Being colorful makes me happy and seeing such an array of colors on my Instagram makes others happy.

- Being fashion forward is important because it simply is. It’s difficult for me to explain why. But I want people to look at me and think, 'This girl’s got style!'

How many pairs of shoes, any shoes, do you own?

I think 18-22 pairs of shoes sounds about right. Somewhere in that range.

If you had to split them up into categories and write a percentage next to them [what, math!] what would that look like?

Flats: 6 pairs 27%

Sneakers: 4 pairs 18%

Boots: 4 pairs 18%

Heels: 3 pairs 14%

Sandals: 5 pairs 23%

What type of shoe would we typically find you in, if you there is a ‘typical shoe’ for you?

Slingback flats or Nike sneakers (I do currently own a white pair of Banana Republic slingback flats)

And what are the most important things for you when it comes to buying your favorite kind of shoe?

Durability (I don’t want to have to replace shoes every year), comfort level and color.

What about your favorite brands for shoes? Who do you always end up going to?

Nike for sneakers. Jeffrey Campbell and Sam Edelman for other shoes. And everything else is a free-for-all.

I don’t think I have enough experience with these higher end brands in order to be able to say that these are my go to brands.

Why are these your favorite brands do you think? 

Because these brands have proven to be durable, comfortable, colorful and creative.

What about your favorite shoe stores, again - on or offline? What makes them your favorite stores?

My favorite stores for shoes are Zappos, Foot Locker, Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack and Revolve. These stores carry my favorite brands of shoes.