In the beginning of the year, I had the opportunity to speak with two wonderful women in the fashion world. We first met briefly at the 17… Days of Fashion Event then we began to chit chat via my favorite media outlet, Facebook. I was completely drawn to their personality and their can-do will power, not only for fashion but also for the love of their community. We decided that we were going to meet up and we did but my video camera completely flopped… SMH sometimes at technology!

Well, let me tell you a little about the ladies individually:

Deanna Allen is a journalist who loves everything about fashion. She worked in Bloomingdales as a visual stylist (setting up the windows, dressing the mannequins), and now she loves to help young women look good and feel good in their clothing.  She is the co-founder of A Stlyd Life and also the co-creator of Solid Stich which carries the T-shirt line, The Dream Collection. She feels that it was her purpose to begin A Styld Life so that she could bring awareness to young women that their beauty from the inside can be displayed on the outside without wearing expensive name clothing.

Diane Godlewski was adopted by a wonderful family that guided her towards her love of art. Although she does not consider herself an artists (in the drawing sense), she does consider herself a great lover of the art and therefore an artist in her own right. She loves to travel and in her travel to the South Pacific and living in a hut, she realized that she rediscovers her love of art through nature. The natural living of the natives was a wonderful experience and so many other traveling times. To Diane, the beauty of nature is definitely Styld.

They both are involved with the Feltonville Dream Center and love being part of an organization that gives back to the community. The Dream Center is an organization that helps keeps children off of the streets through arts and education. As active members, they wanted to do all that they could to make a difference and keep the Dream Center functioning. Together, they combined their genius minds to create a t-shirt line, Solid Stitch which has recently produced the Dream Collection. This really cool line of tees gives inspirational words to onlookers to not only chase their dream but to catch it! A portion of the proceeds goes to the Feltonville Dream Center.

Diane and Deanna are also the creators of A Styld Life which is a blog that most people read and love! It was created because they believe that style is living a life fully committed to who you were created to be. Their greatest mission is to redefine what the world deems as style by giving a platform to empower people to build the lives, careers and wardrobes they deserve. D&D believe in being true to you, loving who you are and embracing what is unique about you. Join the movement, declaring and celebrating true style!

THEIR INSPIRATION

Simply put… each other. They are also inspired by the world around them and the people that tell them to keep pushing. They are about everyday people, not so much the many Fashionistas in the world, but the people that are looking to learn about fashion. They don’t want people to feel intimidated. They created A Stlyd Life so that young women can live a lifestyle that is fabulous and fierce catered to their own needs.

OTHER FAB ENDEAVORS

Just recently they crowned, Breyana Pennington as their Metamorphosis Girl. The Metamorphosis Girl: The Story of You, in collaboration with Simply Z Events, is a project in which young women share their stories of life experiences and triumph. The one girl that touches the hearts of the readers receives a fully paid for prom and mentoring to help her along her way to college and other activities that will help her reach her goal of being a productive young woman to her community.

Deanna and Diane are really great women that have a lot to offer to the fashion community and people abroad. You can look forward to them keeping up on their blog and sharing their journey in fashion and helping the community stay beautiful.  Check out some of their fashion Do’s and Don’ts.

FASHION DO’S AND DON’TS

• Don’t wear tights with short shirts (cover your butts)!
• Be yourself but know your body type. This means that you are not just being daring but knowing that the clothing that you wear looks good on you.
• Don’t just follow trends but be a trend setter.
• Don’t wear pajamas outside the home, not a good look… Def not ok!
• Don’t wear Uggs in the summer time.
• Don’t be afraid to add color and also add accessories. You can really make a difference with an outfit if you have the right accessories.

To learn more about the Double D’s, check out their blog www.astyldlife.com and be sure to purchase a Tee for a good cause at www.solidstitch.com