Today we’d like to introduce you to Jasmine Davis.
Jasmine, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I have always had an interest for beauty and fashion since childhood. As a young lady, clothing and beauty has always been a method of self-expression for me. It is how I connect with other people. It has helped me to grow into myself at each developmental stage in my life. When I look back through old pictures of myself from high school until now at the tender age of 26, I see through my choice in clothing stories and memories of myself. It’s a visual representation of how much I have grown. I say this because I have always been very intentional about clothing and trying to understand “my style”. Which is comical because it has changed and revolutionized as I have so, I don’t think I will ever be able to define it. But I’ve enjoyed the journey of trying as I’ve enjoyed the journey of learning myself, defining who I am, and the impact I want to have on others. My friends and family have always come to me for advice on all things fashion whether it was choosing a particular hairstyle for an outfit or creating entire outfits all together. I felt honored that they sought out my advice and they encouraged me to share on my social media.
Initially, I had no intention of starting a business. It began as a hobby with me sharing my work attire every day and tagging the brands. Then I began making my work attire posts more interactive with my followers with themed Business Casual Challenges. The premise of the challenge was to encourage my followers to dress their absolute best for an entire week in themed business casual attire. From there, I began to receive messages from people requesting me to be their personal stylist and that is how JD Styles was born! It has been quite a journey I must say but navigating through this foreign world of entrepreneurship has helped me to gain so much insight and confidence within myself. More importantly, I have been able to form great relationships with people which has been such a blessing. I truly believe God answered my prayers of revealing my passion.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being a creative will always come with a few obstacles. It was intimidating and a little scary putting myself out there and allowing others to see my work. Furthermore, I had to realize that everyone isn’t going to like everything that I put out and that was okay. JD Styles isn’t my full-time job, so dedicating as much time necessary to fulfill the needs of both my jobs was a struggle initially. I’ve made mistakes in the past due to simply not knowing and understanding the workings of being a small business owner. However, I never allowed those struggles to deter me from following in my passion because I genuinely enjoy styling people. I’ve used those instances as opportunities for me to develop and educate myself more so that I don’t encounter those situations in the future. I truly believe that we are put on this Earth to help and serve others so personal styling is my way of facilitating that. Having an opportunity to ensure that someone feels confident and assured of themselves through their attire is such a great feeling! Every individual is different and has their own personal style. So having an opportunity to get to know someone, understand their needs, and bringing solutions to that is quite rewarding. My goal for every client I encounter is that they leave me feeling better than they came to me. Whether that is done by extending my time and efforts to ensure they feel absolutely confident or simply just offering kind and encouraging words. So the challenges have been just as pivotal to me as my wins.
JD Styles – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
JD Styles is a personal styling and professional development company. The personal styling pillar of my business includes styling consultations, wardrobe and closet revamps, donation drop-offs, and virtual styling. I provide monthly style guide videos that help people conceptualize outfit ideas. The professional development pillar of JD Styles stands on the premise of offering educational content, styling consultations, and best practices geared toward young minorities. A few topics I have touched on are: virtual interviewing, micro aggression in the workplace, and business professional vs business casual.
I think what sets me apart is my emphasis on helping and educating young people. My brand goes well beyond wanting people to look good in clothing. I want people to know how their clothing impacts them every single day and how they can utilize it in a powerful way. My brand is also cost-conscious. I am very open about how budget-friendly my outfits are. More importantly, I am proud that my company has always partnered with other small black-owned businesses in every single aspect, whether in website development, photography, videography, or make-up. I want to elevate and empower the voices of black people. I want young black professionals to understand that we don’t have to conform or regress ourselves in order to “fit in”. There was a scene on First Lady Michelle Obama Netflix documentary, Becoming, that really spoke to me. She said, “fashion for a woman still predominates how people view you, and that’s not fair but it’s true. But that’s when fashion isn’t just fashion; it’s how you turn it into your tool” and I felt that.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career so far would be working with my first university. I partnered with their Career Services Center to offer students tips and best practices about virtual interviewing. The class included best practices for business professional and business casual attire for both men and women. It also included information on proper dress according to one’s body shape and preferred brands to shop. I truly enjoyed sharing knowledge on things I had experienced first hand as a young professional. I wanted to ensure that the students felt absolutely ready and well prepared to kill their interviews with any company! I thought it was an important seminar to host because we’re in this post-COVID world where everything is virtual. I felt it was important for students to know what to expect and be confident when they do experience what will soon become the preferred interview process.
Contact Info:
- Website: missjaydeeh.com
- Email: jaydeehstyles@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_jaydeeh_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jasmine.davis.904108
Image Credit:
TEAPhotography Studios LLC, Kimani George
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