Who will style you?

My name is Sarah Ervin, and I’ll be your mindful stylist.

A love of clothing

I can trace my love of clothing back to kindergarten. There was the matching fuzzy purple sweater and skirt set—a cherished 80s hand-me-down. I remember the joy of bedazzling my first jean skirt and proudly arranging my sock drawer in rainbow order. Then there was my first sewing machine, mini-sized and unicorn-decaled. I started sewing my own clothes—upcycled Franken-garments I couldn’t get away with wearing to school—and never looked back. My subsequent journey through fashion stuck to DIY and entrepreneurial avenues, from earning my first $20 making custom painted jeans for middle school classmates to running a vintage store throughout college.

Some qualifications

My skills were sharpened with three year’s experience constructing theater costumes around the same time I discovered a love for the study of psychology, which I majored in for my bachelor’s degree from Hendrix College in Arkansas. A few more year’s work experience in the arts and higher education led me to a master’s degree in arts management from Columbia College Chicago. But after a strange and unplanned turn as an early social media influencer (feel free to ask me about it), I began working as a stylist at an international fashion and tech company, where I’ve been for six years. I’ve since completed a certificate course in positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and developed a practice of daily meditation, which I’ve used to further inform my styling practice and philosophy. Oh, I also LOVE to crochet.

A little philosophy

I’ve had many opportunities over the years to reflect on what we wear—the items we choose to adorn, protect, and identify ourselves. I believe these things have the potential to be as meaningful and fulfilling as we want them to be, and our clothes can help us telegraph our truest selves to the world.

Developing this meaningful practice might require that we unlearn fashion “rules” and resist the influence of current beauty standards, which can be arbitrary, reductive, or restrictive at best and rooted in racist, sexist, sizeist, and ableist ideals at worst. But I believe such change is possible with a little guidance and well worth the effort. I’d love to share with you what I’ve learned about styling myself and others mindfully.