The heartbeat of Nasty Gal doesn’t exist in one style, trend, or article of clothing. It’s in the way we talk, the way we carry ourselves, and the way we see the world. If you scroll through Nasty Gal photos from the early days, this is obvious: The styles have changed, but the attitude is the same. The Nasty Gal look has always been that hard-to-nail-down, you-know-it-when-you-see-it quality; the ultimate babe who’s one-third girl-next-door, one-third genius, and one-third party monster. She’s cool. It’s this combination that has made casting models especially challenging for us—it’s not enough that a girl is tall, gorgeous, and fits the clothing—she has to be cool on top of it.
My definition of what’s cool may be a rare one. It’s not about being popular, or waking up with a pizza spinning on the turntable like an ’80s teen movie. Being mean won’t make you cool, being rich won’t make you cool, and having the right clothes, while it may help, won’t make you cool. It’s cool to be kind. It’s cool to be weird. It’s cool to be honest and to be secure with yourself. Cool is the girl at a party who strikes up a conversation with you when she notices you don’t seem to know many people there. It’s that vibe that I always wanted Nasty Gal models to have. I want our customer to look at Nasty Gal and see someone who could be her friend modeling the clothes. Or even better, I want her to project herself into the lifestyle and attitude, soaking it up to add to her arsenal of amazing qualities of which having great clothes is only one small part.
Own Your Style
The last thing I’d ever subscribe to are fashion rules. However, I do think that you should put effort into what you wear. Clothing is ultimately the suit of armor in which we battle the world. When you choose your clothing right, it feels good. And there’s nothing shallow about feeling good. Owning your style, however, is much more about your attitude than it is about what’s on your back. But don’t underestimate the transformational possibilities that getting dressed can afford you.
While I have the freedom to wear whatever I want at work, I dress the part. In fact, everyone at Nasty Gal does. When I’m confident in what I am wearing, it makes me feel more confident throughout the day. Granted, I could probably negotiate a deal in my pajamas, but I’m a lot more dangerous in a pair of leather pants and boots that could hurt a fool.
Some girls can pull off a trend as though they just rolled out of bed, grabbed the first thing they saw, and skipped out the door without even giving the mirror a sideways glance. When I try to wear too much of a trend, I end up looking the opposite—like I spent way too much time in front of the mirror. It’s important to know which trends are for you and which ones you should watch walk down the runway and right on by.
We’ve all seen girls who constantly tug at the hem of their dress, readjust straps, and mess with their hair. If you’re not confident, no dress, no matter how smoking-hot it is, will solve that problem for you. If I see you in a club hobbling like an injured baby colt, I want to push you over. I will push you over. And, if I can push you over, you’re not owning anything; and that’s what I want you to do, #GIRLBOSS: Own your style like you own your used car. This means wearing what you like and what makes you feel good. And it means getting dressed for yourself—not your boyfriend, not your friends, not your parents. Here’s one thing the fashion industry probably won’t tell you: Confidence is more attractive than anything you could put on your body.
And that brings me to my other point: Owning your style sometimes takes effort, and it’s okay to expend effort on how you look. For a long time women wore only dresses and spent hours on their hair because that is what society mandated. But now we don’t have to do it—we get to do it. Being a girl is fun. We can experiment with our look as much as we want. I remember being a little girl and watching with fascination as my mom used an eyelash curler. The key is making sure you’re doing what you want, not doing things because your boyfriend can’t stand to look at you without any makeup on. If every other girl you know is wearing a push-up bra and you do not want to wear a push-up bra, then by all means, do not wear one. But they’re there if you need ’em.
There are certain common themes that I hear when I talk to Nasty Gal customers all over the world. “I was the only girl who didn’t shop at the mall,” a lot of them say. “My town was so boring that just putting effort into my look was seen as crazy.” And to that, I always say, “Hell yes.” Putting in effort is exactly what you should be doing. You should get dressed for your life. I don’t care if the only place you have to go is the post office: Get dressed, #GIRLBOSS, and let your freak flag fly.
PORTRAIT OF A #GIRLBOSS:
Ashley Glorioso, Senior Stylist at Nasty Gal
When I was younger, I hated being in school. I hated everything about it, so I knew that whatever I did wasn’t going to involve any extra schooling past high school—I couldn’t get out of that place fast enough. I thought I was going to work with animals, but then realized I was too emotionally attached to them, so needed to work with something that couldn’t get hurt or die. Clothes. Perfect!
I’ve been pedal to the medal ever since and I have no intention of stopping! I started working retail in high school to earn some cash of my own, and I realized that there was so much to the retail world. I worked for small boutiques at first, and for pennies, but learned so much about the industry that it made my time there priceless. I worked at a small store in Westlake Village, California; I was only sixteen but running the store. I was comfortable being in charge at such a young age. Baby boss lady!
I learned about everything from merchandising to receiving, and even made sure I learned about stuff that I wasn’t even interested in. I felt as if the more I learned about retail, the more options I would have later on. I think it’s good to have more than one skill set in the fashion industry. A lot of companies require you to wear many different hats, so the more experience you can gain, the better!
I started styling for fun on a friend’s lookbook shoot when I was eighteen, and thought, Wait, I like this! And I’m decent at it! I was shocked people did this for work. That was when I started to pay way more attention to what was going on in fashion—delving into every season of shows and every magazine I could get my hands on. I studied the makeup artists, the hairstylists, the photographers, the clothing stylists . . . I learned how everyone had a different eye, and how it was all art.
I think fashion is the ever-undulating industry, and style is something that a person has inherently without really trying. I went through so many weird phases throughout my life. I was never a great vintage shopper, but now I am well versed in the magic of a good tailor, so I don’t hesitate to buy vintage because I know that I can rework that baby into utter perfection. Nowadays my style is all over the place and I try not to fit into any one category. Some days I feel very gypsy and wear a long skirt with a weird top, a long vest, a furry vest over that, and 2,056 necklaces and rings. Other days I wear my boyfriend’s ripped T-shirt and some huge jeans and do not give two fucks. Sometimes I wear a frilly dress with socks and Mary Janes, and other times a suit. So be it. I like to keep people guessing. Hell, keep me guessing!