As a plus-size girl and now woman, I've always had a love-hate relationship with fashion. The ability to express myself through fashion, I LOVED. Still, I hated that I could hardly participate in fashion due to many designers failing to offer the trendier clothing in my size. I wanted and still desire to change this by creating a space for girls and women to express themselves freely through clothing. I believe that people of all sizes deserve to adorn their bodies with the latest fashion trends if that's their desire.

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      So, I attended The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and earned a degree in Fashion Merchandising. While in school, I began my career as a stylist, working for a popular plus-size chain retailer. I found my calling (although I didn’t recognize it at the time) and so much joy in helping women just like me. Each day on the sales floor, I enjoyed helping women cultivate their personal style and break free of limiting archaic beliefs about plus-size women and how we should show up in the world sartorially. The best part of the job? Watching my customers walk away instantly more confident in who they were just by tweaking their style according to how they want to dress and not what society says we should be confined to wearing. Truthfully, I’ve been over society telling us that we "can only wear black,” should “stay away from stripes and bright colors,” and should “stick to looser garments.”

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     While helping curvy women in my local area was awesome, I desired to make a larger impact at the corporate level so I took my mission to the corporate buying office of a major department store. There, I worked in one of their private label brands for special sizes (plus and petite) and learned how retailers make decisions on what to sell to consumers. This began my corporate journey in the retail industry. For the next few years, I bounced around the fashion/retail industry, teetering between roles as an in-store stylist and merchandiser for various apparel buying offices. Still, my heart truly is happiest helping people on a personal level which is why I'm now offering my services as a personal stylist. I've enrolled in a mentorship program with an elite stylist to learn more about the trade. And now, with a lot of prayer, love, and support — I am proud to present to you: Salifya, your Plus-Size Stylist.