This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Conversations with Claire Book Tour here in Philly. Claire Sulmers is the Editor-in-Chief of one of the top fashion sites, none other than FashionBombDaily.com. She is also author of The Bomb Life, a personal memoir that details the ups and downs she encountered while trying to break into the fashion industry and ultimately her rise to the top. This intimate discussion was moderated by MinaSayWhat! of local radio station Power 99. Here are a few gems that I took away from this event!
1. Stay true to yourself!
It can be very tempting to want to follow the crowd and do what everyone else is doing, especially nowadays with this insta-fame, social media age that we’re living in. You see girls half naked on the ‘gram with thousands upon thousands of followers and you may feel the pressure to follow suit. Claire stressed the importance of staying true to yourself and never compromising just to ‘fit in’ with what has become the norm.
2. Have an ‘Accountability Partner’
An accountability partner is just a fancy way to say a person that makes sure you’re getting your Sugar Honey Iced Tea together! Someone who reminds you of your dreams and holds you accountable to your commitments. Whoever they may be in your life, mother, father, sister, brother or friend, it is important to have one. For example, Claire told us that one of her goals was to start waking up at 5am, but due to her being a “night owl,” it’s sometimes a challenge. One of her friends recently reminded her about this commitment and it helped push her to be a woman of her word.
3. Find one thing that you’re good at and master it!
Jack of all trades. Master of none. I’m sure this is a term that we’ve all heard at some point in our lives. There’s nothing wrong with doing multiple things. It shows versatility but sometimes we can be attempting to do so many things that nothing actually ends up getting accomplished, or they’re getting accomplished rather poorly. Sometimes we have to take a step back and focus on perfecting one thing before we can venture into other avenues.
4. Success Doesn’t Happen Overnight
Contrary to popular belief, success does not happen over night! Claire has been grinding at this for ten years! Ten years folks! That alone was confirmation for me to keep doing what it is that I love. There was a time when she was sleeping in a friends tub in Paris (Spoiler Alert) and now she’s rubbing elbows with celebrities and casually throwing fur prayer cloths across her lap!
5. “Have Faith in God. Have Faith in Yourself.”
Claire spoke a lot about having faith, both in God and in self. There were times in her career where different things tried to come up against her, but having strong faith is what really helped her get through those tough times.
Claire was very humble, down-to-Earth, and sweet as can be! She took the time to take pictures with almost everyone at the event and really listened to each girl’s question, giving great feedback. The next stop on the book tour will be NYC so to all my blogger friends in the Big Apple, I hope you got your tickets because it is sold out! She will be stopping in other cities as well! Get ready bombshells!
Here are a few pics from the event!
Mimosas, the preferred drink of fashionistas everywhere!
Swag bag
Oh, hey Claire!
About the Outfit
Blazer:: Forman Mills
Skirt:: Charlotte Russe
Shoes:: Forman Mills
-A Black Girl About Town
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A Black Girl About Town 