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Meet Meghan Belfiore of wear NYLA in Santa Monica

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Meghan Belfiore.

Meghan, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born and raised in New York… Long Island to be exact.

Growing up in New York, I was always surrounded by some of the best fashion in the world, which is where my passion began. I always knew that I wanted to do something in the fashion industry, but never knew exactly where that passion would lead me.

Every summer during college, I interned at some amazing fashion companies getting a little taste of every part of the industry. After college, I moved out west to LA and had the chance to work for a company I really respected in the industry, which helped me gain more knowledge and experience within fashion and retail. After some time, I started to struggle with my health, which ultimately forced me to take some time off and put focus on that.

About six months later, I was ready to re-enter the job market and quickly received a great offer, but something just didn’t feel right. That evening, I was at dinner with my parents discussing how I felt, and my dad turned around and said, “so why don’t you open your own company now?”. It was something I always talked about but never thought it would actually happen.

I started to question myself if I could really do something like this, was I good enough, wise enough, brave enough- basically, the what if’s and “enough” mind games showed up. But having my dad, a successful business owner himself and the smartest person I know, believe in me really helped me to learn to believe in myself. I am very fortunate to have an incredible family who has been so involved in this journey and has helped me every step along the way.

They are my biggest cheerleaders and have helped me brainstorm so many ideas. Taking my family’s thoughts and ideas into consideration, I started doing a lot of research and reading a plethora of books because I was still hesitant. One day, I came across the book “You’re a Badass,” and that’s when everything clicked. I realized I can do this and I will regret it if I don’t at least try. That’s where the journey began – I launched myself into this crazy rollercoaster ride, all the while finding and being my most authentic self.

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?
I don’t think anyone who owns a business can say it has been a smooth road. Life as a business owner is so up and down – in a single day, you can feel like everything is crashing around you, but also feel like you’ve reached the highest point where things just click. You trade a 9-5 for a 24/ 7 job because, even if you aren’t always at the office, you are always thinking about your business.  A major struggle I have faced along the way is my personal battle with anxiety.

At first, I saw it is a setback, but I now realize that it has become my biggest asset. My life and business had to become one journey. When I first started wear NYLA, I simply wanted to provide affordable, on-trend clothing online and now the company has evolved into telling a different story, the company has evolved as I evolved as a person. Wear NYLA is stepping fully into an authenticity approach, as I became more mindful of myself the business has followed suit.

Throughout my journey with anxiety, I have learned tools that help open my eyes and allow me to overcome struggles that come into my path. It has given me the opportunity to meet so many amazing people who have helped me to start thinking in other ways. I began to see every setback or failure as a gift because setbacks allow you an opportunity to learn.

My biggest failures have lead me to the most valuable lessons. Every day and event has been necessary for growth in both myself and the business. Because new challenges constantly arise, I have learned how to be present and not to get hung up on anything that will prevent me from moving forward. I force myself to live in the moment and realize that’s all I can control, as I take it moment by moment I realize there is a certain power of being in the now.

It allows me to reach true authenticity, which is the core of wear NYLA. We are all most powerful when we reach our most authentic self, and I truly believe that my struggles have helped me get to that point.

Please tell us about wear NYLA.
wear NYLA is a curated boutique for women with expensive taste searching for on-trend, yet budget-friendly fashion. Basically, it is your hometown boutique, but online… affordable, quality fashion straight to your door. It was inspired by friends, family, and – to be honest – my personal fashion needs. My friends would always say how they had no idea where to look for trendy clothes on the new college/after college budget. I would suggest inexpensive places… either the clothes offered were such poor quality that you could only wear them one time, or it was a local boutique that was great, but inconvenient to get to on a busy schedule.

I made it my mission to find brands that were affordable and good quality. I have the most amazing team, including my sister in law (which is a major plus), that helps me handpick every item based on our experience as buyers and young female fashion consumers to ensure quality, fit, and style. We have created an environment where our customers are a part of our team, whether that is telling us what fashion trends they are looking for or showing our community their favorite ways to style items.

Fashion is all about everyone’s unique take on it – an outfit and accessories can truly tell someone’s story. We have a community that is made up of girls, friends, sisters, daughters, fashion addicts who are trying to navigate this crazy, ever-changing industry because, at the end of the day, aren’t we all just trying to look and feel great? Through our curated experience, our goal is to make everyone feel confident and stylish no matter the size of their paycheck or social media following. We want everyone to be influencers in their own way – whether it be on social media or in their own circle of friends!

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I am lucky enough to have a big family and friends who have become family. My best memories are when we all would get together on weekends for casual nights. The kids and parents all hung out together because we genuinely loved spending time with each other.

It is actually still a tradition today, and it has been so much fun seeing families grow as we get older with new spouses and children (my adorable nieces and nephew being three of them ). We are one big unit that has each other’s back no matter what and it can be guaranteed that laughs, good times, and the best memories happen when we are all together.

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Image Credit:
Kate Moore

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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