Fashion Friday’s 21 questions with fashion stylist Sherly Tavarez

Welcome to fashion Friday's! Today I am interviewing Dominican fashion stylist and blogger Sherly Tavarez. Many years ago I had the pleasure of working with Sherly on a photo shoot in Orlando Florida and now she is living the dream in New York city. Here are a series of questions that I asked Sherly, so that you can get to know a little about her and what she does.

1. What do you do in the fashion industry? In what city or state? I am a fashion stylist and fashion & lifestyle blogger in New York City.

2. At what age did you become fascinated with fashion? At 19

3. Who is one of your biggest fashion influencers? One of my biggest fashion influencers is Blake Lively. Her style is so effortlessly chic and that’s exactly my style. Like I didn’t really try today but yes I still look so fabulous. Haha

4. What made you decide to become a fashion stylist? My friends always used to come to me for fashion advice and I never thought a career could come from it but I went to a tech school for marketing and I was always around a lot of fashion students and people always asked me if I was in fashion and so I started doing research on fashion careers and found out about fashion styling and I was like THAT is what I want to do! I want to dress people!

5. How did you get your start? Well I was in Orlando and the fashion market was so small so I did whatever I could. I interned, I styled photo shoots for free, I started building my portfolio and meeting photographers and make up artists to collaborate with. I made some life long friends along the way that I still keep in touch with to this day!

6. How long have you been in the business? Going on 7 years now!

7. How do you stay updated on the current trends? Well I have a fashion blog so I have to stay up to date with the trends, and I’m lucky because I get invited to a lot of cool events and I get emailed a lot of press releases as a blogger so that’s one of the ways. I also read a lot of fashion blogs like Refinery29, Fashionista.com and fellow fashion bloggers blogs too!

8. Have you been to fashion week? If so when and where? And how was your experience? I have been to fashion week both in Miami and in New York. You know, what a lot of people don’t know is that fashion week is tiresome. When you are a fashion blogger you are not really there for enjoyment, but more for work. Therefore you have to make sure you cover all of the shows, get the pictures, do the interviews, plan your outfits weeks in advance for everyday and after all of that, you still have to have the energy for the after parties. It’s a lot, but all in all its fun!

9. How important is fashion week to you? Fashion week is important because it sets the tone for the next season. It let’s you get a head start on what’s to come so that you are prepared.

             Sherly Tavares with fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff

10. Have you ever styled for any celebrities? If, so who were they and did you have a favorite? I have styled a few celebrities. I have assisted in styling Laverne Cox and Samira Wiley from the TV show Orange is The New Black. The funny thing is that when I first moved to New York back in 2013, I had no cable and Netflix was my best friend. Orange is The New Black was my favorite show at the time but absolutely no one had heard of it because I was asking everyone. One day I was walking around Chelsea and I saw the entire cast hanging out at some party outside and I told my friend oh my God, that’s the cast of Orange is The New Black! And he was like who?! Haha. I also styled Rebecca Minkoff, Miss USA, Miss Dominican Republic, Bianca Marroquin from Broadway Chicago. My favorite was probably Rebecca Minkoff because she was so much fun and easygoing.

11. What is the one item that you can’t leave home without? My Carmax, no chapped lips.

12. What is your favorite accessory? My favorite accessories are my Alexis Bittar rings. You will always see me with at least one of them on.

13. Name the top three things in your styling kit that are must haves. Double-sided tape, deodorant sponge, and a steamer.

14. Who is your favorite fashion designer and why? My favorite fashion designer, that is easily Mr. Oscar de la Renta may he RIP.

15. What is your favorite fashion trend, and why? You know, I know the trends when they’re happening, but I'm not huge on being stuck on following trends. I wear what I want, when I want to wear it. I am however loving the fringe trend this fall.  

16. What is your favorite color? It’s so weird, I used to love colors and my closet used to be very very colorful. Ever since moving to New York my taste in clothes has gone a little dark and more sophisticated. I don’t have a favorite color right now but if I had to choose it would probably be nude. Weird. So weird for me.

17. What is your dream job in the fashion industry? My dream job changes so much. I want to do so much and feel like I cannot do it all. But my dream job has always been to be a celebrity stylist. I now help everyday women get styled for events like birthday parties, work, school, date nights, dinner parties… literally anything, and it is so fulfilling!

18. What are your plans for the future and where do you see yourself taking your career? My plans for the future are to be happy with whatever I am doing. Most people set goals that they think will make them happy and when they achieve it, they still aren’t happy so I just want to be happy. I want to make other people happy along the way and the most satisfying thing to me is seeing a woman who isn’t confident or doesn’t feel good in her own skin and then looks and feels absolutely radiant after I styled them!

19. What advice do you have for someone who would like to become a fashion stylist? Network, network, network. This industry is ALL about who you know, and if you don’t make yourself known, no one is going to give you an opportunity. You can’t be shy in this industry because it will be taken as weakness. Let your voice be heard and ask for what you want.

20. What sort of things do you do, to prepare for a photo shoot that you are the stylist for? I normally have to go to a few showrooms to pick up the garments that are being lent to me for the shoot, sometimes I have to buy some pieces for the shoot and later return them. Right before the shoot starts I have to steam everything, take pictures of the outfits we are shooting and in what order we are shooting them.

21. Was there a styling job that felt like a surreal experience? Yes, all of them! Every single time I style someone I feel like I am living my dream and that is surreal because that’s something that not everyone gets to experience unfortunately, and for that I am grateful!

 If you need a fashion stylist or you would like outfit ideas, please follow Sherly Tavarez at her fashion blog at, www.sherlyinthecity.com , Facebook Sherlyinthecity, Twitter Sherlyinthecity, and Instagram Sherlyinthecity. There will be another feature next month and I will try my best to make sure I'm on time.