Editor's Thoughts: The Essence of a Beautiful Life

I was just organizing some products this morning when I was thinking about how much my life has changed over the past three years. Many of you wouldn't know this about me, but FSB is dream-turned-reality, a journey into the person that I'd wanted to be my entire life but had somehow never allowed myself to be.

Working corporate jobs since college graduation, I buried my dreams of writing about fashion and beauty underneath a lot of purchases (many of them caused the "WTF was I thinking?" question later), a considerable amount of body weight and put my soul to sleep. I read magazines and followed the writers like most people follow celebrities, wishing I could do that instead of what I was doing. This continued until one day I woke up in an apartment filled with things I didn't need in a life I really didn't want as someone I didn't even recognize. I decided to get rid of almost everything I owned, packed my things and took a chance on a move to New York City to become a writer.

Three years later, I'm preparing to attend New York Fashion Week on my own merits as the Editor of this publication. The funny thing is, if you ask me about all of the "things" I had to give up to get here, I don't honestly remember them. They belonged to another woman as far as I can tell and she is thankfully at rest. After a considerable amount of purging and donations, almost everything in my presence right now is something that makes my heart sing. Well, with the exception of a pair of Louboutins, but I'm working on that.

I write this note to you this Friday morning to encourage you to find your own style of living and unapologetically surround yourself with only the people and items that truly make you happy. A well-curated closet is one thing but a well-curated life is, in my opinion, the basis for all things fashion, the essence of real style, and the foundation for a truly beautiful life.