"FASHION MADE ME DO IT": MY INTERVIEW WITH DESIGNER & CEO OF HOUSE OF REHAB ASHLEE JACKSON

WRITTEN BY SHARRA GREENE & FEATURING ASHLEE JACKSON

CEO Ashlee Jackson in her “Best Dressed Cardigan” by House of Rehab.

If you know me, you know my runway bag from House of Rehab is my baby. I wear it A LOT because it goes with almost everything in my closet. It’s pretty yet functional with the words “fashion made me do it” hand painted across the front (see my last post) , giving it both girly and streetwear appeal. I’ve been a fan of the brand who came up with the original design for years now, observing their versatile range of products from handbags to tees and sweatsuits, flannels, and more. Upon recently purchasing my second bag from them, I had to know more about the woman behind a brand that’s become one of my favorites!

Ashlee in the “Show Off Tee”.

Ashlee says, “House of Rehab is home to all the round-the-way girls like me. Growing up in Detroit, I remember reading fashion magazines and thinking: "This is cool; But where are the girls like me?" You know, the ones who know the art of mixing high and low, designer and discount to create a wonderfully sculpted masterpiece. Making something out of nothing for short. I'm a firm believer that style is not something you find in stores. Rather, it's a skill that you acquire by learning what works for Y O U. I'm all about developing individual style, being fearless with your fashion and serving up looks night and day! That's why in 2014, House of Rehab was created to share my world with my fellow fashion addicts.”

The “Everything Bag” by House of Rehab.

In my latest episode of Style With Sharra: The Podcast Series, Ashlee Jackson shares her process on building a brand from the ground up, strategies for marketing and investments, what we can expect from House of Rehab in the next season, and more. We also go over tips for attending fashion week. ✨This is THE PERFECT episode for aspiring designers and online boutique owners. She gave us so much FREE game! Hit that button below to listen and make sure y’all shop houseofrehab.com! 😘✨

P.S. Follow @houseofrehab on Instagram and stay up to date with their latest drops.

DOING MORE AND WORRYING LESS, HOW I'M PLAYING WHILE THE WORLD IS ON PAUSE

WRITTEN BY SHARRA GREENE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAMON RICE

Shop My Look: I am wearing a volume sleeve OTS top from Boohoo, the love affair cargo pants from Akira, Public Desire nostalgia newspaper print thigh high boots, PLT brown oversized shades and doorknocker earrings, Aldo ring set, and the runway bag (my fave) from House of Rehab.

With society in disarray due to the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the C Word, it’s been eye opening if nothing else, watching the different ways we as people have had to adapt our day to day lifestyles and activities. I’m watching so many people judge each other, particularly, people who are in a constant state of panic judging others for seeming too “unbothered”. I’ve been hopping on the IG live sessions of some of the entrepreneurs and public figures who I look up to and I’ve been inspired by their ability to adapt their business models as best they can and to maintain a positive attitude as much as possible, only to see others in the comments criticizing them for not being “worried enough” and being “selfish” during this time. Regardless of what you’re choosing to do during this time, the fact remains that worrying solves nothing. We can pray, we can learn more about the situation and its progress, we can stay informed, we can try to point each other in the right direction of resources. But that’s all that most of us can do.

The game of life is certainly unpredictable. I’m sure most of us didn’t expect a lot of things that have been happening lately to happen and all this time alone has caused me to reflect on the intentions I set in the very beginning of the year. I remember bringing in the new year in my room meditating and hearing two specific words over and over in my head: expectation and gratitude. They’ve been two concepts that I’ve been diligently trying to be mindful of since that night and it’s crazy how personally useful those two words have been during this chapter of my life. I had a whole bunch of plans that got halted over the past few weeks. Several of my styling projects were postponed and I had to pass on certain opportunities that require me to travel. This was definitely not in my expectations for me or my brand and I’ve been forced to adapt quickly. However, when I think about the losses that so many others are enduring during this time, mine don’t even begin to compare to theirs and I can’t help but to be grateful for the people and resources that I do have to get me through this time, things that so many people unfortunately do not have.

Gratitude has been the main force keeping me grounded during this time. Waking up every morning and being thankful for all the things that are still going right in life, despite the things that aren’t. It’s been allowing me to do more with the time on my hands instead of staying stagnant in negativity and catastrophic thoughts. On the bright side, I’ve been so inspired to see some of the people in my circle using this time to tend to their craft and/or start the beginning steps for projects that they’ve wanted to pursue for a really long time.

Doing more in this season doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing for everybody. As for me, I know I still got shit to do regardless of what’s going on. However, I also said that I wanted to take the time to tend to my mental health more this year and to grow spiritually. So, my days lately have been a mix between working from home and then making time to read, meditate, pray, etc. However, if you’re someone who is already a workaholic as is and maybe you were feeling personally unfulfilled before all the chaos began, this could be the time for you to actually do more relaxing, more binge watching, more phone calls catching up with friends and family, more time being spent on hobbies, etc.

Whatever you’re doing, please prioritize whatever is truly important to YOU. As long as you’re staying as safe as possible and tending to your health both physically and mentally, don’t let others dictate how you should be spending this time.

I’m continuing to pray that as we pick up the pieces, we’ll collectively come back stronger on the other side of all of this.

Love,

Sharra

“The definition of walking art.”

OKAY, BUT WHERE TF IS THE DOCUMENTARY FOR MY ICONIC FASHION MENTOR FROM AFAR??? A CRASH COURSE ON BLACK FASHION HISTORY'S HIDDEN FIGURE EUNICE WALKER JOHNSON

WRITTEN BY SHARRA GREENE

Eunice sitting front row at the Bill Blass show, circa ‘71. This photo says so much.

Self quarantining has me watching and rewatching fashion documentaries both old and relatively new. As I’m revisiting some of my favs (House of Z, The September Issue, In Vogue: The Editor’s Eye, etc.) I couldn’t help but notice how many of the most influential blacks in fashion do not have a highlight reel for me to indulge in during this time. (Disappointed? Yes. Surprised? Not at all.) One in particular came to mind as it was so painfully obvious that she of all people is way overdue for a fashion film covering her life and legacy. Let me find out I gotta switch career paths real quick just to make sure it’s done and done right! (I’m probably bluffing so somebody in the film industry, please get on it ASAP. It’s so necessary!)

If you listen to my podcast or follow this blog, I’m pretty sure you’ve heard me rant about the iconic Eunice Walker Johnson at least once before. I’m obsessed. She’s been my blueprint and one of my biggest inspirations when it comes to being proactive with my goals in fashion and not waiting for someone else to hand me an opportunity. If you’ve been living under a rock (or are just uninformed because not enough fashion platforms speak on her impact) let me school you real quick.

Model Pat Cleveland at an annual Ebony Fashion Fair showcase in Versace couture.

Seeking to raise money for local charities in the black community, Eunice Walker started the Ebony Fashion Fair back in 1958, an exhibition, named after the magazine that she and her husband John H. Johnson founded as part of their growing publishing company (yes, I’m referring to THE Ebony Magazine). The showcase brought high fashion and haute couture to a new audience, a black one. Walker’s exhibit ended up raising over 50 million dollars for charity along with introducing countless black models, artists, and coordinators to an industry that was typically discriminatory and closed off to them, by hiring and casting them in the annual production.

Eunice and some of her models at the 33rd annual Fashion Fair, themed “Freedom Explosion”.

Throughout the 60’s and 70’s, much of Eunice’s time was spent curating the show and networking to make the necessary connections needed to make her showcase great year after year. She spent a lot of time collaborating with emerging designers in the black community as well as traveling to top mainstream designers’ shows, even sitting front row at many of them. You can imagine that this created friction in the industry, as Eunice and her team often struggled with getting into the shows that they had so diligently earned the right to attend, due to the racism and nepotism that plagues the fashion industry. But numbers don’t lie. The monetary success of Ebony which, keep in mind, Eunice’s husband John was the founder of, often played a role in making the gatekeepers budge. Walker would bring back pieces from some of the most sought after designers to feature in her showcase, which had a strategic theme each year.

An exhibit of some archived pieces from the showcase over the years.

In addition to her success in the fashion space, Eunice essentially was the Fenty Beauty before Fenty Beauty. She founded Fashion Fair Cosmetics, THE FIRST beauty line made specifically for women of color. The high demand of quality makeup products for darker skin tones made her an innovator in the cosmetic industry and forced other competing companies to look at the quality and availability of makeup that they provided for black women, or lack thereof.

Enough said. Run my idol her documentary ASAP. Maybe it’s just not on my radar. If you know any cool documentaries that cover Eunice Walker Johnson, beyond the 5 minute clips found here and there on the internet, please send them my way! Link them below! See more of my fave images of Eunice in her element in the gallery above.

Sharra,

“The definition of walking art.”

NO MORE BAD NEWS, PLEASE: MY STRATEGIES FOR STAYING AWARE YET IN TUNE WITH YOUR OWN INNER VOICE DURING THESE WEIRD TIMES…

WRITTEN BY SHARRA GREENE

It has been A LOT going on. I’m sure by now y’all have enough tutorials on how to wash your hands, social distancing, etc. etc… so instead of lecturing you on that, I’m here with a few tips on how to tend to your mind and spirit during this chaotic and confusing time. These are a few things that have been helping me…

1) LESS CONSUMPTION, MORE CREATION & CHECKING ON MY PEOPLE

This morning I took a break from my phone because I’m tired of the Corona Virus square at the top of my Twitter and I know I’m not the only one… it’s a difference between staying informed and being harrassed with fear so I’ve limited my time looking at news to once every two days… that’s enough to know what’s going on and still spend the rest of my day on working on things that I actually can control. Then, I’ll take an occasional break from content or business admin and send a quick text or call a loved one, just to make sure they’re okay. For people who struggle with anxiety, actually speaking with your loved ones during a time of social isolation can be very grounding and comforting.

2) JOURNALING & PRAYER

Anyone who knows me knows these two things keep me sane on a regular basis anyway. But with everything going on, I been heavy on the journaling and taking all my concerns to God and leaving it there. For many, this time in society is bringing up feelings of fear, uncertainty, sadness, and stress for a lot of us. Writing my feelings down helps me release it so I’m not walking around in that same negative state because if you didn’t know, being in a low vibrational state actually makes you more physically susceptible to sickness. Again, focusing on the things we actually can control. 

3) LISTENING TO UPLIFTING MUSIC

Music is also healing. These are a few songs with a positive message that’s been in heavy rotation over here.

Just a collection of songs to renew strength, hope, and joy during rough times!

I’m sending well wishes and positivity your way and I pray you and your loved ones are all safe and healthy during this time! Thank you so much for being on my list! Your support means a lot and I can’t wait to see what 2020 has in store for us all when all this craziness is over!

Love,

Sharra

“The definition of walking art.”