STYLE TWINZ: ~ GEGE COOKS ~

STYLE TWINZ: ~ GEGE COOKS ~: Houston's Newest Video  Blogger  Gege Cooks by Gena Swint Food is an essential part of our lives that is often reduced to l...

~ GEGE COOKS ~

Houston's Newest Video Blogger 
Gege Cooks by Gena Swint

Food is an essential part of our lives that is often reduced to lack luster heat and eat items. It's sad to say, but fast food has become king in many homes. This is a call to acting young America. Do away with calorie comma causing greasy eats. Instead add a lil pizazz to your food life with healthy homemade treats. Give the fruits of a self cooked meal its pure joy enducing capabilities back. How you ask? Well with some "Oh So Awesome" food how-to's from Gege Cooks. Bon Appetite! 

London Fashion Week- All Black Everything

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Start A Class, Change A Twang, & Get Some Healing

MEMORABLE MAKE-UP MOMENTS

A word from Mya James

Teaching?

I don’t even know… Probably the first Modern Make-Up Society class. It was like we developed the curriculum, we tried it out, ran it for 10 months, and tried to work out all of the kinks. It’s like a car. Your building and building it. You don’t know how it will work until you pull it out there onto the road. The first class was really cool. That’s when we knew we had something signature.

Traveling?

My most memorable moment abroad was my instructors class the professor for it in London kept failing me. We were going to go away for Christmas break. She came up to me and said “ Hey, take a diction class when you go home. Nobody can understand you. The reason you keep failing is, because you sound like a cowboy.” It kind of cleaned up my accent just a little bit. If your from Texas you have a twang. We don’t notice it until nobody sounds like us.

Personal?

This year… I met a young lady named Destiny through another business owner here in Houston. She wanted to do something special for her repeated client. It was during prom time. Prom time is a really signature moment here. With Destiny she has a skin lupus. Which is one of the most aggressive diagnosis of lupus in existence. Because of course your skin is the biggest organ. 

Your body is fighting against your body. She had a lot of near death experiences and a tough time in high school. We helped facilitate the prom experience for her. Because her Mom had been paying continuous medical experiences. As with any child that is sick. So as much as her Mom wanted to provide a lavish prom for her she couldn't. Destiny had just come off an expensive hospital stay. She had to take a costly form of chemo therapy. 

The reason why this was so memorable was because she has scars from the lupus. Some times they would open like lesions. So you can image how it looked. She would be called things like walking dead and zombie. At that particular time her lesions were closed and she was really happy about that. Mind you, she still had the scars and uneven skin tone. She was brown when the lesions close they are still pink. I couldn’t imagine going through school like that. Let alone a formal event. 

So when we did her make-up it took her so long to look in the mirror. As I was going through the make-up process everybody was looking. Their eyes were getting big, because they didn’t know how I was going to do what I did. Everyone was confident after the first phase when I unified the skin and got it to look like even skin. I finished up then she took pictures with the photographer for her prom photos. Finally her Mom goes just look in the mirror for a minute, and it was just. 

I was getting chills and I was about to cry. Because it was just the look on her face I don’t know. To me its just make-up, but its so not. For make-up in that one moment to erase all the things she had been through, and all the names she had been called. If its just make-up that did that then its healing. It's healing.

Vintage Has Got A Man & His Name Is Mister Style

Q & A

MISTER STYLE

Vintage Fashion's got a song that only a Port Arthur beauty can sing.

Meet: Zoe Jackson-Jarra 

Where is she from? Well, Port Arthur Louisiana of course.

Where is she now? Houston, Tx

Where is the store? Online based out of Houston. MISTER STYLE

 How did you choose a name for your boutique? I named the boutique Mister Style to appeal to the fashionable male whose fashion sense is a little bit off the beaten path, and who is sensitive to seasonal changes regarding it or who aspires to be.

 What was the catalyst to opening this particular boutique? Well, I opened the store for a couple of reasons. One I’d had a boutique, previously, called Fashion Plate Lifestyle Boutique that catered to both men and women. It had a physical location that required my presence daily, which was becoming increasingly more difficult. Also, my daughter, Ciera, has an online store www.Babesandfelines.com

 

and it is an extension of Fashion Plate Lifestyle, however, only the women’s side. Mister Style offers merchandise for the men’s side & shows women how to utilize menswear in their wardrobe as well.

Was opening a store front your idea, or did someone talk you into it? It was, definitely, my idea. I just had to figure out how I was going to go about running it, if you will. I have, and it will be primarily, online. 

Is this a second career?  No, I think it is tied for 1^st with my love for music because for me they are both intertwined. When I’m singing or performing or simply attending an event, what I’m wearing matters, and I think that is true for most people. So, I am also a stylist for artists in various mediums, i.e. music, art, etc.

Why retail? Well, it falls in line with one of my loves which is fashion, and I love to help people achieve the look that they’d like to have or discover what that look is.

Do you have plans to expand? In terms of expansion, I don’t think that there will be more locations, but there may be business that focuses on another aspect of fashion.

Do you still have the same type of merchandise and customers as when you began? Yes, I still have some of the same type of merchandise in terms of pieces from the same quality-driven, legendary designers because there is a vintage aspect to some of what I offer that fits into that “what’s old is new” adage. Regarding customers, I have a very loyal base that has been with me even before I opened the 1^st store, Fashion Plate Lifestyle because I had been called on to be a stylist for some of them. Based on the satisfaction that they had received from that service, a trust in my abilities was developed.
 

Model Josias Diaz

What helps you retain business? Retaining business depends on what is offered, how it is offered, and the way it is offered. In my case, making sure my inventory is seasonally accurate, and stylish made available at the time the customer requests it, and done in a professional and courteous manner.

Do you have a certain strategy on customer service? Yes. The strategy is simply to place a premium on those two words because customers expect excellent service, and if they don’t get it, they have the right to go elsewhere with their business. I, as a customer, feel the same way.

 Where has your success come from? I think my success has come from my ever-expanding knowledge in the area fashion. My attention to detail, my work ethic, and the value I place on customer service.

 Have you had any struggles/ challenges? The struggle, sometimes, can be customer consistency. The number of sales vary each month, so it can make it difficult to determine when to replenish inventory, and by how much. The challenges are being a one-person shop owner, and being available practically every day, but also, needing to balance participation in other events in town or away from the city that can secure more new business.

With the economy still in the early stages of recovery, how do you feel about the future of your business? Do you think we’ll break out of the funk soon? I think the future is bright, because fashion is so important to so many people. People will find money to get the things that they want like that new outfit for that special occasion. You know everybody has a birthday, and often a celebration they’d like to attend in honor of it wearing something new.  I think, overall, the economy is improving although some businesses were not affected or affected very little by the economy because there are a lot of wealthy people out there. Million dollar homes are still being sold in spite of the economic times, for example.

You’ve been recognized for your Vintage Pieces, How would you describe your store’s style? I take great pride in the items I select and offer to our customer base. Oftentimes it’s hard to tell whether or not a piece is vintage, because it is of such quality. Quality is important to me and also items that have a long lasting style to them. My aesthetic is wide as fashionable finds span the world. I have a world viewpoint when pulling items from many countries & cultures to make up the style in Mister Style.

I see you have both men’s and women’s clothing, How do you decide what to carry? I put myself into the mindset of a traveler who happens upon a store that allows them to go places in their mind of nostalgia & before they leave, hopefully, have found a great treasure to take with them for themselves or someone else. One-of-a-kindness is truly the goal whether the apparel piece is trendy or vintage, for example. Even new pieces can be unique if it’s not something that is mass-produced which is also part of our offerings. I also take huge hints from worldwide popular culture since most people desire to live vicariously through the most popular people in the world. This sets the tone for several of the trendy pieces that are among our selections.

What are your favorite trends that came out of NYFW for Fall/Winter 2013?  What trends are you stocking in your store? NYFW offered a very nostalgic viewpoint which makes it easy to select gingham, plaids, houndstooth patterned influences paired with florals, stripes, camouflage & leather...traditional patterns & textures to add with that crisp white tee or shirt...Naturally, Mister Style will offer its take on these ideas.

Do you have any favorite designers, fashion icons, or style idols/ celebs? I am forever falling in love with those who create fashion & the style of it. There are designers that the world has yet to know and those who we can’t deny knowing, that I am in awe of. To name a few would deny the platform to all. We all have something magical to offer this world of fashion & I am interested & taking note of it all. 

What are your aspirations for your business and in life? To do so much good in all that I do that those who choose to pattern themselves after me will have a great start in building their own legacies. I desire to learn all that there is to learn and pass that knowledge on to keep this train moving. I consider myself to be a legacy builder. I'm proud to say that I am witnessing me being duplicated often. It's a huge compliment to this lil’ girl from Port Arthur, TX.

I know you are at the store almost 24/7, but what do you do for fun to break away from it all? Correction...I’m not @ the store 24/7. However, the store is always on my mind as I think of ways I can enhance it while I travel the world. For fun, Houston is an international city w/ great museums, theaters, eateries, parks, shopping facilities, etc., so there is much to do, but for me it's more about the people I spend time with that bring about my joy no matter where I am. My daughters are #1 to set the pace for those joyous times. I will just leave it at that.

Do you have any advice for anyone out there who wants to someday own there own boutique, or step into the fashion industry? Be knowledgeable about the industry & do not close your ears or eyes to any level of it. I'm continuing to learn... this is how one continues to be successful & that's what, ultimately, anyone would want out of any job they choose.