Happily Ever Style, a space where Tricia Chen shares #RealOutfits, travel stories, and sources of inspiration. “I love the idea of re-wearing the same piece in different ways, and always challenge myself to come up with new outfits. I never purchase an item that can only be worn one way, and really support the concept of having a sustainable closet! I’m not the most stylish person out there, but I value how an outfit can make one feel. Sometimes, it’s about wearing confidence, and making you feel like you can walk out the door and conquer the day,” Tricia explains.
Start
Tricia first went fishing for fashion in her middle school years. It was the first time that she really had some freedom to express herself through clothes. “I went to an elementary school that required us to wear uniforms, so it wasn’t until after 7th grade when I became aware of what “fashion” and “style” meant. I went to an international school, so it was actually really fun to see how diverse this form of art can be. I had classmates who would be into Japanese fashion trends and others into American pop culture. Students from Europe or Southeast Asia would also dress differently. So I think I grew up knowing there is no such thing as “one” style and I really appreciate being surrounded by the differences,” Tricia says.
As time grew on so did her love for fashion and style. She eventually went into public relation but somewhere along the course, Tricia had a great revelation. “I used to work in public relations and communications, and was always the person who would provide influencers and bloggers with opportunities to create content. After a while, I realized I enjoyed the “content creation” side a lot more, so I started an Instagram account as my “playground,” a platform where I got to express myself in the world of fashion and style,” Tricia details.
“My grandmother is the queen of wearing monochrome outfits. If she was wearing a purple suit, she would wear it with purple jewelry, carry a purple purse and wear purple shoes. She thinks one can never go wrong when you’re in one color head to toe. I never really understood why she thought that, and would only go into her closet to borrow stuff from her for Halloween. But every now and then, I come across blog posts and magazine articles about how to monochrome, and see it on runways, I think of my grandma. I loved that she stayed true to herself and really made it her style – it was really inspiring once I understood it!” -Tricia Chen
Rewards
Sharing her fashion flare has led Tricia to be able to open up and build new relationships. “I’m not exactly an extravert and am sometimes scared to talk to strangers, but a few months ago, I decided to plan a New York bloggers brunch get-together to meet some like-minded people! I reached out to a lot of people via Instagram and in the end, about a dozen of them attended my little “event!” I got a newly-opened restaurant to sponsor the meetup and a photographer to take some shots for everyone. It may be a small accomplishment, but it was the first big step I took to reach out to people I only knew online.
Being able to make new friends and learn from them has been the biggest reward! I now have a handful of close friends I met via Instagram that I enjoy spending time with and really just being inspired by them all the time. The support we offer each other is really great, too and I’m so grateful to have them in my life,” Tricia shares.
Future
Tricia has plans of keeping her focus on fashion. She has goals of expanding her blog and polishing her own personal style. “Staying true to oneself and really understanding what your personal style is. Sharing outfits that really give me that boost of confidence I need and the comfort that makes an outfit a long-lasting one. (By comfortable, I don’t mean wearing leggings all of the time, but comfortable as in feeling like you’re you and you’re comfortable with how you look, instead of worrying about what others think, or feeling conscious because you’re skirt is too short or v-neck top too low etc)
Focusing on making one piece of clothing work for work, for date nights, for going on brunch dates with girlfriends, for the weekend etc., so that not only it makes the money spent on it more worthwhile, but it also makes the experience of putting outfits together more fun. A small closet can be “big” at the same time. Now that it’s getting colder and colder, the spotlight will also be on the versatile ways to layer different pieces. Just because we all got to be covered up, doesn’t mean it can’t be as chic or fun,” Tricia
