JenniLee : Styled with Intention
Brooklyn-based stylist JenniLee didn’t always know that she wanted to work in fashion. Growing up, her style was created from second-hand finds and shaped by her grandmother’s eclectic style; now, years later, she still sticks to those same foundations. After a whirlwind start that included styling icons like Lauryn Hill, Rashida Jones, and Greta Gerwig, she made the decision to switch gears and build her own business to advise women on how to make the most of the clothes they already own. With her innovative SPARK Framework and commitment to sustainability (and authenticity), JenniLee’s process sees real results. Hear her reflect on her thrilling career, explain some of what makes her technique work, and talk about the daily routines that fuel her, below.
Your grandmother, Nana Kitty, heavily influenced your style as a young woman, emphasizing how a good outfit can make your day. How would you describe her personal style, and what parts of it still stick with you?
Nana Kitty had incredible style. It was unique and, because we lived in Florida, very bright and colorful. She loved patterns and prints and was so inventive in creating outfits. The thing that stuck with me most is her attention to detail. She loved to go through her closet and make outfits, hanging them on the outside of the closet doors. You'd go into her bedroom and see at least four complete outfits with the jewelry and shoes placed underneath. It wasn't even that she had plans – it just excited her to create these looks.
That display had a powerful impact and made it natural for me to become a stylist, creating the full look before you even get dressed. This is such a key part of styling for other people – you're creating a look for a photograph, an event, or the red carpet. Another thing I love and have definitely learned from her is the art of monochromatic dressing. She really loved taking one color and creating layers, dimension, and detail by exploring various shades of that color in an outfit.
What's also important is that Nana Kitty exclusively shopped at thrift stores. In my town and neighboring areas, there were big warehouse thrift stores. She loved going on senior citizens' day when items with colored dot stickers would be 10% or 20% off. The thrill of the hunt really excited her. She taught me how to look for quality fabrics, made me check labels on everything, and inspect each piece to ensure it was in good condition with no stains. She even made me do smell tests! She really taught me the value of clothes, the importance of well-made garments, and how to take care of your wardrobe.
Your first major gig was working on Lauryn Hill's Miseducation world tour. Do you remember what it felt like when you learned that this was something you'd get to be a part of?
Of course, I remember this! I had only been living in New York for a little over two years and had never traveled out of the country. When this opportunity started getting floated, I wasn't totally sure I even believed it would happen.
We had been working with Lauryn for a few months already, and there was a lot of talk about the upcoming tour. The team was going to Las Vegas for the Billboard Awards when my mentor and boss, one of Lauryn's head stylists at the time, fell ill and couldn't meet us in Las Vegas for the award show. I was tasked with styling Lauryn, as well as all the band members and backup singers. Managing about 17 people, including Lauryn, was intense, but everything went smoothly.
It was there, Lauryn said to me, "So you're gonna come on tour with us, right Jenni Lee?" I was so excited because it was coming directly from her. I said, "Of course, yeah, whatever you need." Within a few days, my boss called to confirm it was happening!
I recall feeling both overwhelmed and excited. I was still so junior and couldn't believe I was getting out of the country. I had to get a passport – our first stop was Japan. It felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I was so grateful that I had taken the big, bold move of leaving my hometown to come to New York to see what was in store for me. Two years prior, I didn't even know what a stylist was.
What are the differences creatively between celebrity styling and being the fashion director at a men's lifestyle magazine?
The main difference between celebrity styling and being a fashion director is that when you're celebrity styling, you're thinking about an individual, whereas as a fashion director, you're thinking about large groups of people and reaching wider audiences with your editorial direction.
There was a lot of overlap, though, because I was still styling celebrity covers and celebrity stories. There was just the additional focus on thinking about our readers, tapping into trends, and partnering with our advertisers to find and style menswear in exciting ways.
Much of the job entailed attending fashion shows and big fashion trade shows globally, really uncovering what was going to be the next big thing and how men should be dressing. When you're celebrity styling – and I worked with many musicians ranging from hip-hop stars to metal bands to indie rock bands – that type of styling requires thinking about individuals' or groups' images and how they want to connect to their particular artistry and what they want to put out into the world.
How did these experiences contribute to your current focus on more sustainable options and coaching women?
Working as a celebrity stylist and getting experience on films, television, world tours, and editorials with celebrities and models, plus working at the magazine, I really came to understand that there isn't that much new in fashion. Fashion is so cyclical, and trends are always coming back. They may morph into micro-trends or there'll always be a hot, fresh take on a trend, and that's what makes it new. It really is styling that makes it all inventive, exciting and unique.
My experience growing up shopping in thrift stores and loving vintage clothes, combined with my professional styling experiences in all these different capacities, has given me the knowledge of how much style repeats itself. So while we all want new clothes and sometimes we do need a new item, I believe in buying better quality, wearing it more, taking really good care of your clothes, and crafting your styling skills so you're excited to wear the same pieces in different ways over and over again.
Helping women learn how to do all of these things – all of my past experience has made me very skilled at being able to help them shop smarter. My philosophy is "more styling, less shopping." I really think that when you get really good at styling, when you enjoy it and it becomes part of your self-care or creative practice, you experience a more fulfilling aspect of yourself. At the same time, you naturally become a more sustainable shopper.
Can you say more about the mindset shift that caused you to switch from one to the other?
I'll always love celebrity and editorial styling for the thrill and fantastical creativity of it all. But shortly before the pandemic, I had been working with an entrepreneur woman who had never fully felt able to express herself stylishly and authentically. After we began working together, she experienced so many significant changes – from her mindset to growing her business. Along the way, she kept saying, "There are so many more of us out here who need your help."
It wasn't until the pandemic, when there were no fashion shoots happening, that I really considered personal styling as my new focus. Once I did and figured out how to help people over Zoom, I realized I could reach so many more women, and then I launched my membership Style Club, where I style women weekly over Zoom, and really change people's lives. I locked into my purpose and the feeling I get from helping people unlock their creativity, confidence, and style. It just seemed obvious that this was the direction I would continue in.
Between your Style Club and Bespoke Style Program, you get a lot of face time with ambitious, creative women. Do you feel that they also inspire you to push yourself while you're inspiring them?
OMG, yes! I have learned so much from these incredible women – how they run their businesses, show up for their people, and how they view the world. It's definitely a give-and-take relationship.
I work with so many different types of women from all different walks of life. Getting to hear their experiences and learn about their struggles and challenges – because so much about style has to do with confidence and our relationships to our bodies and how we see ourselves in the world and how we think we're being perceived – it's been invaluable. Being able to learn so much from them and their experiences, while also helping them break these negative and limiting beliefs that so many women are saddled with by just existing in a patriarchal world, is incredibly rewarding.
You help your clients find their authentic style with your SPARK Framework; how did you come up with this method?
This is actually funny because I didn't really even realize I had a method until one of my clients pointed it out to me! One of the first things I need to do whenever I take on a new client is really understand their life. I ask so many questions to understand how they live day-to-day, why they make the sartorial selections they make, how they process the experience of getting dressed – all of these things. In our discovery sessions, I start presenting questions to them, and that's how I developed the SPARK framework.
SPARK stands for:
S is for self-reflection/self-exploration
P is for practicality
A is for authentic alignment
R is for recognition
K is for kindness
Self-reflection/self-exploration is about asking yourself why you have the beliefs you have regarding clothes and the clothes you wear. For instance, I had a client who hated wearing florals, yet for her most visible networking events or conferences, all her outfits were covered in florals. It made no sense to me. She hated all these dresses she would wear to things where she really needed to put her best foot forward. She may have liked the silhouettes, but she didn't like the prints.
When I asked her why she was wearing all these prints she didn't like, she explained she found them too girly, but her mother once told her that if you work in business, you should wear florals. She couldn't even explain this further, yet here she was with a handful of floral print dresses. That's just a clear example of questioning why you think certain things about clothes.
It can also be questioning, for example, why people feel it's inappropriate to wear bold colors in a business setting. Where do these ideas come from? I actually believe many of the ideas we have about these fashion rules – why we can or cannot wear something in certain environments – stem from the patriarchy. For a long time, women weren't allowed in the workforce, and when they finally were, men dictated what women wore.
Practicality is the easiest one. Where are you going? How are you getting there? Can you wear heels? Are you wearing flats? Is it raining? Is it snowing? Are you walking? Are you driving? Are you on the subway? Do you have a long walk? All of these things require thinking about the practicality of your outfit for where you're going.
Authentic alignment is all about exploring styles and style personas while making sure you don't feel like you're cosplaying or wearing a costume. The outfit has to feel like an optimized version of yourself, not like you're pretending to be someone else.
Recognition is acknowledging that when you go out in the world, people make snap judgments, and so much of that is based on how you're dressed. Whether you're an introvert who doesn't like a lot of attention or an extrovert who wants everyone to look at you, you get to use your clothes to control your narrative. Make sure whatever you're wearing wherever you're going is aligned with who you're getting in front of and what you want them to perceive about you.
Kindness is twofold. One is that sometimes you need to wear clothes that are kind to your body. If you're bloated, you need to make sure you're wearing an elastic waistband that day. If you're going to be standing on your feet, you need to ensure those shoes are comfortable. You need to show kindness to your body because if you're uncomfortable, it makes it that much harder to do your job, go about your business, and live your life.
The flip side of kindness is when you wear something that has some pizzazz – a conversation piece that's colorful and invites others to exchange energy with you. That exchange could be a smile, a compliment, or an ice-breaker. I find this especially useful as an introvert. I'm happy to talk to people, but I'm not generally the type who goes out of my way to talk to others. When I'm wearing something with a unique detail, it invites other people to engage with me.
What's one piece of advice that you would give anyone reading regarding maximizing their closet?
Book a session with me! Just kidding – but no, seriously, do that.
One thing I like to encourage my clients to do is go through their closet and pull out the things they love or hold sentimental value but will never wear again. Move them to the back of your closet or to a closet that isn't your main one if you have the room.
There's something psychological that happens when you open your closet and see a lot of things that don't fit, aren't your style anymore, or may be too damaged to wear but you can't get rid of because they hold sentimental value. I like to consider a portion of the closet at the back – not front-facing – like a photo album where you just hold those pieces. Maybe you'll give them away or pass them down, but you're not going to beat yourself up because you have things in your closet that you don't wear.
You're just going to move them to an area that doesn't take up prime real estate in your closet. People can really beat themselves up if they've outgrown things but are still holding onto them. But acknowledging the reason you're holding onto them – that it's for your heart – that's okay. It's okay to have things you'll never wear. Just consider them a visual photo album.
I hear you enjoy going seeing live music when you can; do you have a favorite show you've seen recently?
Last year I went to see Pulp at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, which is such an exquisite theater. I love going to shows there – it's so beautiful. It was so much fun. I danced and sang the entire time, and it just filled me with so much life.
This year I'm super excited to go see Grace Jones and Janelle Monáe in Prospect Park Brooklyn, then Jenny Lewis and Rilo Kiley at Summer Stage in Central Park. I also got tickets for Lady Gaga’s Mayhem Ball and I cannot wait.
You're also a big reader; what's your all-time favorite book, and what makes it special to you?
Oh, I could never pick a favorite book, just like I could never pick a favorite article of clothing or a favorite song. So I'll give you some books related to fashion:
"The Beautiful Fall" by Alicia Drake: It chronicles Paris in the '70s, specifically the relationship between Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld. JUICY!
"Infinite Variety: The Life and Legend of Marchesa Casati": So much in fashion is inspired by this legendary woman, yet no one seems to realize it. I certainly didn't until I read this biography. Once you read it, you realize so much imagery and things you've seen all stem back to this bold, wild woman.
"I Am Invincible" by Norma Kamali: This is part autobiography and part motivational how-to-live guide. I'm totally obsessed with Norma Kamali – her clothes, her business acumen, her story, and her healthy lifestyle.
"SO 80s" photographs by Patrick McMullan: A photographic diary of a decade. Really, any photo books that capture a scene or a place in time, particularly major fashion cities such as New York or Paris or London. It's just a great way to see personal style before people dressed for social media. It's authentic, it's gritty, it's glamorous, and it's a really great way to get inspiration.
How do your daily rituals, like reading and meditation, contribute to your creative process?
I've always been a big journaler. I find it really helps me to do a quick meditation in the morning and jot down anything that comes from that, or even just dumping all my thoughts for the day or the previous day. It allows me that mental space to move forward.
I also think walking and listening to music – I love to do this in Prospect Park – generates tons of ideas. As far as outfits go, sometimes when I'm laying in bed at night thinking about the day ahead, I'm envisioning what I'm going to wear, and I have to leap out of bed and pull the clothes out of the closet so I don't forget in the morning.
I'm a firm believer in staying curious and taking in art, whether it's from books, movies, or going to museums, and using your closet as a way to channel that inspiration.
CREW CREDITS:
Talent: JenniLee
PhotoBook Editor-In-Chief: Alison Hernon
PhotoBook Creative Director: Mike Ruiz
Photos by Bernadette Marciniak at Solhaus Media
Tearsheets by Daniel López, Art Director, PhotoBook Magazine
Interview by Logan Dutra, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine
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