We had the good fortune of connecting with Shayley Madison and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shayley, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
The thought process behind starting my own business was that ever since I was a little kid, I would design clothes that I thought looked fun, and growing up, I had a lot of fun making those clothes come to life and having really anyone who liked the designs wear them. Now, I make custom pieces and style celebrities for some of your favorite magazines! My next goal is to expand my business into more of an online store for unique and custom pieces, and hopefully open a storefront. At shayleymadison.com, our mission is to create a fashionable happy place for anyone of any size, race, sexuality, and age. We strive to be inclusive and diverse for the pretty/smart you. Our vision is that we can positively impact others and change the way the media shows women, men, and everyone in between, and how they perceive the word “perfect.”

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
When I was a senior in high school, my fashion design teacher recommended that I start working as a stylist for a friend of hers that ran the town’s local fashion magazine and website. It was super fun and exciting, and I would post photos from the photoshoots, as well as ‘behind the scenes’ on Instagram of these huge garments I was hand-making for this small magazine/ website. I had MUZE Magazine reach out to me and I started styling models and also making custom clothes for bigger editorials. As a stylist, I would rent clothes, shoes, jewelry, etc. from showrooms, or make custom clothes for these photoshoots, and then use the garments to style either models, celebrities, social media influencers, TikTok stars, singers, and more. It became something I realized that if you want to grow in the fashion industry, it’s about your education and knowledge, but it’s also about who you know and the people you meet. I have my Associate’s Degree in Fashion Design, my Advanced Associate’s Degree in the Business of Denim, and my Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management all from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) in Los Angeles, California. But I truly made deep connections with the lovely photographers, models, makeup artists, and hair stylists at all of these shoots. I would always make sure to say thank you, and that it was nice meeting them, and exchange information by the end of the shoot! It’s incredibly important for me to be nice to others and the people on set; respect is a number one thing for me. Making new connections allowed me to be a Fashion Stylist with Ellements Magazine, Vogue, and even meet some celebrities I would have only dreamed of meeting including Cardi B, Kanye, Pia Mia, and Tiktok stars like Emma Norton, Victoria Annunziato, Anthia Mo, and more. I always have new projects in the works and I’m excited to show what I have coming up, and well as what else I will accomplish in the future!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Angel, my best friend and goddess herself, comes down to visit. Where are we going? Some great coffee places to start off our day are in and out of downtown LA! The Palm Coffee Bar in Burbank is FOR SURE my top favorite. They have lots of unique drinks, as well as the coffee drinks you know and love like iced lattes, hot cappuccinos, as well as yummy snacks, and more! Some other great coffee places are Alfred’s, which has multiple locations, but the one is Sherman Oaks is easily top tier, as well as DingTea, which features coffee, but also boba! After coffee, thrifting in LA is a must, but you have to go to the right places so you aren’t overcharged! In downtown, or even more towards Hollywood, try Iguana on Hollywood Blvd., or even your local Goodwill. There’s definitely some good finds there, but you might need to do some digging and it could be more of a full day than you expected. If you want some places that aren’t directly in downtown, try SecondStreet in Burbank on Ventura Blvd., as well as Buffalo Exchange right across the street. These are fun and cheap places that offer a variety of garments that aren’t super expensive compared to other shops. Think thrifting is overhyped? Try going to a free museum instead like the Getty, the Broad, the Getty Villa, or the Griffith Observatory. These are places that you can enjoy while eating lunch, reading, or just relaxing (they are also rad photo spots). For dinner and dessert, try Dave’s Hot Chicken (also near SecondStreet on Ventura Blvd.) or The Kluckin Chicken. Habachiana in downtown is also incredibly good if you like Yamato’s, but cheaper and to-go! For dessert, try Urth Café in Venice, or even Salt and Straw, an ice cream store that is constantly changing out flavors. but has the classics everyone loves!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Automatically, I want to shoutout my grandma and my mom, as well as the rest of my family and friends who have definitely been my biggest fans throughout this whole ride and they really have supported me through everything. Even my best friend, Angel, and my boyfriend, Alex, are always giving me feedback on my designs and I always like to show the people close to me to see if there’s anything I can make even better!

Website: https://www.shayleymadison.com/

Instagram: @ShayleyMadison or https://www.instagram.com/shayleymadison/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shayley-madison-b5570b188

Twitter: https://twitter.com/shayleymadison

Other: TikTok: @ShayleyMadison Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SHAYLEYMADISON Depop: @ShayleyMadison

Image Credits
(Going from left to right) 1. Brian Rooney Photography 2. Steven Lee 3. Muze Magazine 4. Antonio Dymsza 5. Malek Daniels 6. Jason Rivera 7. Antonio Dymsza 8. Brian Rooney Photography

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