It’s me, Sarah Clary, the person you’ve never heard of. :)
Who are you? Great question. Shit, I'm still trying to figure that part out, but on paper I’ve got it down. I’m a working mom who has been in the fashion industry as a stylist and consultant for too many years to count. I’m a hustler. I’ve worked for myself as a freelancer, floating from company to company guiding them to their better self, which maybe makes me more of a therapist. Some companies liked me a lot and asked me to come back year after year, so many years it was like I worked there full time. For many companies I helped shape their brand look and feel, some ideas of mine you may have seen. Some companies even let me help them imagine things that didn’t exist and allowed my crazy ideas to take shape and grow to be things lots of people now love. I have always been in the back, behind the scenes, the person whose name has never been worthy to print or applauded for their work publicly. Some achievements of mine have been big and some small. Nevertheless, I’ve learned over the years that being scrappy or falling on my face or finding my own confidence in what I wore, that having great style for you, not me, not what the magazines say, but YOU, can be hard to identify and sometimes overwhelming to act upon. So maybe I can help give you some guidance so you can express yourself in your own way.
I’ve learned that some of my style tricks come from my gut and though they may not be instinctual for others, maybe I can easily break them down. Over the years I’ve learned that style, like life, should be flexible and allow for changes and possibly some detours. What you always knew or did may need to be put on its head.
I took a weird detour a few years ago. Put my career on hold and joined one of the most influential women in fashion—and my wickedly smart and funny friend—in a social experiment called reality TV. Doing Stylish with Jenna Lyons on HBOMAX with my chosen family Jenna Lyons and Kyle DeFord was not on my bucket list, but it should have been. I laughed a lot, was with my friends for hours on end, got my makeup done and met really cool people. I also learned that simple things we did on that show are not always simple to most people. The fashion and even the home industries can speak a strange language, a language that to many feels like inside baseball, like if you are not in the know you can’t know. For the record, I have never been on the inside and that is ok. I may talk about the show and some of the things we did on it here. Ok?
What is Laundry Day? You know when your laundry basket is full of all your go-to items and you don’t know what to wear? So you suddenly find that inventive place you didn’t know existed or didn’t feel safe before? Maybe this newsletter will inspire you or give you a few ideas to reach way back into that closet of yours and reimagine yourself. Or, maybe you will look at the stuff in your laundry basket, your go-to basics, and learn a few ways to make them feel different.
Clothes are important to me. I have leaned on them since my days as an insecure teen to my now days as a stubborn, potty mouth often still insecure mom to help create a person and a world I want to be in. Feeling good in what you are wearing no matter the price tag has real power and I believe we should all be able to own and harness that.
Now What? I’ll put out a newsletter every week. If you like it, subscribe. Maybe tell your friends about it. If you have ideas on what style tips or looks you want to know more about, tell me. If you put together your own look inspired by what you see here, I want to see it! I don’t want to be talking to myself here so share, comment, whatever… there is a place for you here. sarahsdirtylaundry@gmail.com
Dirty clothes welcome. x
I have a fancy schmance cool cousin who has a substack!!!! ❤️
Love your vision! Is it lame to like Tory Burch and Veronica beard?