girl, put your records on

This past weekend to celebrate the fifth anniversary of The Mod Little Melanin, I participated in a socially distanced photo shoot! Over the last five years, I’ve fallen in love with being in front of the camera, styling outfits for myself, and clients, striking a pose and sharing my love of fashion with the world. Instagram has certainly transformed over the last five years. Growth isn’t quite as easy, and solving the algorithm to get your content to your followers is a never-ending struggle.

But with those changes to Instagram, new opportunities have arisen for me. Brands now pay me to create content with their products to share with you all on my page. I now have the opportunity to use Instagram as a source of income that is certainly needed as a broke podiatry student. I’ve even transformed Styled by Mod - my OG followers remember those days of me styling clients and my Polyvore flat lays - to my own brand (@shopthemodlittlemelanin) that is re-launching with accessories on February 14th!

My love of fashion didn’t just bloom overnight though. It started as a child when I would march around the home in my mom’s heels and layer on her necklaces to play dress-up. Flourished with me coloring in my Barbie fashion coloring book at age four, and falling in love with my patent red leather shoes as a kid.

To me, fashion is more than the way you dress. It’s a form of expressing oneself non-verbally. The fashion taste of a person can reveal much about their personality. Are they a minimalist? Are they adventurous? Or do they prefer classic, traditional pieces? Do they like to stand out? Or would they prefer to blend in with the trends of the times?

Think about my taste in fashion. Bold prints, bright colors, fun textures and statement pieces are my favorite to incorporate into my everyday wardrobe. I like to mix high-end and low-end pieces, and love to show that body size does not determine what is and is not meant for you.

My love of fashion has inspired me to take The Mod Little Melanin one step further by developing a clothing line specifically for mid-size women, size 10-16. There isn’t quite anything out there that caters to women my size. The traditional S, M, and L doesn’t always fit, and going into plus size may be still be slightly too big. By developing a clothing line with my body type in mind, I’ll be able to cater to a clothing line for the girls that are what I like to call mid-figured. This is something that has been in the works for months, and I’m so excited to share what I’ve been working on with you all this Fall!

XOXO, Chelsea Nicole

The Mod Little Melanin
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