004/ Welcome to In Moda Veritas!
Introducing my newsletter and a deep dive into my styling psyche
Hello, bonjour, 안녕하세요! I’m thrilled you’re here. My name is Irene and I’m a stylist in Toronto, Canada.
A few years ago, in an effort to motivate myself to get out of my post-baby dressing slump, I began sharing near-daily outfit posts and styling advice on Instagram to a group of small but faithful followers (I love you, guys!). Over the past year, a lot more people have taken an interest, and now I receive dozens of messages each day. People often start with questions about what I’m wearing, which then turn into discussions about broader themes in fashion, style and, well, life.
And that makes sense! Because my styling philosophy and how I present myself through what I wear is inextricably tied to the sum of my life experiences. Not only is this true for me personally, but through working with my clients and chatting with you on Instagram, I recognize that we’re all trying to forge a realistic and expressive relationship between what we wear and who we are — our values and our interests, as well as our complex histories and our hopes for the future. Fittingly, the name of this newsletter, In Moda Veritas, means “in style, there is truth,” a play on the wise Latin phrase in vino veritas (“in wine, there is truth”).
On Instagram, through what I wear and what I share about it, I’m giving you glimpses into my (often chaotic and clumsy) daily world as a wife and mother of two young boys, and a hard-working, passionate small business owner. You get a sense of my interests — such as my love of solo travel, Korean food, navel-gazing, low-brow memes and high-brow films. The cornerstones that shape my point-of-view permeate throughout: as a first-generation Korean-Canadian exploring my cross-cultural identity; my previous career as a securities lawyer and stint as editor-in-chief of an online fashion magazine; my life-long journey with mental health; and my bemused curiosity about this new phase of life I’m entering: perimenopause.
Instagram has been an incredibly useful platform to meet other people whose curiosities overlap with mine, but it has its limitations for those of you who have expressed interest in joining me in a more in-depth conversation about fashion. My Instagram account is my personal page about my real, everyday life and I will keep it that way. On the fashion side, I have more to offer you here, as a subscriber to my newsletter!
LA CLOSETTE, the business I co-own, started 11 years ago as a personal styling business. We have since expanded to advise businesses in marketing, branding, merchandising, and most recently, in custom uniform design and manufacturing. Throughout all of this growth, personal styling has remained closest to my heart and is where I devote most of my time. I have been so humbled by the hundreds of clients who have trusted me with the intimate corners of their closets and their selves and to see the transformative effect my work brings to their lives. I derive immense joy and a sense of purpose to refine my craft (styling is a craft and an art), and as my husband regularly notes, I come back from work everyday with more energy than when I left.
I’ve started this newsletter so that I can share with you a more comprehensive dive into my styling psyche, and what I’ve learned (and am still learning!) about this craft that I love so much.
In this newsletter, I’ll be sharing, inter alia:
Comprehensive outfit details, including links to what I’m wearing and links to similar items
My styling process: my internal monologue when I’m putting an outfit together, or deciding what to buy/not to buy
What I think about when I’m shopping in-store or online: what catches my eye in high-end, high-street and vintage shops
The deals, all the deals. Even if you’re trying to buy less, or if you’re taking a break from shopping all together, you can learn a lot by watching.
We’ll also be able to take our discussions out of Instagram DMs and into comment threads and emails — a place to connect and give you my attention outside of social media.
For my newsletter, I’m offering a few tiers of subscriptions:
free
a US$8/monthly or US$80/yearly subscription
a founding subscription for US$180/year.
Everything I write will be free for the first four weeks as I totally understand you might want to get sense of my newsletter before paying for it. But, if you already feel confident in what I can offer here, by all means, subscribe now and you won’t miss a single newsletter from the go!
Even after I start using the paywall, some of what I write will be free to all subscribers — and it will be useful too, not spammy! — so if you’re not ready to become a paying subscriber now, that’s ok. But, if you want to receive everything I write and get the full experience and the very best of my expertise, become a paying subscriber because:
I’ll prioritize your questions and requests for advice
I’ll share anything exclusive or time-sensitive with you first
I’ll save my deepest rabbit holes and explorations for you
I’ll post exclusive discussion threads just for us — you’ll be part of a like-minded community and you’ll have opportunities to connect with each other
You’re making this newsletter possible, and I am so grateful for you. Thank you!
For my biggest supporters, consider becoming a Founding Member, which will include a 30-minute call! If you want to get into the specifics of your closet with me, or literally just ask me anything about life, career paths, anything, this is a good option for you.
Above all, every subscriber to this newsletter is important to me, and I truly appreciate your support. If you know someone who would enjoy this newsletter, please feel free to share it with them. And thank you for reading this. I am so excited to start this new project!
With gratitude,
Irene
P.S. I already have some outfit recaps for you to peruse. Click here to see the first one, and there are a few more here.
How do they keep all those balls from rolling around in the infinity room? Way to go on your publication, good luck!