It all started at 24TH Street Mission, the train station I traveled to every day while in California. In the heart of the mission district, I walked up 24th street and landed a fashion internship with store owner and designer Larissa Verdussen. For the next 3 months I commuted 60 minutes from Hayward to San Francisco, enduring all the wild and unique lifestyles of the Bay. From the graffiti and culture festivals in Oakland, to the pride parades and rainbows in the Castro, the bay area became my home.
Spending hours on train rides, I embraced the lives of the people as we traveled to and from. I was mostly moved by the women on the train, business women with sophistication and attitude. Headphones in ear, sneakers on feet, and stilettos in hand, they were walking definitions of the working woman on the go. I wasn't use to the fast life of the city but I was determined to get this city thing down and I grasped every inch of motivation from them.
It wasn't just the women of the city who inspired my collection. I found inspiration within myself because of what the city had done for me. California wasn't always rainbows and blue skies. The experiences, good and bad allowed me to grow as a person and most importantly as a woman. Visiting the beautiful city of San Francisco is one thing, but working in the city for the first time is very different. I had to grow up. After I landed there was no turning back. And because of that I am able to present to you TWENTY4TH & MISSION, a collection for the sexy and sophisticated woman on the go: Grown Woman edition!