Styles by Leasa

Leasa Webb is on the come up with her unique style and brand. Join me as I get a chance to interview my best friend about her journey of Entreprenurship and her love for Thrifting!

Going back as far as you can, what are the earliest memories that you have?

“Oh, my God. That’s a good one.” Pausing, “I smoke so it’s hard, um…”

“I think I remember, hmm… Any memory?”

Any memory, it can be a smell, a certain sound you remember.

“Oh, that’s good too. Well, ain’t nothing like your mama’s smell. In a good way, she’s been smelling that way for a long time. Just running up and giving her a squishy hug and breathing her in and just knowing that everything’s going t be okay.”

Who was your hero growing up?

“My hero?”

Mmhmm

“I hate to be cliche and say my mom, but I mean… that bitch was…” the both of us laughing, “She’s impressive!”

“I’m trying to think was there anybody else growing up. I’m just going to say my mom.”

What were your dreams as a young kid?

“I thought I was going to be an actress.” Chuckling to herself, “There’s a bunch of things I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to write, but I definitely wanted to be an actress. Ya know, I thought I was funny, I don’t know about other people!”

In what ways were you able to express yourself as a kid?

“Oh, thank goodness I was allowed to have feelings. I know a lot f households don’t put a lot of emphasis on that. I specifically remember going through a phase where I told my mom and em…” Laughing at herself, “Ya know, MY FEELINGS MATTER or I would be making a point to let them know when my feelings were hurt. It started out being annoying but it also allowed me to be able to acknowledge when my feelings were hurt and to let others know… you hurt me.”

Did you have freedom to express yourself creatively, or…?

“Oh, yeah. I think my mom definitely provided great outlets for us. She always wanted us in activities, so anytime I wanted to do something, she was supportive. So I was able to do band, and do poetry and all of that stuff so…mm hhmm.”

I imagine that you played dress up as a little girl. - Oh yeah, oh yeah! - What did that look like for you?

“Oh, it was a whole shindig now!”

“I had plenty, plenty of dresses, and I would play dress up and do model walks. And then anytime my friends would come over, I’d make them play dress up and do model walks.”

Would you say that sparked your interest in fashion?

“Um, it may have. Who knows, I have no idea but I absolutely loved playing dress up.”

Can you describe your fashion style in high school?

“I think I was trying to feel and figure out what I liked. I do remember the first day of high school. I came from a white school, so you know… I had no idea about ‘black culture’ and I remember at the time, it was IN. You know they had those belts with your little name on it?”

Yeah!

“But then I styled it with some girbaud jeans and a white T. Everybody thought I was gay! I was like ‘Oh no, let me switch it up.’ I didn’t start to understand my style until college and the years after.”

Speaking of college, did you always intend to go to an HBCU?

“Umm…. I think I wanted to attend one, yeah.”

What was your experience like?

“Well you know it was a good time!” Instantaneously, we gathered pieces of our collected memory. “We um…It was definitely an experience… Definitely for people who are reserved and closed off like me. It was a good opportunity to step out of my comfort zone, get out and meet people. I still slept most of my first semester of freshman year but I did get involved with different groups.”

“College was fun, a different experience. Hate I haven’t been back for Homecoming, maybe next year.”

Lets fast forward to the present. (Uh huh)  Is life going the way you always thought it would?

“Nope. But it’s going good.”

How is it different than you envisioned it?

“You know, I thought I would be doing journalism, using my degree. I think reality kind of set in, especially when I had my kid pretty young and the primary focus after I had her was to take care of her. So you kind of put your dreams on the back burner so you can focus on raising this child, making sure I got a job, making sure she has day care. This, that and the third.”

“I was just doing what I could and now that she’s gotten a little older, I’m able to do things I generally like to do to improve myself and my career. But I don’t regret anything tho.”

How do you go about handling the hurdles in your life? I mean, I know you personally but outside looking in, you wear it well.

“God, baby. Oh this is being recorded, I was getting ready to say God and weed!” Cracking up, “But that’s between us. And a lil wine!

Some wine?

“Wine will get you through!”

You’ve been really consistent in your creative space, Kudos to you. At what point did you realize you were ready to pursue your own dreams? When did it click?

“Over the years, I was trynna rack my brain and figure out how I was going to turn my passion into a business. I would mention it to my friends here & there and they would say, ya know “Style something! People don’t know how to style stuff!” And I’d say “No, nobody’s going to pay for that!”

“And I got down here (Texas) and I was just taking care of business the first year. Tying up loose ends, getting myself together mentally. I really wasn’t worried about thrifting because you know after 2 years of covid, I really wasn’t wearing a lot of my clothes. And then my friend India, tagged me in one thrifter’s post and was like “Go follow her” I said “Oh my God, I didn’t know there was a whole “thrifting” world out here with other people doing what I wanted to do. It just opened my eyes to stop doubting myself and go after it. That’s what really sparked it.”

“I was like 'Well, if she could do it… I’ve been doing this for years, I just never really put myself out there. Another one of my friends told me just post once a week, or twice a week. I know you don’t like taking pictures of yourself but how else are they gonna see what you got?!' So It was those continued efforts from my friends encouraged me to stop playing.“

Now that we’re here, tell us a little about your brand. What’s it called?

“Okayyyy. Well this is really the important part because this is my baby. ‘Thrift Savvy’ has been a dream of mine for years. All the years I thought about it and was afraid to go after it. All the shoots we did together in hopes of continuing on. You know, it was a lot. My brand started off as Thrift Savvy but as I am growing and changing and trying to be more creative, I decided ‘Styles by Leasa’ would be a great name to incorporate all of my creativity.”

“I don’t want to just thrift, I want to design, I want to re-work clothes, I want to re-imagine clothes and ‘Thrift Savvy’ opened the doors for me to be Styles by Leasa. So here we are, we are not stopping, we are barely just getting started and I am so excited for the future of my brand!”

What do you typically look for when you go thrifting? Like what pops out to you?

“Oh this is really good! I was just getting ready to make a post about this. Before I moved down here 2 years ago, I threw out 6 bags of clothes. Well not threw out, I took them back to the thrift stores. I donated all my clothes to move down here because I had to travel. So I think this year is about rebuilding my wardrobe, getting more stable items in my closet and being able to show other people how to style similar things.”

“I just look for colors, prints, patterns, anything that pops out. Some basic pieces are necessary because basic pieces make the outfit so I do look for some of those as well but I am definitely looking more for the WOW pieces because Im just a WOW kind of girl.” Finding it hard to stop from laughing at her choice of words, we moved forward.

How do you get your juices flowing? Is there a ritual or do things come to you naturally? Are you inspired by certain things?

“As far as outfits that I put together, sometimes I play off of outfits I’ve seen on Pinterest or from other creators.”

“As far as getting in the mood to thrift, it’s always the right time. Good day, bad day, rainy day, I will thrift! But to do the content? That has been a little bit harder because I have such high hopes like “Ooh, I want to style this, this and this”… and then you get tired. So you sit down, start to cook and then start scrolling. Ya know if I’m already scrolling, I might as well post what I got.”

What are some thrifting hacks that other people would overlook?

“A couple of things actually…Search everywhere! All departments. Someone may pick up a piece and put it down in the wrong place, now there’s a cute blazer in the men’s section. So look at all sections.”

“I usually wear leggings so I can try things on pretty easily because some places still don’t have dressing rooms.”

“Figure out when the good deals are, I know the Goodwill down here (Abilene, TX) has a discount on Wednesdays.”

“Just be Open! Be open to trying things on, be open to seeing pieces in a different light. Be open to different sizes. Sometimes, I’m a size 10, sometimes I’m a 14, 15 and sometimes I’m a 2X. Especially with vintage clothes; their cut is different.”

What would you say to someone who wants to step out on faith but are super hesitant?

“Just do it. Stop waiting for it to go right. Stop waiting on this, that and the third. Taking that first step is the hardest part but it feels so good. When I first started, I was so excited every day and I still am.”

“You may not get a lot of likes but you got a lot of views. And you’re doing it for you, that’s the main thing. You’re making sure you’re fulfilling your destiny. I know social media can be a bitch; people say whatever they want to say. I haven’t had any rude people just yet, but it comes with the territory.”

“Just start, and then as you go you can get it together. Especially if you’re a God fearing person, when you take one step, God will take two more”

What are you looking forward to in the future for Styles by Leasa?

“I am looking forward to re-working some clothes and designing. I have so many ideas and I just need to stick with it and keep going because I feel good and I know this the only thing i’m passionate about doing. Just growth.”

RAPID FIYA

Who’s on your playlist these days?

“I’ve been listening to Ari Lenox…. John Legend has a few more albums I didn’t know about so I’ve been listening to him too.”

What’s your favorite holiday?

“Besides my birthday, it would probably be Thanksgiving… I like eating.”

What album is the soundtrack of your life?

“Oooh, that’s a tough one. It would definitely be a feel good album. Ya know, you can feel the wind in your hair.”

Do you have any guilty pleasures?

“Aaaahhhh, Cake?” Giggling, “And wine, but I’m not guilty about that.”

What’s one place in the world you wish you could visit and possibly stay?

“I did want to go to London, but I heard they don’t treat black people well” Cackling, ”…So maybe i’ll go to another island because island living seems like that would be nice.”

Who would you love to spend an entire day with, gone or alive?

“Ooh now when you added the gone part, you were definitely going to be my person because I’ve been praying for you to come back. So besides you, I would love to spend the day with my dad. I mean, he’s missed so much. I have so much to tell him!”

Last question, do you love me?

“Of COURSE! That’s an easy one.”

That was a trick question. You want to give a shoutout to anyone?

“I will definitely shout out my wife. She is my complete support system. That girl’s gone share my post, now! Having a supportive partner is so important.”

“Thrift Savvy had been in the works for so many years but because some of the people who I was surrounding myself with did not see my light and did not appreciate, encourage, support. And when people are so negative around you, it’s hard to grow.”

“Having her be supportive, cheer me on, whatever I need or even think about needing, she will get and make sure I have so I can do what I need to do. She turns her head after I spend hours and hours at the thrift store with multiple bags.”

That’s so sweet, I love Lish. Shout out to Lish!

“Shoutout to Lish!”

Thank you for your time babe, thank you for agreeing to do this!

“No! That was so fun! That first question got me…”