A while back, I shared about attending the Vermont Women in Higher Education (VWHE) Women’s Leadership Conference. I also had the pleasure of attending the Pre-Conference, and while the entire experience sort of spoke to me, it was Stasia Savasuk, the founder of Thrift Me Pretty, whose story moved me most.

Stasia spoke about the importance and power of dressing the “true you”.  She opened by sharing about her humble past, the joys of thrift shopping (one of her favorite brands is J. Crew, but why pay retail when you can score great deals instead?), and stories from her current experience as a personal stylist.  During her presentation, Stasia had us think back to our most favorite outfit as a child, and asked us to remember all of its special details…the texture, color, pattern, fabric, and most importantly, she asked us to remember how it made us FEEL. She then talked about ways to translate those features and feelings into our own personal style today. We learned that if we wear clothing that is true reflection of our soul, then we will feel better, act better and do better.

Now, at this point I’m sold! (Stasia, if you ever decided to write a book, save me a signed copy!) Then she played us this clip and it really brought her point home.

This video was supposed to be for a B-School scholarship, but because it was too long, it didn’t qualify. However, you’ll be happy to know that Stasia was able to raise enough money for the 8 week on-line marketing program through GoFundMe, and is rockin’ her way through B-School now! And as for Raisa, I heard she just landed a gig as an Instagram photogher…You can check out her work on Instagram!

Stasia’s favorite thrift shop in Vermont? Shalom Schuk in Burlington. “…It’s fantastic. Prices are great, and they’ve got some real quality goods…”

She also recommends the Goodwill in South Burlington.

While this was not a sponsored post, I do want to mention that I was so busy being inspired and taking notes, that I wasn’t able to get any photos during Stasia’s presentation. The feature image is from the VWHE Facebook page.