Name: Lauren Wynne
Year: Junior
Hometown: Ocoee, Florida
Major: Retail Merchandising and Product Development
Relationship Status: Single, but only because I’m afraid of losing track of my own goals and dreams.
Spirit Animal: Lion — I’m a Leo so it just makes sense!
Her Campus (HC): When did you know you wanted to work in fashion?
Lauren Wynne (LW): I’ve always believed in the quote “If you love what you do, you won’t work a day in your life.” I sat down and thought about something that I would love waking up and doing for the rest of my life and I kept going back to fashion. The fashion industry is cut-throat, but that’s what attracts me to it… only the strong survive!
HC: What are you involved in on campus?
LW: I’ve been involved in a ton of clubs/organizations on and off campus during my time at FSU: Gamma Phi Beta, Rent The Runway On Campus, Collegiate Merchandising Association, Clutch Magazine, Intern Queen Brand Ambassador, and Henri Girl Brand Ambassador. However, this semester I decided to dedicate all my time to Clutch Magazine and my sorority!
HC: Wow! So what gave you your start on FSU’s campus? Why did you decide to get so involved?
LW: I have Katie Cook to thank for my start on FSU’s campus — seriously everyone needs a friend like Katie! She took me under her wing when I was an eager freshman that wanted to get involved with anything and everything I could get my hands on, and has been the most amazing mentor. We have worked together in a plethora of clubs, traveled to New York City to attend a conference together, and she now works with me on Clutch. I truly don’t think I would be sitting here talking to you today if it wasn’t for her taking a chance on me when I was just an 18 year old girl with a big dream!
HC: So tell me more about Clutch! What made this particular organization stand out to you?
LW: The fact that a group of people can come together and take a bunch of ideas and concepts and within a semester create an amazing end product is something truly remarkable. I just remember going to my first Clutch release party as a freshman and I thought all the directors of Clutch were so glamorous and ambitious. Something about the way they carried themselves just stuck out to me, so to be where I am today is kind of crazy; I never thought I would be the Editor in Chief myself one day!
HC: What are your main goals to accomplish as EIC?
LW: My goal as Editor in Chief is to totally revamp Clutch Magazine’s image. We have done amazing things so far, but there is so much more that I believe my team is capable of. Watch out FSU — the spring issue of Clutch Magazine is going to blow you away!
HC: Now that you’re fulfilling your FSU dreams, what are your goals for the future?
LW: Oh goodness, this is a tough one! Growing up as a Wynne, you are always told to have a five, 10, and 15 year plan. So the five year plan is to move to New York City and have a job in the corporate world of fashion. By 10 years I see myself in an upper level management position — aka CEO — and in 15 years I would consider leaving the city, moving to a smaller town, opening up my own boutique and being a mom and wife. (#AllAmericanGirlDream) I am so excited to see where life takes me, and if I end up having to take a detour to get to my final destination, I am okay with that!
HC: Who is your inspiration/mentor or someone you look up to?
LW: I know it sounds cliché, but my biggest inspirations and mentors are my parents. They are both extremely successful in their jobs and have taught me more than they will ever know. My mom is the definition of the type of woman I hope to be one day in the business world. She can lead a team like no other, and puts in more hours of work each week than I think the president does! My dad always jokes that my mom’s power song is “Miss Independent” by Ne-Yo, but don’t tell her I told you that. My dad has taught me the importance of patience, and always provides a listening ear when I’m overwhelmed or just need some advice. I don’t think he knows how much I truly appreciate those hour-long phone calls, and how much I value his opinion and guidance. I’ll hands-down be that girl at 40 years old that is still calling my parents for some form of advice.
HC: We’ve heard you also have your own blog! What made you decide to do that?
LW: Funny story for this one… my boyfriend/boy I was talking to/I don’t know, high school relationships are complicated — we’ll just call him “John Doe” — was cheating on me with another girl he had been friends with since he was a kid (you have to watch out for those girls they say are “just their friend!”). [Anyway], I found [out] mid-summer, going into my second year of college , [and] was like, well what am I supposed to do the rest of the summer? So I decided I was going to start a blog, and that is how xfashionistagirlx was born! I started blogging about dorm room decorating, sorority advice, and basically anything else that sparked my interest, and within a couple of weeks, I started getting tons of emails from girls asking for help decorating their dorm room, what to wear for sorority recruitment, [and things like that].
HC: What’s your favorite memory from college thus far?
LW: Come find me when I am holding Clutch Magazine’s spring 2015 issue in my hands at our release party. I’m pretty sure that will be the best/proudest moment of my college experience thus far!
HC: Any advice for the aspiring fashionista?
LW: It’s a hard world out there, but my advice would be to one, “work hard in silence, let your success make all the noise; two, help others and provide advice once you get into a position where someone aspires to be you one day, [as] you too were in their shoes at one point or another; and three, don’t be complacent — always be searching for what you can do next to [better] yourself, and never stop learning.
Check out Lauren’s personal blog, http://xfashionistagirlx.blogspot.com/! You can find her and the other Clutch Directors at the Clutch Release Party on March 28th from 2-5pm at Recess!