Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Alessandrini.
Andrea, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Growing up, I always knew that fashion was somehow going to be a part of my future; whether it was working in the competitive field or just making it a part of my everyday life and routine. When I was in high school, however, I took a psychology class my senior year and thought I found my passion. I went to college and declared my major as psychology and I was the happiest person in the world. My sophomore year came along and I caught myself falling asleep in class and I remember thinking to myself that fashion was my next step. I changed my major to Retail Merchandise and Product Development the summer of 2016 and never looked back. I was talked into starting an Instagram that would include all things fashion and I wasn’t sure about it at first and then I thought, “what do I have to lose?” Thealookk was created August 13th, 2017, and it has slowly been growing ever since. The name has two different meanings- the A look- as in the “A plus” look and the “A” is also for my name, Andrea. As time has passed, I realized that styling and designing are two things I want to do in my professional career.
This was discovered after a styling internship I had in New York with celebrity stylist Alexandra Renee Scott and a design internship in Peace Love World. I want to make people feel beautiful in whatever way I can. Fashion is something that is so powerful and so strong. It can change how one feels about themselves and my goal is to try and make someone feel that powerful and strong through clothing. Today this is what I am trying to do. I am styling friends, family and have recently started gaining clients as well. Today I am happy where I am. Today I am learning and going with the flow. Due to this pandemic, I was laid off from a sales/ styling job and I honestly could not be happier. I have gained many more skills that can be used in this industry and am choosing to look at the bright side of things.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I definitely think there have been bumps in the road since I started Thealookk. I hoped to be a little bigger at this point on social media, but I am a big believer that things take time and the right opportunity will present itself at some point. At the moment, I am trying to influence the people that follow me and even people that don’t follow my platform. I want to be able to help people in whatever way I can when it comes to clothing and or lifestyle in general. I have expanded from fashion and also try to incorporate my everyday life and I have gotten messages from people telling me that I have inspired them to do something, and that’s all I want. I want to help and possibly guide people to a better lifestyle and make them feel strong, like I mentioned before, whether it be through clothes or not. When a person is doing what I am trying to do there are always going to be people that try to bring you down, and that is another struggle that I have dealt with; however, it is something that I have never really cared about because criticism will only make me want to work harder.
Please tell us about Thealookk.
Thealookk was started in 2017 and is known as a styling account on Instagram. As time has passed, I have created a website with a blog and have started a youtube channel as well where I show more everyday content rather than just styling like on thealookk’s Instagram. I have expanded to other social media platforms as well like Facebook, Tiktok and Pinterest as well. Like mentioned, I specialize in styling and as a young woman who doesn’t have much to spend, I try to show people that you don’t have to shop at Gucci and Prada to be trendy. People come to me for styling advice which is what “thealookk” is known for. It is what I studied in college, and it is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I am proud of the fact that I have helped a plethora of people decide what to wear.
I have not only made them happy with the right pieces, but I have made them feel confident as well, and I think that is what sets me apart from others. I try my best to make people feel good in what they’re wearing because at the end of the day everyone is beautiful. I also feel like I am very relatable. The people that follow me are close to my age and, like I said, are people that have similar lifestyles. I post the reality of situations when it comes to clothing and I share my experiences. I am not a person that fits into everything possible and looks great in anything I try on. I am a 5’1 short girl who is trying to look presentable and feel confident like everyone else.
I also post the reality of life situations in general. We are all going through the consequences of this pandemic, and for many of us money has become a little bit of an issue. I posted about getting laid off and I have blogged about it as well. It’s a struggle that not only I am going through, and because of this struggle, I have been able to learn new skills like jewelry making, web design and photography. I now am a freelance photographer and web designer as well as a bracelet designer along with my sister Claudia Alessandrini. Being relatable is the best thing when it comes to social media. People go through similar situations and it’s nice to share and know that you’re not going through it alone.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over at this moment, I would be more confident. I wouldn’t be as shy as I was when I started this. When I started, I cared about what people thought and I wanted to please everyone and that just doesn’t happen. Confidence is key in life, especially in the fashion industry and on social media. I would have been less shy and just started doing things for myself and not waited because I thought people would think that I was an overachiever or that I was bad at what I was doing.
Pricing:
- All bracelets that my sister Claudia and I make range from $7-&1o each!
- Photography- $175 for 25 edited pictures, $210 for 3o edited pictures, $245 for 35 edited pictures and $280 for 40 edited pictures
- Website making – $3oo a week for the project which takes about 2-3 weeks!
- Styling clients – depending on what clients are looking for, prices can vary from $100-300 a month at the moment.
Contact Info:
- Website: thealookk.com
- Phone: 305-763-1534
- Email: thealook@hotmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thealookk/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thealookk/?ref=bookmarks
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa5kPH-lxyvmw1X8tfevJBg?view_as=subscriber
Image Credit:
Claudia Alessandrini, Gaby Garcia, Selma Garcia, Tere Garcia, Farid Marquez
Myself
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