Life & Work with Jennifer Wesley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Wesley.

Hi Jennifer, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
Growing up in St. Louis, MO, I always knew I wouldn’t be staying there.

My first recollection of that thought actually goes back to when I was 5 years old. My parents told me that I’d be taking a trip to Disney World, and I was beyond excited as any kid would be, but I distinctly remember that the excitement was less about Disney World since I honestly wasn’t even too sure what that was at the time, rather I was itching to explore the unknown.

Throughout my younger life, I was always wanting to be in the spotlight and I found myself drawn to being surrounded by people and performing (and I never clammed up in front of a camera, that’s for sure). I was doing everything from dance to musicals to acting, singing, and instrument lessons from Pre K through middle school. But once I got to high school, I more-so focused on dance and fashion than anything else.

As many girls do, I’ve always loved fashion and being creative with my style. Any type of themed party or holiday was my bread and butter. Halloween has always been my favorite (and still is) since I’m able to go full force on being creative and wearing crazy outfits with makeup to match. I consider it the Olympics of what I do in my daily life.

In college, I dove far deeper into fashion, and I was given the opportunity to work at New York Fashion Week multiple times and help produce the shows. The most iconic show I ever did was Jeremy Scott, which was just incredible.

I also had the amazing opportunity to intern in Los Angeles the summer before my senior year of high school working behind the scenes at a trendy fashion company. When interning in L.A. I fell in love with the experience and decided I would move there after college, which I did. Though New York is my favorite city, L.A. was something I wanted to get out of my system, and I have this idea that I don’t want to ruin the magic of NYC by living there.

While living in L.A. I made the decision that it really wasn’t for me. I wasn’t a big fan of the overall culture and the expense vs the quality of life. My friend who lived in Scottsdale was visiting L.A. when I told her I was considering leaving, and she told me to consider moving to Scottsdale. At the time, I had never been to Scottsdale, nor did I know anything about it so I diligently researched everything I could about the city and fell in love. I actually ended up signing my lease here before ever visiting.

Since moving here in May of 2019, I’ve only grown more in love with everything about it. It has the perfect combination of amazing weather, hustle and bustle, nightlife, beautiful scenery, and the list goes on. I began working completely remotely when I moved to Scottsdale almost 3 years ago, and I’ve been fortunate to continue to work remotely as a consultant and doing social media (other than some work trips).

These days, I stay busy between my career, my boyfriend who also moved here from St. Louis, my dog, and my friends, and I genuinely love it. I’m currently diving further into the social media realm to grow my platform which keeps me busier than ever but in the most positive way.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely has been far from a smooth road.

Growing up, I was pretty bullied. Not as bad as what a lot of kids have, but bad enough. People made fun of my looks, my body, me being weird according to their standards, and pretty much anything else you can think of. It’s weird to look back and think about just how mean kids can be right to somebody’s face. It made me tough, though, I’ll say that.

I was involved in an extremely toxic relationship in college which led to an even more toxic breakup which was one of the darkest times of my life. I felt like nothing. Throughout the relationship, I had completely forgone my health both mentally, and physically. I was willing to essentially give up all of my dreams for a man who would never have done the same for me. When I finally pulled myself out of that situation, it was like a switch flipped in me.

I became more secure in myself than ever, I began working out, I started loving myself, and I didn’t put up with a stitch of poor behavior from men I dated. I ended up losing 50lbs in 2018, which was also the year I moved to L.A. and left all of the bad energy behind me in St. Louis. I realized that the trauma I went through with my ex-boyfriend was actually the kick in the ass I needed and ended up being the best thing to ever happen to me.

In September of 2019, I lost my dad. He was my absolute best friend, and I felt like my world collapsed. This was something I had the fear might happen as he had health issues for as long as I could remember and it ended up taking a turn for the worst a few months earlier. This was the actual darkest time of my life.

While I was in the hospital, the last thing my dad was able to speak to me before he could no longer talk was “Follow your dreams.” I think it took me until recently to let that sink in, and recently I’ve decided to do just what he told me to do and pursue more of what I’m passionate about. I spent quite a long time grieving and I still am, but he would want me to achieve everything I want in life and to be my best, happiest version of myself, so that’s what I’m doing and will continue to do.

A challenge I’m dealing with as I write this unfortunately happened only 2 weeks ago when I also lost my older brother. He, like my dad, supported me no matter what and wanted to see me succeed with everything I did. Tragedies like these make it feel impossible to keep going, but I tend to be a strong girl, and I persevere.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I would say that I’m most known for being a digital creator in the fashion space. Essentially I work with brands and create content (photos, videos, etc.) that I post to help promote those products.

More than that, I also take random pieces from many brands and put together outfits that I think people who follow me would enjoy to give them inspiration for outfits they can create as well. Additionally, I focus on wellness, self-care, fitness, health, skincare, hair care, and overall beauty. I share pretty much everything I know so that women who follow me can implement things I share into their own lives.

Overall, I’m most proud daily when I receive messages from people saying that something I posted inspired them in some way or made them happy. To know that doing something I genuinely enjoy can make somebody’s day better or that they bought something for a special event because they saw my post about it is the best feeling.

What sets me apart is that I don’t believe I fit into one category. I have a wide array of interests that show up in my style choices, my makeup looks, and also my daily life. My biggest fear is blending into the crowd. I usually find a way to make even the most basic outfit a little out of the ordinary.

I just like doing and wearing things that I and others might not see all the time and creating unique takes on things like an LBD or a glam makeup look. I get bored of looking the same, wearing the same things, and just feeling like I’m in any sort of rut, so I try to go out of the box as often as I can.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
I would say that the person who deserves the most credit would be my dad. As I mentioned, he used his last words to tell me to follow my dreams.

That being his final sentence isn’t shocking since he encouraged me my entire life to do that very thing. He was the reason I pushed myself and allowed myself to be adventurous and feel comfortable being different. I push myself knowing that it makes him proud of me and because he knew I would achieve whatever I set my mind to.

Another person who goes above and beyond to support me is my wonderful boyfriend, Dominic. There hasn’t been a day where he hasn’t encouraged me and shown me undying love and support. Every time I have some sort of idea of what I want to do or the next venture I’m going to go on, he cheers me without hesitancy. He’s become such a light in my life and the most unexpected blessing to ever happen to me.

Additionally, my friends are also all inspiring in their own unique ways. They encourage me and each other to continue to be better and grow always. They’re there through it all, on the bad days and the good. I feel fortunate to have found some amazing girls who are there for every obstacle AND success.

Contact Info:

• Email: jenniferwesleycollabs@gmail.com
• Instagram: @jenniferwesley_