#3 – Dress to Impress, But Why? with Lola Wusu

The Think Alpha Project - Empowering Minority Millennials to Break Barriers

Lola began working in the fashion industry right out of high school as a personal Stylist and Visual Merchandiser for J.Crew. While working towards a her degrees in both Fashion Merchandising and Apparel Design, Lola was fortunate to work for a variety of the leading American brands. Her unique eye for color, mixing prints, fit and style became recognized by fashion veterans and celebrities. Her skills only became more refined by the wisdom and experiences she has absorbed from her mentors and environments.

After moving to Southern California, Lola continued to work as a stylist and designer for film, fashion, and a number of apparel brands. Lola’s work has graced the pages of Vogue, strutted the red carpets at the Oscars. As she continues to help people feel and look good, she looks forward to helping people do good. Her curiosity to learn every aspect of the industry and enthusiasm for humanity has prompted Lola into creating a brand that encompasses the missing link between America’s material and humanistic needs. She is creating America’s next favorite brand. “Wusu” A brand that truly represent who we are and want to be.

Key Topics

The power of appearance

• What you wear is speaking without speaking
• How you present and carry yourself is you introducing yourself to the world
• Using appearance to move the right people toward you
• The human nature of categorizing people through what we see

Being Black in America

• Getting racially profiled on the regular
• How to broach racial profiling – is it possible to defuse the situations?
• Does our choice of clothing affect how we’re treated?

The journey (the rough seasons)

• Going broke (God told me to get rid of everything)
• Downsizing in order to shift prioritization and focus on building your business
• Leaning on friends for help

Love and family

• Tightly knit family, all four siblings have grown to be successful
• Balancing business and love in LA
• Illnesses in the family, and unexpected blessings with not being employed

Your purpose

• Find out who you truly are and the difference you’re supposed to make in the world
• Spread love through your life and work
• The importance of understanding your strengths, and outsource your weak areas

Key Quotes

On the importance of dressing for the occasion:

“I love it. Killing the appropriateness of it. Being the best dressed person and feeling your best in a situation, so that your clothes are not a deterrent in you being awesome.”

On balancing love and work:

“I never wanted to be this business woman who has everything and then it’s ok now how do I fit this man in here? I’d rather build with someone. Life is better that way.”

On the journey toward your goals:

“Every day is conquering a fear. I’m getting used to being uncomfortable, which is huge when it comes to your dreams and purpose. Because anything new and great, you’ve never seen it before. You’ve never felt it before.”

Thanks for Listening!

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Connect with Lola here: Website | Instagram