By Rachael Lindley
Photography by Crystal Wise
360West: What is your background and how Did you get into styling?
Julia Gadberry: Styling for me really came about by process of elimination. It wasn’t a job that I even knew existed. When I was fresh out of college, a mentor told me that your 20s are mostly for finding out what you don’t want to do, and going from there. I started my career at Neimans in the advertising office as an intern, and then was hired full-time in PR. I started pulling clothing for various charity and in-store fashion shows and felt very inspired. It was like getting to play dress up in the best closet you could imagine. I knew I wanted a more full time creative job, so I moved into visuals at the same store. I designed and installed window displays as well as dressing every single mannequin in women’s ready to wear fashions. I learned so much from that time, but it was grueling work, and I knew it wasn’t sustainable. A position came open for a styling job in corporate, working on catalogs, eventually moving on to The Book, it was the right mix of creative and impactful work. I found myself on photoshoots working with photographers, hair and make up, models, and it just felt right. I loved putting these looks together and then seeing the impact, at the time through sales, that they made. The idea that someone would buy a look, from the dress to the shoes, to the jewelry was so satisfying. It’s incredibly gratifying making someone feel good about how they look. It might be superficial, but when you know you’ve helped someone walk into an event or party with confidence and they feel good about themselves, it’s hard not to feel a sense of accomplishment.
360West: What was your creative vision for this shoot?
Gadberry: I wanted to hone in on Americana and how it intersects with Fort Worth.
360West: What’s trending this spring? Are there any must-haves?
Gadberry: I know it’s cliché, but florals. We saw them all over the runway in these romantic, flowy, ethereal moments. I love how they were paired back to bold, structured, mono-colored suits. That’s really what we were inspired by for this shoot; the juxtaposition of how these two concepts meet. It’s classically female, right? The mix of soft and strong.
360West: What was your thought process when sourcing these items?
Gadberry: It was important to me that everything was sourced locally for this shoot. I started my career living and working in Dallas. When I moved to Fort Worth I was so taken aback when friends felt that they had to go to Dallas for special occasion shopping. While I feel that belief has changed, at times, we can overlook how many special and unique things are happening in Fort Worth. To have local shops like Bette’s, You Are Here and Chieffalo is unreal! These are people in our community that you buy your groceries next to with this incredible global perspective on design and fashion. We are all chronically online and on social media, and while I love the convenience of online shopping, we are outrageously lucky to have these local shops that we can just pop into and find these one-of-a-kind items.
360West: Do you have a personal style mantra that you follow?
Gadberry: The best advice I think I can give is to embrace your personal style. Knowing your body and what suits you is the most important place to start when it comes to building a look or wardrobe for the season. We are all engaged in conversations concerning trends, but understanding how a trend works for your life as a 50 year old woman versus a 20 year old woman is key. Beyond that, classics are classic for a reason, it’s always a good place to start.