Terri Mahn, Authentic Style

Episode Notes:

Terry Mahn has been a fixture on the Fashion Scene, especially in Boston, for all of her career. We explore her alternative path through the industry, with emphasis on the authentic, creativity and vintage cloths.

Her current job at The Real Real as a consigner puts her in touch with amazing collections by some of the biggest names in the industry like Stella McCarthy, Burbury and Gucci. It also helps to keep all of these cloths find new lives and avoid filling our landfills.

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INSIDE THIS EPISODE:

Today's guest can be found at 

Website URL: Thestylistcloset.com

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/terri-mahn-53447119

Instagram: @thestylistcloset

Facebook: thestylistcloset

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This episode was produced by Matt McKee, with help from Suzanne Schultz and http://www.CanvasFineArts.com, the specialists in coaching for creatives

Transcript

Terri Mahn, Authentic Style
Cherry Bomb! The Podcast Transcription

Teri Mahn  00:00
Sewing of the garment and putting those fabric together and the mistakes and a hole that didn't work, you know, or, or the fabric doesn't do this right or it doesn't lay right. There's something about that knowledge that you can't skip that that step.

Matt McKee  00:18
Hi, I'm Matt McKee and welcome to Cherry Bomb the podcast a series of conversations with people about food, art and sustainability. This episode is sponsored by honeydew, a part of my sweet blast series of limited edition photos available at the art of Matt McKee calm, I created the series with the mission to start conversations in the room about the bigger topics of food, art, and sustainability. This podcast is the companion piece to that project where we get to share with you some of the discussions that sweet class has inspired. Fashion and perhaps more broadly, Apparel has been a big driver of our economy as a $1.6 billion industry. I think in so many ways historically. And currently, this helps us to identify ourselves as members of different groups with multiple subsets and as individuals as well. It has also come under fire, especially after the emergence of fast fashion as having a strong impact on our environment and sustainability. Whether it is the perceived lifestyle of high fashion and luxury are the throwaways of cheap almost immediately disposable knockoffs or even the nationalistic tribalism of where something is being made. The industry as a whole has come under the microscope. Today, I'm in the studio with Terry man, a fashion consultant, and consigner, and an advocate for sustainable fashion. Boy, say that three times fast. And I appreciate you very much taking the time out of your schedule to come in today.

Teri Mahn  01:36
Oh, it's my pleasure. From our brief conversation earlier,

Matt McKee  01:39
and my own rather shallow knowledge of humanity and fashion, obviously, fashion isn't going anywhere. It's something that's very important to us, and to our identities, thank

Teri Mahn  01:48
God.

Matt McKee  01:51
But you're working with a company now that is you said to me is blazing a trail in one aspect of the sustainability path? Can you tell me a little bit about what's going on?

Teri Mahn  02:00
Sure, I work for the real real, I am an account luxury manager. So what I do is work with consigners, whether I drive to their home, and go through their closets with them, and we pick items that they're not wearing, and they sell them on the website, the real real. And also, I'm a shopper too, you know, as well. You know, that coveted item that you know you saw a few years ago, whether it's a handbag, or it's a jacket, and oh, it's just a little too, out of your price range at that moment, you can find it, you know, on the real real. And also, we have started a new vintage the company started a vintage program, which is great if you're a wardrobe stylist, whether you're doing a movie whether or you need it for a photoshoot, you can go and get those pieces that are vintage. And it's a great advocate, I think to bring that vintage fashion back into circulation. You know, it's sort of a win win project for the consigner. They don't have to do what we used to do on eBay, where you know, we take the photo and then we respond to the consign or the person who's going to buy. And then you know, we have to measure it. And we have to the real real does all of that for you. So you just hand it to someone like me, we send it to our warehouse, and then they start the process through the pipeline, where are they authenticate it, they photograph it, they respond to the purchaser so that you just get a check the 15th of every month. So it's sort of a win win situation in a no brainer. And especially everybody's busy, everybody has a lot of things going on whether you're single, whether you have kids, no one has the time to spend, you know, creating their eBay account. So that's what the real real and this others to that, that are doing what the real real is doing. We are the only company that actually sends out a staff to come to your home though. And that's where the consignment really takes on a different level. It's a little bit more personal, you know, I really get to know my consigners and what they like and what they're looking for. And, you know, I don't always say give me that give me that, that. I'm like what are you kidding me those cowboy boots for those are fabulous. I just saw they're coming back in and keep those i so i A lot of times we'll keep telling them to keep the items instead of because as a stylist if I see something that I like or I'm like, Oh, you're you're gonna use that that handbag, you know, don't give it to me if they

Matt McKee  04:51
didn't get involved in some kind of a consignment or the DIY approach of actually doing it themselves. What would have happened with these clothes

Teri Mahn  05:00
Usually they get passed down to somebody else, or they, you know, bring them to Goodwill. But this is developed where they can make a little money back. I mean, they never gonna get paid for what they paid for the item. But they do get it back. And it's really interesting the variety that we have on the website as a shopper of the real real as well. I mean, today, I'm actually in, you know, to some items that I've got from the real real Oh, wow. So it's kind of, you know, fun. Go through and like, oh, yeah, you know, I look up, just, you know, whatever hits me that day, or a designer name that I haven't seen it like, whoa, do we have anything by that designer? We do do art and home as well. So it's, it's really grown. Yeah. Into a great category.

Matt McKee  05:51
We just watched Cruella de Vil. Oh, yeah. Anything. And rd is one of the characters in it. Yeah, I realized that consignment shops have been around for as long as humanity has decided to pass things on.

Teri Mahn  06:07
I always shopped consignment shops. And even in Europe, my sister lives in England. So we're always hitting the consignment shops that are near hair, her the ones that are known. And the little unknown ones are, you know, really where you can find treasures. And you know, we even took a trip to Paris and we only did the consignment shops, we didn't go into any of the you know, bricks and mortar, well known stores because we wanted to just experience Paris in its beauty. And in any city that I've been into, I always pop in because you never know what you're going to find.

Matt McKee  06:45
I wanted to go back briefly to the real real. When we talked earlier, you had talked about the fact that the other aspect of this is that it saving clothing from the landfill.

Teri Mahn  06:55
Absolutely. And one of the things that it's a program that we just started is there's a few designers that with the leftover fabric, they are creating capsule collections that will be sold on the real real for like little girls. So they're taking that unused fabric and creating something new with it, and doing a totally different design a totally different demographic than what they're known for.

Matt McKee  07:21
So that would have been wasted before.

Teri Mahn  07:23
Exactly just sitting there. And then now it's kind of out of date. Now they're they're reusing it in a different way for them. And it's also challenging to you know, you're used to doing the beautiful ball gown. So the day dresses and now well, you know, I'm dealing with like teenagers. And the dresses are just simple and easy breezy. We do a lot with big designers too, like Stella McCartney, who's also very big with sustainability. We've done a program with Burberry, we've done a program with Gucci. So we're trying to as company change the way that we're looking at fashion to and offering opportunities. We have two gentlemen that are amazing with the history of fashion. So they've really dug deep into the vintage items that we're carrying, and they handle all the celebrities like Kylie Jenner is someone who really likes vintage clothes. So they work with her on on the items that she'll get from the real, real

Matt McKee  08:27
wonderful. We'd also talked briefly about some of the different hats and you actually alluded to it a little bit earlier, the different hats that you've worn industry itself.

Teri Mahn  08:37
I think I've had every job.

Matt McKee  08:39
How did you get started? 

Teri Mahn  08:41
Well, I started in graphics, but I always wanted to be behind the scenes. Like I always wanted to be behind the scenes and fashion shows. And there was a show Rhoda and Rhoda was a visual display, you know, for a store, and I just thought she had the coolest job even though you know, Mary probably made five times more salary than then we do in the arts. It was just much more interesting. I started with a little bit of visual display. I interned with a photographer. He was the one that had told me you should really become a stylist. I think you've got a really good eye. And I've been told that throughout my career not really knowing like what does good. I mean, and how do you parlay that on a resume? You know, I have a really good i is but it's I've started teaching fashion show production and that that really kind of accumulated I used to go to the stores pull the items for the students to wear it because at that time the school did not have a design program. And then they eventually did and then I would work with you know them as a designer and also local designers in Boston. and who were great. I mean, they were really forthcoming with helping and explain to the students you know, about their designs, how to wear something, you know, student would put it on, it's like, no, that's backwards. Flip it around, and I really enjoyed having the students get really involved. So that was a big part of my life was working with students outside at the Liberty hotel, they had fashionably late. So I used to bring in new designers to do that show. It was sort of an open mic, in a sense, where you could present a designer to the owners to see if they would agree. And if they did, then my students would come in, they would dress the the models, I did have an incident where I did flip a dress around. So the designer, you know, he's, he's really into low cut everything. And, you know, I mean, the, my students loved it, you know, I, I would, you know, not do justice to his designs, let's put it that way. And so the girl has the dress on, and I'm looking at it, and I'm like, Can you flip it around for me? And my students are like, oh, you know, what are you doing? And the girls like, okay, so she flips it around. I'm like, Yeah, I'm sorry. You have to wear it that way. And she's like, okay, and I didn't know how the designer was going to feel about it, because you usually don't mess but the way he had done the Wii in the front, there was literally a Wii, and it was kind of like pointing to her. And I just really look at, I couldn't get past it, you know, but when it was flipped, it really looked great. And it didn't make it so prominent that be and, and so, you know, we could see from the Liberty, we could see her going down, and we could see where they were outside. And when. And I'm waiting for his reaction to what is he going to do? What's he going to say? And I figured if he didn't like it had to have her flipping around right then and there, which she could have done without exposing herself. So he lets go with it backwards. And I'm like, okay, it was one of the last look. So we get everything wrapped up and ready. And then I'm out the door because I'm figuring oh my god, I'm gonna get it. I'm in my car. My phone is ringing. It's him. I'm like, oh, no, no, he's gonna yell at me. But I got to explain. It was just, you know, the Wii wasn't working. And so he I had him on speaker and he's like, Hey, I'm here with my wife. How you doing? I'm like, good. And he's like, uh, you know, oh, the show was so good. It was great. I'm like, Oh, good. You liked it. Yay. Like, I go, What about the dress? And he's like, Oh, the one you turned backwards. He goes, That was a good idea. That looked really good. I'm like, Oh, my God, thank God. Thank God. Because I I did early in my styling career, put a belt on a dress of a designer, and they

Matt McKee  13:21
weren't happening.

Teri Mahn  13:22
And honestly, the picture looked great. And I really, but he did say don't ever put a belt. If I want a belt, I'll design a belt. I'm like, okay, he's like, Don't ever do that. Again. I'm like, Okay. Never again. I will.

Matt McKee  13:37
I'm sorry. What I didn't realize up until fairly recently was there is a fairly strong design community of local designers. Yes. Who actually put these things together? Yes. How has that evolved over the years from?

Teri Mahn  13:51
Well, I think it's definitely come from the schools from mass art from School of Fashion Design, Framingham LaSalle, the really nurtured plus I think, you know, as much as the students like I never watched Project Runway, it is a lot due to Project Runway. And I've gotten to know a few of the designers from Project Runway from the very beginning. One I was he a huge fan of Jonathan Joseph Peters. I loved him. He had a good sense of humor on TV, and he got all the way to the end. But he didn't win. Seth Aaron one season, but I met John Jonathan's from Rhode Island and we met each other and I was telling my photographer friend, I'm like, Oh, my God. It's Jonathan. And she's like, it was like, what do you do? So my friend knew I was a fan. So she sat me next to him. And we hit it off like a house on fire. And so it was interesting because you know, you want to ask him, what's it like? And he said, I do this podcast. Yeah, like what? And he's like, Well, it's kind of interesting. He said, It's not entirely what you say, like this edit. And this is before it's all come out now that there's that it's and they, you know, kind of create the tension

Matt McKee  15:14
that was back when reality TV everyone thought was really real.

Teri Mahn  15:17
Right. Right, exactly. I was great. And so I've got to work with him and a lot of his outfits. You know, he's kind of quirky, and his stuff is usually fun. And it's always interesting for me to find the right location to match with what clothes are. We ended up doing by wold in Rhode Island. It's this beautiful old home. Oh, I know what, with gardens, and it was a model who was doing her comp card. I was bringing the clothes to style and I had brought a lot of Jonathan's items. One point, you know, she's running through the hydrangeas in this really quirky dress, and I'm like, oh my god, it looks like an Estee Lauder commercial. And that's always, you know, really fun when you see things like I'll add, you know, for I know for can be a little, you know, there is a ski and furred designer, his name is Mark Miller. And it's a Miller is the ski wear. But he also has amazing firsts, and he has these great hats. And we ended up having this woman who would take items, and she would repurpose them. So if it was a sweater, she would cut it up. And she would redesign it into something else. Talk about reclaiming. Exactly. So I brought these for hats. And these for accessories for Mark. I don't know what made me particularly want to pair those two together. But I just thought it would be cool. And we were doing it in a very old building on Newbury Street was an old club. We thought we had the run of the place, but then they'll like, No, you have kind of like a window and a chair. So once we put the fur on, oh my god, it looked like old world, Ralph Lauren, and the photoshoot just totally took a different positive, you know, compared to what we thought it was going to look like, we still would have thought a little home yucky, Becky, if it wasn't it, elevated it to this. Some of my favorite pictures,

Matt McKee  17:32
I can hear the enthusiasm in your voice about all this stuff. And I love it. I absolutely love it. One of the things that has been so much fun about doing this podcast is that I'm talking to people about what they love to do. Two questions for you along those lines. The first is fashion is first and foremost a business, but at the same time. It's an art form. Yes, it really is. It just deals in three dimensional. It's almost sculptural, but it's moving sculpture. What is your definition of art?

Teri Mahn  18:02
Oh, Hmm. Interesting. Art can be anything like my sister likes to hand make things. And so for art for her is a part of creating. But then I have a friend that was a photographer, and now she's been doing landscapes from her iPhone. And that's art too, because the way she captures it the angle in which she takes the photo, how someone dresses like how my students used to dress, or how they dressed today really, I mean, they still dressing. But how they put their stuff together. Interior Design, you know how you can create an atmosphere in a room. I used to love going shopping for fabric with Denise her Jr. in New York. I used to love those trips. And she would pick up a piece of fabric and go okay, so I can do this. And I can make this and I can. And to me it's just a piece of fabric with a pattern on it. But for her she could envision exactly what she was going to make. What the silhouette was going to be just by picking up a piece of fabric.

Matt McKee  19:17
So intent is yeah, a big part of it. Yeah. Wow. And the the other side of that question is what gets you charged up about your job right now with what gets you out of bed in the morning going.

Teri Mahn  19:31
I like being mobile. And one of the few like you can do my job in two ways. You can you know, hang out at your house, contact the consigner send a van to pick up the items or label but I actually like getting in my car, you know putting those white bags in the back and driving to the consigners home I whether it's down the cape whether it's Newport I'm excited for the first time of binning someone because you don't know what, you know, I'm curious about the homes I walk into Architectural Digest. I mean, they're amazing. You know, they usually have a dog, sometimes a cat, but usually, which is great. I'm a huge dog lover. So I'm like, Oh, 15 minutes with the dog. And then it's like, oh, where's your stuff. So it's really nice to see and start that dialogue. And then when I go back the second or the third time, it's when you know, you become more friendly, you know, about, you know, what's going on with them. Their kids, their pets, their husbands, their loved ones, it's, it's, that's the power of just meeting new people. And getting getting up and getting out. I'm, you know, getting up there in age now. So I'm 6162 in January. And it's like, hey, you know, I mean, I'm, I'm somewhat healthy. A lot of my friends are gearing up for retirement, because, you know, it's, we're heading up that age, but I, you know, I think as long as I'm happy and healthy, I'm gonna keep you know, have a reliable car.

Matt McKee  21:18
It's gonna be key for you.

Teri Mahn  21:20
I'm gonna keep doing it. Alright,

Matt McKee  21:22
so what is the most I don't even know how to phrase this. I was gonna say the most famous item that you've consigned. But maybe it's the most fabulous item that you've consigned

Teri Mahn  21:34
anytime you get an Irma's bag. A Birkin is always what would these normally retail? Oh my god, they're like 3000 on up to you know, if they're exotic to 15 Oh, wow. You know, it's always fabulous. When you have that 100 Plus, pickup of of items. The and they're all designer stuff. And you're like, oh, my god is this you know, you filled your car and you had to move all your other appointments because you have no room and in the end, so that that's always um, there was one pair of fabulous diamond earrings that were to die for. Like they were stunning.

Matt McKee  22:18
And you've already told me that you shop at the real room? I do. I do ever find like, no, oh, yeah, you just okay. As soon as that goes into the inventory, I need to get that back out before someone else snags it. That never

Teri Mahn  22:30
works for me. I hope because we can't tag anything. So it's like, okay, okay, checking it, checking it, checking it. And then by the time you check it somebody already like, you know, it's in somebody's back is what it's gone. Like, why did those things and then I kind of figure, you know, if it was meant to be Yeah, it's meant to be. But when I became a stylist, you know, at the time I did, it was a popular thing. And there was a lot of, you know, Fosston women that were claiming they were stylist too. And you know, I didn't exactly look like them because they were tall and they were blonde and they were able to wear the latest and greatest styles in high heels. And I'm you know, five foot one and a little round, so I can't wear their aurvey Luxaire bandage dress without looking like, you know, a mummy. Oh, wow. Oh, wow. So I I started focusing on one thing, like it was either an interesting shoe or texture, or I would add buttons, I would add pins, I would add ribbon, I would try to add something to my outfit. So that so that I had one like, oh, that's kind of cool. So when people would come up to me and say hi, you know, and who are you and what do you do? And I said, I'm a stylist? It would make sense. Okay, and and that, you know, I had something creative? Yeah, on that made me at least stand out or the outfit standout or whatever. Because my physical necessarily didn't make me stand out. But how I put myself together. Yeah, you know, so that I reflected the industry that I was trying to break into and trying to do,

Matt McKee  24:30
I can sympathize with you completely. I have a very distinct memory about going into some store when I was in college. That was all kind of high end, you know, that really gorgeous clothes. And they just took one look at me and said we're not going to be able to fit your waist. We can probably get you a pin. And Joe was just like, Okay, so I'm not going to be I'm never going to be Tom Cruise.

Teri Mahn  24:55
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. No, it's prior to my at the real real I worked at Neiman Marcus as personal stylist. And it's kind of funny because as you know, the people would come into the store, you can see them kind of find their person find their tribe, like there was a woman that work with me, she was very petite, she was very slim. So the smaller, more petite women would seek her out. And I had, I worked with a European woman, and she was very intercontinental. And so the people that were seeking something would go to her. And I would usually get women who were shaped like me, and I loved it, because to find them the outfit, and you know, we wouldn't talk, you know, I, at this point, have a good idea what their size were. So we didn't I wouldn't even get into it with them, because we had somebody that did alterations. So it really doesn't matter what your size is, because we can make it fit. And, you know, I in pricing, I never went for the super high stuff. You know, if it worked for what she was looking for, I would grab it. But I would grab other things because I remember shopping, I want variety, I want to try on the most expensive and the least expensive and you know what's going to work for the situation? Yeah. And so I built a following there by, you know, they would say you didn't pick the most expensive dress, you know, out of all of these I've tried on and I'm like, Well, this is your occasion, and this is the outfit that's gonna work for you. Is back. Yeah. Or if it was, you know, something, plus, I love a sale. So if anything was on sale, I'd be like, but you have to buy it. Look how much you are saving. So, you know, my mother was a bargain shopper. So

Matt McKee  26:54
what do you wish you knew when you started this whole thing?

Teri Mahn  26:58
I wish I knew the differences of careers. Because at the time, it was like, you either worked in a store, or you are a designer. And they really didn't talk about all the other jobs. And hopefully I got that through to my students, that there's so much more. You know, we they really didn't get into a merchandiser. They really didn't get into any of that course, I went to art school, so you know, yeah, they will like, photographer. And when I interned with the photographer, I'm a better photographer now. But at the time, he's like, You're terrible. You're horrible. Don't go into it. But he was, you know, on the flip side, he would say, but you're a really, really good stylist. And I think that and he was right. I wish I had listened to him.

Matt McKee  27:55
What would you like your legacy to be

Teri Mahn  27:57
done, I'm a nice person and authentic. I definitely

Matt McKee  27:59
think you're authentic. And a nice person, obviously. I mean, your authenticity, because

Teri Mahn  28:05
this is such a, you know, fake it to make it sort of business. And it's always smoke and mirrors around it. You know, I relish the behind the scenes, the smoke and mirrors my latest correspondence to my consigners are the scenes in the warehouse at the real real and I'm like behind why not they, you know, posted pictures of a, we obviously have an amazing warehouse. But I've posted you know, instead of the pretty model with in the clothes, I've chosen to reach out to my consigners by showing them the warehouse, the racks and racks and racks of clothes and and the jumble getting ready to be photographed. You know that that's a far more interesting photo.

Matt McKee  28:56
I completely agree as a photographer and also as someone who enjoys going behind the scenes for with my clients. And do you think in terms of where we are at as a society, it seems like we went through that period where as we said earlier reality TV was we thought it was all you know, it's unscripted, but that's as far as we knew. But in reality, we know now that producers are throwing hints at people in terms of our society, it feels like we want to know more behind the scenes, we want to know that the real real is a real place. Yeah, even though it's you know, it's not brick and mortar necessarily, but it's there's real people working there who really care about what's going on.

Teri Mahn  29:41
I'm gonna reference Project Runway again, you know, as much as we loved it at the beginning. It did lend itself to this false sense of being a designer. Like you can think up what you know, I think outfits and you know, designs in my head all the time, but I'm not a designer I don't know the technical skill, you do usually see the person who has the technical ability is the one that wins, whether it's the cooking shows or anything like that, that that idea has to meld with that technical ability. And I think students just thought, well, I'll get somebody just so it for me. And there is a certain level, but there is something and I'm sure that Danny foo Shea who's a local designer, David Joseph Denisa, Jr, where it comes to for us use of the actual sewing of the garment and putting those fabric together and the mistakes and a hole that didn't work, you know, or, or the fabric doesn't do this right or doesn't lay right. There's something about that knowledge that you can't skip that that step. Yes.

Matt McKee  30:51
Alright, so my last question for you. Oh, god, okay. Well, this is an easy one. Well, I say that but I have stumped people with this before to enter the day. But on the road, picking up your white bags of consignments yes your comfort food

Teri Mahn  31:08
Oh, I think we we mentioned this course it's chocolate just a little piece you know, I mean, I'm not you know gouging on chocolate but you know, a little bit a little something something

Matt McKee  31:24
like with fashion. There's all kinds of flavors from the, you know, the blue jeans to Yep, aromas, dark chocolate, light chocolate,

Teri Mahn  31:32
milk chocolate, definitely add some nuts. Hmm. Well, coconut Almond Joy, so we're always good. Okay, you know, I mean, not that we don't like our fancy chocolates. But you know, good Almond Joy at the end of the day isn't bad.

Matt McKee  31:51
Thank you so much for listening to this episode of cherry bomb the podcast. I'm your host, Matt McKee. And today we're speaking with Terry man, a fashion consultant and now working for the real real. As always, thanks to their website social media can be found at the art of Matt McKee calm and in the shownotes. Just click on the link for cherry bomb the podcast. I'm also available on Twitter for questions and comments at Nikki photo. This episode of cherry bomb the podcast could not be done without the help of Suzanne Schultz and Canvas Fine Arts specialists and coaching for creatives. Thanks for listening. And let's start the conversation.