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By Kevin Gray
Lindsey Calla ’06
Creator of the fashion blog Saucy Glossie, Lindsey Calla ’06 worked with T.J.Maxx on the discount designer store’s “Maxxinista” campaign and appeared in one of the commercials.
“Working with T.J.Maxx has been an amazing experience,” says Calla, noting that she was a true Maxxinista even before this dream job. “It was a great fit because my audience already knew that I loved the brand, and everyone responded well to the authenticity of the campaign.”
Calla’s special niche in the fashion world is dressing in high style on a “real girl budget,” as she says in her blog, Saucy Glossie, which is focused on personal style and fashion.
Lindsey Calla ’06
“I document what I wear on a day-to-day basis, and through that communicate my point of view on fashion to my readers,” she says, adding that it is aspirational but also achievable because the pieces are generally inexpensive. “I show how I wear an item in a way that is unique to me, and someone can click a link and buy that same item to use in their own way.”
In October, she co-hosted an hour of GoodDay New York, during which she interviewed Maksim Chmerkovskiy from Dancing with the Stars. She has also appeared on CW, FOX, NBC, and Live Well HD, and been featured in Elle Japan, Glamorous, Cosmopolitan, and Vogue.com.
“People are quick to assume that I went to fashion school or was trained in the industry,” she says. “I’m proud to say that I have a degree in international affairs because I think it is the most applicable major that anyone could pick. Fashion is a global business that is deeply rooted in history, and having a strong academic foundation in such a well-rounded major is such an asset to me.”
For example, Calla notes that she studied abroad in London and landed an internship at L’Oreal. During that time, she fell in love with the beauty industry and knew she wanted to do something creative for her career.
“I really interned my way into the fashion industry and worked for a few years assisting editors and stylists,” Calla says. “When I noticed the industry was shifting online, I knew it would be a great opportunity to be a little more entrepreneurial.”
She credits her Lafayette experience with not only helping her make the transition to the workplace, but also with blazing new trails. Diane Ahl, Rothkopf Professor of Art History, recalls a paper that Calla wrote on fashion in Italian Renaissance art and presented at an undergraduate conference in art history. “She was an excellent student, very articulate and committed,” says Ahl.
Calla says, “I felt confident after college that I was able to handle anything that anyone threw my way because of how I was challenged while there. That skill helped me immensely in my first few jobs out of college and also more recently when working for myself.”
“Lafayette opened my mind to new interests and helped me think of things spherically,” she says. “Lafayette instilled a curiosity in me that is such a valuable quality to have in my field.”
Several years ago, Calla was working at Cosmopolitan and living in New York City on a fashion assistant budget. “I had to really get creative to keep up with all of the fashionable people I was around every day,” she says. “I walked into the office in unique outfits that I had thrown together on a budget.”
Calla’s editor-in-chief took notice of her unique chic and thought it would make a great idea for a story. “The next thing I knew, I was modeling and styling myself to be in the pages of the magazine,” she says. “The story rated really well, so I knew then that people related to me because they had the same issues and pressures that I had. It was a definite ‘a-ha’ moment and reflects how being authentic and yourself is always the best pathway to success.”