#jessicaloria

We spent an afternoon with wardrobe stylist Jessica Loria, also known as the other half of the talented styling duo JAK, at her hillside home in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.

 It was a day of playing dress up, cooking (she cooked), and chatting about the fact that sometimes personal inspiration finds you in the less obvious of places, like the kitchen….

Jessica is wearing a 1960s vintage Kimono from Sew it Goes Vintage

What inspires you in terms of personal fashion?

I get inspired when I see retro and vintage photos, because I think the most inspirational thing about that is envisioning the moods and the emotions that come with the fashion in the photo. It’s interesting for me because I get to pull from costume houses for work and I’ll think about this beautiful vintage dress that I’ll be holding, for example, that has already had lives before you in a sense. I find it inspiring to be a part of wearing something that has so much history and tells a story.

 How would you best describe your personal fashion?

That’s a tough one because I think for every girl there’s a difference between what you envision your personal style to be like and what you actually walk out the door looking like. For me it’s always changing. Currently my personal style is lots of black and white and comfortable because I’m always working. I’m also obsessed with my new neon Nike’s that seems to be making their way into my wardrobe daily! But If I’m going to get dressed up it’s going to be vintage.

 In terms of your work as a wardrobe stylist what is your creative working process?

It definitely differs for each job. I guess the main process starts with a vision. We just try to stay on top of what every single designer is doing every single season so we know where to go, but it’s usually always off the top of the head. We never have to go digging for inspiration and I can honestly say we’ve never been stumped on a job creatively. It just comes to us.

 We all have days when we’re feeling a lack of creative or personal inspiration, how do you remedy this for yourself?

 I have to be honest, it doesn’t happen very often. I think when I feel that I’m in a slump with my job or what not; I feel like I want to do things other than fashion related things, like cooking. I feel like I get burnt out on looking at blogs, social media, and collections. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by it and I need to look elsewhere. When I’m not working you can definitely find me in the kitchen or hosting a dinner party.

Do you find a personal or creative release through cooking?

Yes, it allows me to feel like myself again and therefore so much more receptive. Depending on my mood or lack of inspiration one day a collection will fail to inspire and the next day the same collection could feel like it’s changing your life. That could be with anything, I think if I get really rundown with work and start to feel sorry for myself, which I know that’s what it is because I am so grateful for where I’m at, you just need to switch it up an do something that you love, and then you can come back to it feeling refreshed. I think if you never take a break from what you’re doing you will lose more and more inspiration every day.

And traveling, obviously, which I don’t get to do as much as I wish I could!

So if you could travel anywhere right now would you go?

Spain. South of Spain, I’m doing research right now because that’s where I really want to go. I want to do a full blown non fashion related food tour all over Spain. That is my ultimate destination right now.

 Icon or Muse of the moment:

If I had a muse it would be Frida Kahlo I think she was so strong and eclectic and is the epitome of sexy, it didn’t matter that she had a unibrow and wore ponchos, her sexiness came from her confidence, and who she was as a woman. She was an incredible artist, explorer, she had a lover, she had many lovers but was also deeply in love someone. For me she is everything.

As for a fashion icon, Bianca Jagger is always someone that comes to mind, every time I see a photo of her it lights up at me, she just does it right so much.

And if I had to choose someone current it would be the French actress, Marion Cotillard. She just exudes beauty always in everything she does. Even just how private she is about her personal life. I think it’s really hard for me to see someone being too much of a celebrity because of the industry I’m in I get turned off. And even with Marion, Frida, and Bianca It’s more about a quiet confidence, subtle effortless nature, which is what style is about. It’s about just being who you are and not just about what you’re wearing.

 Favorite film of the moment:

I just saw for the first time ever my first Kung Fu movie, Ip Man. I feel very inspired by it, which might be the reason why I really wanted to wear a kimono today. I’ve never seen a Kung Fu movie ever and I realized that they’re directed so beautifully. It was color storied and color blocked with the emotions of the film. I was so into it, it had everything from the relationship story to the costume design.

 Favorite read of the moment:

The new Pok Pok book (Pok Pok Food and Stories from the Streets, Homes and Roadside Restaurants of Thailand) about the American chef who opened Pok Pok in Portland, Oregon. I’ve been spending my nights reading it and researching all this special equipment you have to order to go along with the recipes. I’m having a Thai food moment that I’m really excited to explore in my kitchen right now.

 If money were no object what would you be doing?

I call those my sunset years and I think about them a lot.  I would be an owner and/or creative director of a restaurant group or winery. I would love to own my own business where I could bring all of my talents into one to create a really amazing ambience for customers and what not. I have a feeling if given that opportunity I would still be working creatively but it’s sad to say I probably wouldn’t be working in fashion anymore.

 Do you have any advice for anyone seeking a more creative path?

You shouldn’t be afraid to start from the bottom. You should totally let your age disappear from your mind. If you really know what you want to do you should be apprenticing and be humble. Anyone that I’ve ever admired who is successful now started from the bottom and had a mentor. I think that’s the only way to appreciate having your own career or owning your own business.

 Best advice you’ve received?

It’s something my dad once shared with me. Never place too much importance or your position in life on money, because once you get to where you think you want to be going, you’ll find that money loses it’s value.

 Last but not least, favorite vintage score: