Where My Passion Stems From
As a college student, there’s a lot of pressure on me to narrow down my interests and buckle down on a major. Everyday I imagine myself working a different job, but in the same industry -- the fashion industry. Most of these are related to the creative side of advertising or fashion editing. I love fashion, I always have and I can say that it’s in my blood.
When people ask me why I’m so interested in the fashion industry, I don’t know where to start. My mom embedded shopping skills into me when I was a little girl, and I’ve loved shopping my whole life. I would look forward to Sundays when my dad and younger brother would make nachos and watch football games so my mom and I could go to the mall. It’s more than just the excitement of buying new things that had me eager for these kinds of days. Shopping with my mom was a bonding experience, and she never limited me to one certain style. Even as a little girl, I had the freedom to choose my clothes. It was a learning experience, and a healthy thing to discover what I like and don’t like. Of course she had to approve, but she didn’t dictate everything I chose. A lot of my friends’ mothers would come home with clothes for them and just say, “Here you go”. But my mom never acted like that, and she helped to blossom a burning passion within me by doing so.
My family history plays a role in my love for fashion, too. When my dad and his siblings were young, their family owned a clothing store called Malliaros Co. in Lowell, Massachusetts. The store carried both menswear and women’s clothing, and was a hit while it was in business. My dad has a very stylish eye, and his upbringing most definitely has something to do with that. Throughout my life, he’s shared so many stories about the clothing store. In the basement of our house, we have vintage clothing racks, a sewing machine and a wooden sign from the store. I’ve been saying forever that someday when I have my own house, I want to hang up the sign. I mean that. It’s a very cool family history, and I’ve taken even more of an interest in it since my involvement in fashion.
(An advertisement circa 1960s from Malliaros Co. clothing store.)
Along with my dad, my Yiayia (his mother) and my aunt and uncle have always shared memories with me. Even strangers ask the question, “Are you related to the clothing store?” when I’m out with my family or friends. I’m at Syracuse now, but when I was home I worked at an ice cream stand in my hometown and many of my customers recognized me and would recall memories from “the store”. People would tell me stories about my Papou (my dad’s father) who I never had the pleasure of meeting, and those stories helped me feel as if I knew him well. I would be out to dinner with my family, and elderly men and women would talk to us and share their favorite stories about Malliaros Co. It’s a very special feeling knowing that my family has always had an interest in the subject I love most.
I wish I could’ve experienced the store in the 1960s, a style time period that I love. I imagine a setting like Mad Men, filled with all kinds of authentic American clothing and booming with social customers. I also wish that my ancestors who ran the store could’ve seen what I’m doing now with my love for fashion and style. Despite this, I feel a connection with each one of them through what I do each and every day.
Every blog post I write and every time I sit down to read Vogue or Harper’s Bazaar, I think about my mom and about my father’s side of the family. These experiences, stories and artifacts have helped shape me whether I’ve realized it or not. From the time I was a little girl, people have told me about the clothing store and my mom has taken me shopping. For me, fashion isn’t just a love of clothes, it’s a means of expression and it’s a family tradition in one way or another.
So as I sit here as an Advertising major and plan out my future career in fashion (or so I hope), I think of all the memories my mom and I have created and Malliaros Co., and how cool it must have really been. Both aspects of my life have come together in harmony to create and sustain my true love for fashion and my unique personal style. I will always savor these sweet stories and memories.
Thank you, Mom and Dad. xx, ZM
Along with my dad, my Yiayia (his mother) and my aunt and uncle have always shared memories with me. Even strangers ask the question, “Are you related to the clothing store?” when I’m out with my family or friends. I’m at Syracuse now, but when I was home I worked at an ice cream stand in my hometown and many of my customers recognized me and would recall memories from “the store”. People would tell me stories about my Papou (my dad’s father) who I never had the pleasure of meeting, and those stories helped me feel as if I knew him well. I would be out to dinner with my family, and elderly men and women would talk to us and share their favorite stories about Malliaros Co. It’s a very special feeling knowing that my family has always had an interest in the subject I love most.
I wish I could’ve experienced the store in the 1960s, a style time period that I love. I imagine a setting like Mad Men, filled with all kinds of authentic American clothing and booming with social customers. I also wish that my ancestors who ran the store could’ve seen what I’m doing now with my love for fashion and style. Despite this, I feel a connection with each one of them through what I do each and every day.
Every blog post I write and every time I sit down to read Vogue or Harper’s Bazaar, I think about my mom and about my father’s side of the family. These experiences, stories and artifacts have helped shape me whether I’ve realized it or not. From the time I was a little girl, people have told me about the clothing store and my mom has taken me shopping. For me, fashion isn’t just a love of clothes, it’s a means of expression and it’s a family tradition in one way or another.
So as I sit here as an Advertising major and plan out my future career in fashion (or so I hope), I think of all the memories my mom and I have created and Malliaros Co., and how cool it must have really been. Both aspects of my life have come together in harmony to create and sustain my true love for fashion and my unique personal style. I will always savor these sweet stories and memories.
Thank you, Mom and Dad. xx, ZM
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