Power Lady Posse

I’ve always been a girl who likes girls. In fact, I came out as a lesbian to my entire family when I was 13. And then when I finally hit puberty at the ripe old age of 17 I realized that I most definitely preferred making out with boys. And for the girls who have always been “the girl that gets along better with guys” – well, I’ve always been equal parts jealous and suspicious of those girls… until we become friends, that is.

So anyway, one of my favorite parts of Designer VACA is the amount of generosity, transparency, and friendship that is openly offered by a bunch of women who may or may not have at one time been the kind of girl who gets along better with guys. And instead of exchanging business cards we exchange ideas.

This was my third year to attend Designer VACA. And every year it feels more and more like summer camp for grown-ass bad-ass women with killer style. Actually, I never went to summer camp so I can’t really even compare it to that – but what I do know is every year towards the end of our pool-side time together we say things like “Oh my god, let’s get together before next year!” and “Oh my god, I love you so much! I miss you already!” and every year seems to roll by a little faster and we can never believe it’s been a year since we’ve reunited.

Towards the end of Designer VACA one of the new attendees commented on how cool it was to hang out with so many other women – technically competitors – she said that she realized finding her tribe is important. And she’s right. Because it’s not just about the work you create, the blogs you post, or the beautiful vignettes you share on Instagram. It’s about meaningful connection. It’s about friendship. It’s about creative women supporting each other to be our best selves– lifting each other up instead of dragging ourselves down by playing the comparison game – or worse tearing each other down with snark.

The opening night of Designer VACA Jessica Hische talked about her experience in LA vs. NYC – she said in NYC she was “one of the guys” busting her ass through the weekend. But that in LA there is a Power Lady Posse of women who are badass and pretty much refuse to work on the weekend. She said she’s all about the ladies these days. Me too, Jessica.

P.S. My friend Jane captured her experience at Designer VACA with loads of vulnerability and beauty in her post here.

And here is my new friend Kyla Roma’s take on Designer Vaca.