Happy Holidays and greetings from Story Leather!   For this weeks Style Stories we wanted to explore what style means to you.  Last week got some insight from the ladies at Rack It Up, Alexandra and Briana, but this week get the chance to speak with Shaunya Hartley, the mind behind the amazing blog Shop, Eat & Sleep. In addition to bringing amazing content to her blog (fashion, food and life), she dabbles in acting, and has a vintage clothing line called “Vintage Shaun”, she also has a line saying “Vintage is the New Black”, she might be onto something. So here’s what Shaunya had to say when we interviewed her this week! 5 Questions For Shaunya 1) How did you get started blogging about fashion? I started blogging because I was getting a lot of inquiries on my three  favorite things shopping, eating and sleeping. I was recommending restaurants, giving out recipes, giving people the scoop on sample sales and I had this aha moment and decided to put all my recommendations on the web. I love it, I have learned a lot, so much about beauty, fashion etc and I also have come into my own as an authority on lifestyle.   2) What does personal style mean to you and how would you define yours?  Everyone has personal style, it is really about channeling it as well as defining it. For me, I have a core style but I am also about being practical and glamorous. I have a pretty physical job, and I live in New York City so I can't walk around in sky high heels but you won't catch me in a squishy sweatsuit and Velcro sneakers. If there is a key factor to my style is that  I'm a coat person, you will always find me in a statement coat rain or shine, I love a bold coat and I own over 30 plus coats.   3) What are three things people need to stop wearing now and start wearing instead. (Example: ditch the crop tops go with mullet dresses or forget dark coats, crisp white is the new classic but adventurous winter wear, something like that) There are more than three things I am tired of people wearing and that goes for guys and girls. I want people to stop being so trendy and trying to emulate celebrity trends. I want people to dress for the body they have now not the one they wish for. I want this whole poor punk dirty grimy look to halt as well.  I want people to buy better quality , throw away clothes is such a waste of money and you never get to really learn about your personal style when you are only buying trends to proclaim to the world how cool you are.   4) You recently blogged about your name and how people have trouble pronouncing it, do you think peoples names or nicknames play into the way they see themselves and how they create their personal style. For example, do you think a woman with a unique name is usually more bold then someone named Mary or something simple/plain? Most definitely, your name is your introduction into the world. Having an unusual game is an immediate conversation starter especially in the US. Being from NY unusual names are the norm, I can't tell you the last time I spoke to a Mary or a Jane but I know having a name like Shaunya, I had to grow into it. I use to want to shorten it for teachers and my parents were like no, do not shorten your name. As I got older I grew into it and honestly I don't find it to be that unusual it's not like Blue Ivy or North West you know?   5) Do you think race influences or plays a part in how an individual develops a unique personal style? If so how and how much? Maybe talk about your personal experience if you don’t want to get into generalizing too much (I know it’s a big complex topic!)…  Funny you ask that, I'm working on a book  Diary of an Overdressed Black Woman and it talks about the projections and thoughts about style, fashion and images both good and bad that I witness and have been subject to as a Black Woman. I've worked in fashion for over ten years and I've been a student of style for over thirty, I think mainstream commercial fashion is heavily influenced by subcultures and sideline minority groups and they take parts of other cultures, races and sort of whitewashes it and makes it cool. Also as a Black Woman I feel people are always in awe if you are stylish as if style is just for a certain race or class and we all know that great style has nothing to do with race or class. We loved talking to Shaunya and we enjoyed every bit of it, but something she said really stuck with us; “Everyone has personal style, it is really about channeling it as well as defining it”. This reminds us of a quote; “Be like the turtle, comfortable in its own shell”. Everyday we try to emulate ourselves through others, but why not create something you’re proud to wear and show off? As always have a great weekend, live life to the fullest, and tell us your story. To hear more from Shaunya and what she does just follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram. Find Jonathan on Google+