The Dynamics- Latanya and Mia

Personal style to me means feeling cute, confident and comfortable at the same time. Confidence comes through in an outfit big-time and can make it or break it. Personal style to me is making things your own, knowing your body, adding personal touches, doing what you want to do. 

I was just talking to my friend the other day about how when you wear a matching bra and panty set you feel extra cute even though no one can see it, lol. When I get dressed for the day, I feel like it starts my day on the right foot. I feel put together, happy, pretty, and I try to take that energy throughout the day. But some comfy sweats, soft pajamas or a cozy sweater hit so right when you need it too.

I'm usually always happy or in a good mood. I love my job, love being home, love being with friends. I'm super happy when I'm on the dance floor hearing good music though. I love to dance and just escape the world through music. 

It's funny because I teach performing arts all day and can technically get away with being in workout clothes every day or sweats or any other clothes comfy to dance in. But I like getting dressed and being cute for work, so I typically am dancing in a dress with leggings or biker shorts under it. Or I wear sneakers with almost every outfit so at least my shoes are comfy.

I used to sing professionally full-time, but now I just sing every once in a while by joining friends onstage at their shows. When I get to perform, I love being able to wear statement pieces, big jewelry and just have fun getting dressed!

I started teaching dance while I was still in high school while I was also part of a show choir. Those two things set me up for what I would be doing for the rest of my life. After graduating from high school, I had a hard time figuring out how and where to sing. There are not a ton of outlets for young artists, but it didn't take long for me to start meeting local musicians and join multiple bands. Soon I started my own band and began my solo career as a singer-songwriter. My singing led me to a small label, which helped me spread my music through touring and selling merch. When I wasn't touring or performing, I was teaching singing and dancing at schools all over town. I was able to make my own schedule, but I was juggling a lot of balls, and being an artist is unfortunately not a stable career. At the height of my music career I started to go through a divorce. Let me tell you, being a single-mom singer is not an easy task. I turned my priorities around 180 degrees. I started singing on the side and teaching full-time. I was a founding faculty member of one of the first project-based learning charter schools in San Diego. I've spent the last 10 years building the confidence of my students, integrating the arts into multiple subjects and helping parents support their students. I love what I do so much.

I feel like I know my body well. I gravitate toward A-line dresses because they show my waistline. I also love long dresses because I'm tall and can get away with it. I always wear comfy shoes or dress down super-dressy stuff with sneakers or another comfy, relaxed shoe. I'm always dressing stuff down. The puffy dress I just thought was so cute, and then I wore plain white Vans with it. It doesn't show off the best parts of me, but I just love oversized stuff.

In fashion? I'm inspired by confident women. I love seeing people who are unapologetically themselves and it shows through their clothes. Usually those people are creatives, and I'm drawn to them as well. I'm also inspired by my daughter and how self-aware she is. She has always had a sense of style, and she is great at keeping with trends but making clothes her own. She's just the right amount of daring and doesn't take herself too seriously, but she also knows she is beautiful. She inspires me a ton. 

To me, personal style is the best way to set yourself apart from everyone. Obviously, there are people you get your inspiration from and trends, but everyone's style is slightly different. I also think that the way you dress can affect how you feel—and if you want to start over, changing your style is a good place to begin. 

I have a million different styles and aesthetics that I love to embody, so I like to treat my clothes as costumes and moods. If I feel very happy and flowy, I like to channel my inner Stevie Nicks and wear skirts or dresses and long jewelry. Or if I'm feeling lazy, I like to dress like a skater boy. I also feel that getting dressed and putting on a nice outfit brightens my mood. 

I feel my happiest when I'm around friends or potential new friends. I really love people and getting to know what people like and how they live life. I am just extremely fascinated with the way we work and look, which is why I love to capture moments of people when they look the most beautiful, and why I surround myself with people who are beautiful inside and out.

Right now I'm a musician, but in the future I want to have multiple creative jobs along with music. I think that appearance and the way someone dresses play a big part in whether or not people are interested in you and what you do. People are drawn to not only aesthetically pleasing things but things that are unique. I think every musician and artist has their own distinct style that is recognizable as theirs. I want mine to be known as ever changing. 

I'm right at the beginning of my career journey. I didn't decide that I wanted to pursue music as my main career until a little over two years ago. I also didn't start releasing music of my own until this year. So far, I'm very proud of myself, but I've known since I was a little kid that I was meant to be a part of something much bigger, so I know that I'm in for very dramatic and hopefully positive changes soon. I hope to be successful in music, photography, fashion, film and entrepreneurship. Starting my music journey is just the first domino on my career journey as a whole.

Right now, I'm very drawn to Western and cowboy-inspired fashion. Anything leather, brown, fringe, cow print, etc. That's what inspired the leather pants and pink collared shirt outfit. I am also just very drawn to specific pieces. It's hard to describe what I like, but when I see it, I know. The pink collared shirt and the leather dress applied to that type of thinking. I just saw them and really loved them, and when we put the outfits together, it was very apparent that I loved them way more than the other outfits. They were the standout outfits and the ones I felt most comfortable in, which is why I couldn't be happier we went with those for the shoot. 

I feel that my style gets reinvented every six months or so, as well as my inspirations. As of right now, I'm very inspired by '70s musicians as a whole in music and fashion, as well as Western and cowboy style. Some of my consistent inspirations are Enya Umanzor, who is a creator I've been a fan of since I was around 12 years old and who I believe influenced at least 60% of my generation's style, and my godmother Maria Arrington, who I owe 80% of my closet to, and has always been my go-to example of distinguishing yourself from other people through fashion. 

I'm looking forward to everything that has yet to come. I'm only 16, but I feel that I get hung up on what hasn't happened yet or where I am career wise. I forget that I'm in a good place and have a bright future. I know and have always known that I'm meant to share my thoughts and my art with the world, so I'm looking forward to the opportunity to do so.