Street Style: Meet Reza Mohammadi of Barg Garments
When I first walked into Reza Mohammadi’s tailored clothing shop, BARG Garments on 108 N. Alfred Street, I felt like I was visiting a friend’s home. He was very polite, always smiling and brought me a cup of tea and some chocolates when we sat down to chat. He had emailed me a few weeks earlier, curious to know more about the small business community in Alexandria.
Street Style: Meet Melonie Johnson
Melonie Johnson is sitting on a bench outside Ada’s on the River. The morning fog has begun to lift and across the river we can clearly see the towering hotel at MGM National Harbor, where Melonie oversees all day-to-day operations as President and Chief Operating Officer.
Street Style: Meet Jade Kim Trusso of Nothing in Between
I asked her about the business she was opening in Old Town. Her confidence and calm was something that instantly put me at ease. As she shared her journey, she felt like one of my girlfriends – and we had just met. This was going to be her third location, she was already a seasoned entrepreneur. Even a slight delay here or there wasn’t going to stop her momentum.
Street Style: Meet Stephanie Woodland Kelly
“I’m not an extrovert, I had to develop it, I was the bookworm, the youngest in a big, boisterous family,” says Stephanie Woodland Kelly. “I have five brothers and a sister. When I got to college I had to learn how to develop those skills. I’m glad there were no mobile phones back then. The mistakes I made…it wasn’t a big deal.”
Street Style: Meet Ana Tkabladze
I first met Ana at an evening event at American in Paris. Her long, shiny black hair caught my eye and I enviously asked if it was naturally straight or if she had to blow dry, flatiron and put a ton of product in it like me. She smiled and said “blow dryer,” but I knew that she was just born lucky with great hair. When Renée and I arrived for her Street Style shoot, we knew she needed little direction, she carries herself with incredible style and grace.
Street Style: Meet Tristan Hayes Miller
When I ask Tristan what he’s really enjoyed learning about the jewelry business he says it's the mystery of estate jewelry. He says it’s one of the most popular and browsed upon cases – because everything inside is so unique. He also loves the possibilities that come with redesigning pieces and family heirlooms, so that future generations can wear a piece of their family history.
Street Style: Meet Suzanne Thibeault
I kept seeing Suzanne Thibeault’s face on social. She was in group shots on LinkedIn, at openings on Insta…in recaps of networking events. Who was this woman? Then I saw her in person. I felt like one of the cool kids when I was invited to a VIP party for the opening of Atlas Brew Works and Andy’s Pizza in Carlyle, and there she was. I introduced myself by sharing that she was my professional girl crush, because she was making moves. She was not freaked out.
Street Style: Meet Dr. Shara Posner
Shara has always had an entrepreneurial mindset. “You get out of school and think they’ll teach me how to run a business. But that doesn’t happen in the chiropractic industry…they make you their workhorse, and you just adjust clients, and don’t learn how to run things. There are people who can’t work for others and figure things out for themselves. That was me.”
Street Style: Meet Ally Kirkpatrick and Melissa LaSalle of Old Town Books
The first thing I notice as I walk into Old Town Books Junior is the tree. It is magical. Its leaves. Its trunk. The pillows strewn in front. “It’s the first thing I wanted,” says Ally Kirkpatrick. “I researched the tree before the store designer. I wanted a moment, a beautiful memorable thing. If I were a little kid, I’d remember the tree."
Street Style: Meet Vanessa Colina
Many know Vanessa for her illustrations; she launched Old Town Illustrated during the pandemic. “When I moved here in 2021, I was just walking around Old Town and my mom’s husband pointed at the black plaques on homes. He said it meant they held at least 100 years of history. I’m very visual, so I immediately began picturing them (the homes) as illustrations.”
Street Style: Meet Janel Dunegan
Janel is one of those women who just has a presence. Yes, she’s naturally beautiful, and I’ve seen her with hair up in a bun, clad in sweats and she still looks flawless (she’s my neighbor). It’s the energy she gives off, her openness; her eyes carry no judgment. She’s seen a lot, she’s experienced a lot, and it has given her tremendous empathy.
Meet Katherine Kramer: Founder and Headmaster of ACCA
“There just aren’t enough options,” said Katherine. “Christian schools and nondenominational schools are having a hard time. We are a classical program, low tech and we spend a lot of time outdoors. We have a gorgeous outdoor space to use…and we’re often outside building forts."
Street Style: Meet Hattie Dove
I must share that I've never seen Hattie – without Tiffani. They seem somewhat attached at the hip, not like Siamese twins, but in an endearing, “I got your back and if anyone messes with you, they’re messing with me” kind of way. They met at the University of Georgia in 2008, and became best friends and roommates. “And we’ve been roommates ever since,” says Hattie.
15 Years of fibre space: Danielle Romanetti Shares Her Top Moments
“It’s not the business I thought I was opening…it’s about three times the size of the business I started. And I never thought I’d own a building,” said Danielle Romanetti. When I ask her about the next 15 years, Danielle’s eyes pop open, ”I hadn’t thought about that…another 15 years?”
Street Style: Meet Holly Price
Holly steps out of Maria’s car and is rocking a kick-ass ensemble. Minutes later, she is literally stopping traffic. Renée has posed her across the double yellow lines on Royal Street, a few hundred feet from King Street. None of the cars I’m halting seem to mind; they’re taking in the scene of four women scrambling around the pavement in 90 degree heat.
Meet Photographer Renée C. Gage: The Navy Journey Brought Her Here
Renée signs everything “Shine Bright” and when you meet her, you’ll immediately grasp that because her energy puts you at ease. “I journal a lot…to find the light in myself, for my family, as a photographer I’m always looking for a light, and finding light, being the light.”
Street Style: Meet Emily Coccia
Emily always circles back to wanting to make people feel safe. Safe talking about taboo topics, safe finding products they need, and safe in sharing uncomfortable symptoms they may be too embarrassed to share with their partner or friends. That’s what’s so amazing about her – a woman passionate about making taboo topics not taboo.
Street Style: Meet Phillip Blane
“We’re surrounded by history, American history – not political history. In England, the local pub is part of your community, you walk in and you know people. I want that here. I love the walkability of Old Town, the character in the architecture. Sometimes I close my eyes and can almost hear the hooves clanking from horse-drawn carriages.”
Motherhood, Mayhem, and Murder: Christine Gunderson’s Friends With Secrets
The waiting, the rejection, the reward, it all taught her resilience. “We come to what we’re supposed to come to when we come to it. And you’re the best mother you can be with your child at the time when you’re a mother. We all have different circumstances.”
Meet Delia Sullivan: Writer, Yoga Teacher, Wellness Warrior
Delia shares this pearl, “You wouldn’t have wanted to choose what you went through, but what you went through is giving you the impetus to share and someone will resonate with some part of it.”