I vowed about a year ago that my next blog attempt was going to be a SUCCESS. Typically, I'd get a few weeks into a blog, and out of sheer boredom, lack of writing material, and no audience, it slowly fizzled out.
NOT THIS TIME!
For the past year and a half (almost 2 years actually, man time flies when you drop out of college), I have been on the search for my ultimate purpose. Don't worry, I don't think my purpose on this planet is to be a fashion blogger; however I do feel like my knowledge and passion for fashion is a gift and I might as well run with it. I was originally pursuing a degree in Communication Studies, which proved to be a LOT too vague for me. Once I dropped out of college (I barely made it two years in the university of my hometown), my ultimate goal became finding my passion.
After making a job change from my glamourous life as a go-kart track attendant into the world of retail, I started to get comfortable with the idea of working with/around clothing. Unfortunately, my first retail job was at Kohl's, and let's just say their corporate way of doing things didn't rub me the right way. I like the idea of a small business, a more intimate atmosphere, where you actually get to connect with the customer on their potential purchases. Here is the important part of the story where my ever-growing love for vintage, thrifted, and second-hand clothing comes into play.
When I entered high school, I became obsessed with the idea of standing out. Looking around at the basic small town attire of my peers bored me, so I chose to stand out. Now, I am not saying by any means that my fashion choices were GOOD, but they were definitely BOLD and that's what I was going for. While everyone else was wearing the latest from American Eagle and Hollister, my friends and I were scouring the local Goodwill for little boys t-shirts and one-of-a-kind shoes and purses. I continued the rest of my high school career wearing mainly thrift store clothes and fine tuning my thrifting/searching skills, and making sure I left no rack unlooked. Somehow, I had managed to turn my awkward thrift finds into an actual style.
Through the years, I managed to collect not only a HUGE variety of clothing and accessories, but also decor for my home. Soon enough, I began running out of space in my closet, the closet down the hall, under my bed, the trunk of my car, etc. and I started to curb my collection of items. I vowed to keep the items most important to me but most were treasures I loved but had no need for personally. This would eventually lead to me giving away trash bags full of clothes to my friends. Once, I realized I really had a talent (or patience) to find these thrifted diamonds in the rough, I could see I was on to something. I began personalizing my thrifting trips a little more. Instead of just going in looking for any and everything, I kept my friends in mind, buying for them and ultimately less for myself. The possibility of vintage fashion/business being a career was becoming a real option
Now at 22 (on the verge of 23), I've finally gotten to the point where I'm ready to turn this passion into a career. I've been working at the second hand store Plato's Closet for about a year and a half now and have gained immense knowledge on owning a small business from the two best bosses I've ever had, hands down. My ultimate goal would be to own my own vintage and thrift store. While that dream is down the road in my future, I wanted to use this blog as a platform to share my finds, adventures, and love for fashion to those all over, rather than just my lucky, lucky friends *wink wink*
It is very rare to have a job you absolutely love, and I admire the fashion world for that reason. Everyone involved has such respect and love for what is, in my opinion, the greatest form of self expression. None of my other blog efforts have felt as natural and effortless as this and even though I'm just beginning (and it's been A LOT of work), I can't wait to see what this brings for me. The name of my blog is inspired by a gift from a friend of mine, a street sign saying REDHEAD DRIVE. This blog is proof (thus far) of my drive and ambition to pursue my career. Feel free to stop by uninvited and as often as you'd like because everyone is welcome on Redhead Drive!
Don't forget to check out my Polyvore page, Tumblr (redheaddrive.tumblr.com) and my personal twitter page @GeminiJohnson!!
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