To celebrate our 4th year in business, we wanted to take you back to the beginning! The Style That Binds Us is a mother daughter business founded in April 2018 by Personal Wardrobe Stylist, Alison Bruhn, & Delia Folk. Alison & Delia both grew up in Birmingham, AL and have both since made the leap to moving to The Big Apple! Delia started her career interning at Versace and working at Barneys New York on the buying team in beauty, ready-to-wear and jewelry. Get the inside scoop on how Delia broke into the fashion industry in this video.

Since Delia was trying to start a career in an industry in which she barely knew anyone or much about how it worked AND was in college, Alison helped out with her interview prep. During this process, Alison re-discovered her love of fashion and ended up studying Image Consulting at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and becoming a Wardrobe Stylist at age 50! She holds a Color certification from the Image Resource Center of New York.

While at FIT, Alison gained an understanding of the science behind dressing. She works with her styling clients to solve any & all issues they have and ensure their wardrobe fits their lifestyle. She formerly taught kindergarten, and is able to continue her education now by teaching women how to take the stress out of getting dressed.

When Delia began her career at Barneys on the buying team (DREAM JOB!!), she spent time learning about the stories behind each of her brands. She was surprised when she walked around the store & not one of those stories was told to her. Why would someone buy something from a brand they’ve never heard of over a well-known brand?! She felt fiercely loyal to her vendors as well as creatives & emerging brands, and wanted to help them with brand awareness and sales. This led to the industry interview part of The Style That Binds Us! When we find a brand we think you’ll love, we first make sure it meets all the criteria in our Style Standard. We then create a plan for how to introduce that brand to you across a variety of platforms (both visually & via audio) where you’ll get the meet the person behind the brand, hear why we love it & how to use the best product for you or style their pieces, etc. (*Get more information on where to find these interviews below)

When Delia left Barneys, she realized that one of her favorite parts about working there was discovering, launching, nurturing and growing emerging brands. She felt she had an immense amount of knowledge that she could share with brands about the successes & failures she’d seen throughout her time working at fashion‘s most highly esteemed department store. Therefore, she started consulting with brands to offer wholesale, marketing and direct-to-consumer strategies to help them build the brands of their dreams.

The Style That Binds Us is on a mission to ensure you live your most stylish & fearless life. We are excited to share the information, insights & access we’ve gained throughout our years working in the magical fashion industry. We can’t wait to introduce you to today’s hottest brands as well as share style secrets on our podcast, at our events (the designer is *always* present…aka no sip & shops!), on our blog, our YouTube channel, Instagram, and newsletter. If you’d like to come to NYC and experience a shopping trip curated just for you, we can help make that happen. We’re pulling back the curtain to the fashion industry and bringing YOU along with us!