Local Fashion It Couple Stephany Mendia and Samuel Baker – Cincinnati Magazine

Occupation: SM: Social media strategist; SB: Program manager @stam.style

Style: SM: Eclectic Scandinavian streetwear; SB: Functional 1980s Brooklyn

How did you get into fashion?

SB: For me, it started out as an explorative thing. My style was very questionable for a while and leaned mostly into functionality. Growing up and getting to a place of financial and emotional security, there was an unfulfilled part of how I showed up in the world. I started to find fashion creators that look like me and could point me in the direction of how to think about fashion. Creators like @devanondeck were influential for me. I challenged myself to try and make a new outfit every day and that bred this creative side I hadn’t explored before. I can speak for us both in saying it didn’t really blossom into this until we added that component of supporting minority and women-owned businesses. Not only is it fun and self-explorative, but this is also kind of its own form of activism.

SM: I’m a first generation American. My parents are immigrants. How we show up in the world is important to them. They enabled me to pick what I like but also make it look good. I didn’t have that toddler phase where I was wearing red cowboy boots and a green coat or anything like that. Similar to Sam, once I had my own money and could make my own choices, infusing my creativity and personal style just became natural.

Can you tell me more about shopping from minority-owned brands?

SM: We like to shop small. That lends itself well to supporting businesses owned by minorities and women. We seek out indie brands and vintage resellers. It’s just important to us.

SB: I follow a lot of Korean designers, Black designers, Hispanic designers. They bring a unique take, especially the streetwear. They’ve driven streetwear since streetwear was a thing, so to see how they’re continuing to innovate is inspiring. Having an opportunity to use our money or platform to highlight those businesses is cool.

How do you influence each other’s style?

SM: I’m not competitive but I do think if he’s dressed, I want to be dressed, and Sam gets dressed every day. That’s a big part of it. We’re always trying to get each other to push another boundary. When he styles me, it’s something that I wouldn’t normally pick for myself, and that’s fun.

SB: Pushing each other to be adventurous and rid ourselves of what we think isn’t possible because of our bodies. There are things on our TikTok or Instagram that you couldn’t have paid me to wear five years ago. Being pushed in that way and seeing it also give other people confidence to do that is cool.

What is your favorite piece in your closet?

SB: My favorite piece is one from a local designer, Jet Black Vintage. He takes these beautiful vintage fabrics and makes these awesome jackets. I have three of his pieces and collectively they’re my favorite.

SM: Jet Black does those in collaboration with @daapgirlstudios. We have a couple of their pieces and we’re obsessed with them. They also do sewing workshops and that’s our next goal, to make our own clothes. Or at least be able to hem our clothes. I like my vests. I have a large collection. It started with one Halloween vest and it has spiraled out of control. I am buying vests all the time.

What do you think the future of fashion looks like?

SB: Hopefully a transition from big brands to smaller indie brands. Certain brands have gone from being indie to being more commonplace, like Big Bud Press. I would love to see more of that because smaller brands bring things to the table that are unique, and that’s hard to find nowadays. I think it’ll start as a quest for individuality, but then hopefully it turns into an actual desire to support smaller creatives. The other thing I would add is size inclusivity. I want to see that continue to become more widespread.

SM: Hopefully it’s more sustainable. We’re in a real cycle of micro-trends, but we’re starting to see a shift back into timeless pieces you can carry through multiple seasons. I think our generation and the younger generation care more about their closet being sustainable and lasting a long time.