Episode 293: How Personal Style Shapes Who We Are | Olivia Ivey Bannock | OIB Styling & Co-Founder of Olivet
Olivia Ivey Bannock is a bridal stylist, entrepreneur, and creative director who’s reshaping the wedding industry one client at a time. In this episode, she and Kara talk about building a business from personal transformation, how the bridal experience is evolving, and what it means to show up authentically when your work is deeply personal. This episode explores creative entrepreneurship, modern branding, and owning your story.
“Powerful is giving yourself permission to go after the things that you want and never being fearful of timing, your age, and if something is too late. It’s never too late. ”
-
-
Follow along using the Transcript
Chapters:
(00:00:04) - Introduction to Olivia Ivey Bannock and Her Journey
(00:00:54) - Launching Olivet: The Luxury Garment Bag
(00:01:47) - Navigating Business Partnerships and Collaboration
(00:04:41) - Overcoming Childhood Challenges and Building Confidence
(00:11:29) - Fashion, Sustainability, and Personal Style
(00:19:39) - Self-Acceptance and the Pressure of the Fashion Industry
(00:56:09) - Defining What Powerful Means to Olivia
And I thought, Oh my God, what? You can't leave me here. You can't leave me in Toronto. I want a green bigger. And she was like, well, why don't you apply? And I was like, can I do that? Can I apply? Can I move to New York city? Is this a possibility? It just hadn't even crossed my mind that I could be doing that.
That's Olivia Bannick. I'm Kara Duffy, and this is the Powerful Ladies Podcast.
Welcome to the Powerful Ladies Podcast. Thank you so much, Kara. This has been a podcast that has been a long time coming. And I feel like we have so much to cover both about you and Olivette and all of the different things that are going on in your world. Let's begin by telling everyone your name, where you are in the world and what you're up to.
So my name is Olivia Ivey Bannock. I live in Los Angeles. I've been here for three years, but I was born and raised in Toronto, moved to New York a decade ago to attend Parsons and sort of step into the fashion world. I am now a full time stylist mostly in the bridal space. But I've started to onboard a couple of seasonal clients from past bridal experiences that are looking for some more tailored help. So yeah, my business is expanding, but I would call myself a fashion stylist.
And We've been working very hard for, I don't even know how long, two years? I know, it's kind of crazy. It really is. So, what have we been working on? What is, what are we ready to start telling people?
We are so excited. We are launching a company called Olivet and it is a luxury garment bag for women who are traveling when they're checking into a cute hotel so they don't have their husband, boyfriend, partner's ugly garment bag with their beautiful stuffed garments stuffed inside. We have our own. They're beautiful. They're luxurious. They're in luxury materials and they're great for bridesmaids.
They're great for brides as gifts and they're just really fun. And I think they're a great extension of myself and my brand as a stylist. Garment bags are just something that we always have with us, whether we're bringing them to a friend's wedding or if I have garments needing to be protected while I'm traveling in between client appointments.
But I'm really, really excited. I always joke that it's not a life saving product. But it's something that I love. And I know when I bring it up to my friends and my peers, everyone's like, Oh my gosh, I can't wait to get my hands on one. I just think that that's a great idea. And I'm excited to have something to to hold and to offer up to people. And I feel like you feel the same way.
Yeah, I mean, we've it's been so long and I think anyone who's launched a product based business knows that you go through different vendors and factories and prototypes and you know, we you and I both have standards for what we expect these products to look like.
Yes, and we kind of have been committed that we're going to wait until it meets those expectations before we were going to share them with the world because it speaks so much about your brand. In particular, my brand as well too, but like I'm just, I'm just in a different role. Like no one is currently coming to me going, Kara, what should I be wearing?
What is the style? What is the fashion? So there's a different level of, I think, pressure for it to meet your Brand aesthetics that are already existing than mine. It's like two totally different reasons why people call us with questions.
Right. But I feel like we're such a great blend of our skill sets. And I mean, we wouldn't have gone into business together if we didn't think this was a great fit. So I'm so excited. And I just can't wait to get this product out there. And I'm so glad we waited, you know, I think we were a little naive to think that this was going to be a walk in the park. It wasn't. It even involves food poisoning, like the stories are a little crazy but here we are finally in I feel like the final, the final, what is it like a hundred meter sprint to the finish line? We're almost there.
Well, and so I'd love to dive in a little bit about the partnership component because I'm always telling people. Yes, you should hire family. Yes, you should work with friends. Of course, that needs, in my opinion, a lot more boundaries and more contracts. Like, put it in writing so in the event shit does hit the fan, that you have something black and white to go back to that's non emotional.
It's also really important that there's great communication. So I tell people that this business was me breaking one of my cardinal rules, which is don't become a business partner with a client. Well, I have that effect on people.
But like you had, you came to me with this idea. We were working together on your styling business and. I, it just haunted me. Like I kept thinking about it. I'm like, it's such a good idea. I could see it. It was reactivating all of my past, you know, product, fashion, work experiences. And so I went to my coach and I said, I know I'm not supposed to do this.
I keep thinking about it. What should I do? And she, her feedback was like the simplest, almost dumbest question ever. She's like, just ask her what she thinks. And I was like, oh yeah, like maybe that's where we start. And I came to you and I was so excited that you said yes.
Well, I knew I couldn't do it on my own. I didn't have the skillset and the savviness and the organizational skills that you provide so many people and had provided me up to that point. So I just knew I had, I also love collaborating. I love a sounding board. I love a friend to talk to and bounce ideas off of. And we were already doing that in a, like more of like a. A way that I was like, I was meeting you. And now I was like, now I need you even more. And when you came to me, I was like, perfect. Yes. I would love to do this. Cause I also didn't think that I didn't know what my next step would be. I didn't know how I was going to realize this and, and bring it out into the world. But I knew if I had a partner to sort of lean on, then I could get the ball rolling and we did.
Yeah, and I'm just so I think I keep getting pleasantly shocked and surprised at each step of how our business relationship has expanded, how our personal one has, it's been like so nice and lovely and easy and Really in that cloud like we are I do feel like we are two people bringing two different skill sets that actually really honor and see the other person for what how incredible they are. And I've just been blown away because I also never met you in person until we went to Portugal to see a factory. Yeah, I know. I had known you I don't know, nine months at that point, maybe. Yeah, from the shoulders up. Yes, that's it. And the fact that I was like, all right, a yes to going into business with you, a yes to, you know, traveling the world. And I'm like, this is insane. Like, this is what everyone would probably tell you not to do going into business. Like, we didn't know each other that long. We had never met in person, like all these things. But it was just like, no, it feels like it's the right thing to do. How is that from your experience of like, Was it weird to you that we had never met in person before?
Not really, I I think I have really good gut intuition and I feel like I can really read people emotionally. I think I react honestly a lot on my emotions, but in like a way that I've learned to make sure that I'm like, I'm reacting in the right way and I'm not taking my emotions for granted or not internalizing them.
So no, I just, I thought it was just a beautiful, yes. I, you know, a lot of my business that I've. In the past three years, I've been growing my business from the ground up, and I started my business by just kind of taking a risk on myself and saying yes. You know, my first client came to me and was like, Oh, you know what?
I love your style. But I don't know if you like do styling. And I said, yeah. And I like word vomited a business plan to someone. And I was just saying yes. And it wasn't really necessarily like fake it till I make it. It was more so like say yes. And then give yourself time to figure it out and come up with a plan on how you're going to execute it.
And if you can't execute it, like come up with an alternative solution or pass the test. Pass it on to someone else who can fix it for them. So I think with this, it was like, okay, say yes. It's going to be great. And you know what? Like if we dove in and we were there in Portugal and we just didn't think that it was going to work, I think we would have happily just been like, you know what?
I actually don't think this is a great idea. We tried. We would have backed up. And then I would have gone back to being like, help me with my business. I'm here. I'm stuck in a corner.
Yeah. No, it's, it's. It's really been one of the, I value our friendship so much because it has been, I love what you said, like this beautiful yes of, I don't like how we even met was like through a referral from a friend.
Like it's so random. And I think that there are, So many ways in which we are so different and yet there are so many I think values that we share that makes this come together and work in a way that I don't think anyone else could replicate in the same way if they just did what we said to do because there's also so much of our personal experiences that have gotten us both here where Yeah, we would have the hard conversations.
We would talk about the things I was even joking with some of my girlfriends the other last week after we went to dinner. I was like, I asked Olivia what my glow up plan should be. And she told me my hair is too long. And one of my eyebrows was uneven. I needed that feedback.
Did I say that about your eyebrows? But it was just, you had penciled it in and one was shorter than the other. I didn't notice by the way, during the day, it was just when you asked me and I'm still Sitting across from you at your dinner and the lighting was really nice. I was like, okay, like, let me like look at you and analyze. I was like, okay, today your left eyebrow is shorter than your right eyebrow. But that was just an afternoon, but here you are. I will say the haircut looks phenomenal. We chatted this morning already on our business call and my mouth was just like. This is it. It looks so good. I, this is exactly what I was picturing for you. It looks fantastic.
Thank you. But like, this is you, we need these people in our lives who will be honest with us and who we trust because we get so much unsolicited feedback from people that we don't want it from.
No, it's so true. It's so true.
I want to go back to eight year old you. Oh gosh. Okay. So you're living in Toronto. Would you have imagined that you have this beautiful life that you have today?
Yes and no. You know, I, I had a really lovely Childhood. And I guess when you're eight, you're naive, right? You don't really know.
I had no idea what I wanted to do in my life, but I was having a lovely time as an eight year old with my siblings and, and, and enjoying my life. And I thought, you know, like this was great. I sure I think my life is going to be beautiful, but it was actually probably around that time when I was also really suffering in school and suffering from bad teachers and the format and as to which I was being educated.
So in terms of like my home life with my siblings and things, yes, I was great, but that is when I was. I seriously started to struggle with whether or not I was bright enough to be there because I had teachers basically no one, none of my teachers were rooting for me. I wasn't a troubled kid. I wasn't a bad kid.
I just, I didn't do my homework because I didn't understand my homework and I, I didn't really thrive. So, From that aspect, when people started to like break me down, that's when I got really cold feet about my future, or it was the start of cold feet being like, I don't know what I'm going to do because no one told me that I was bright enough to do anything.
Which knowing you now, I find absolutely insane.
Oh yeah. I had, I mean, even my mom remembers a teacher. When she came into a student or student parent teacher interview, and this teacher was particularly shorter than my mom, who's quite tall. And she said, I felt so small because he had his finger in my mom's face being like, your daughter doesn't work hard enough and she's not going to do great here or in the world.
And everyone's going, what kind of teacher are you? Whose fault is this? Anyways, that was one person I remember in particular. I'll never forget that.
So what, as you were growing up, what pivoted to the point where you got your confidence back?
You know what it started finally in high school. I you know what it, when I was in grade two even mm-Hmm.
actually more like grade five. It was the era of learning disability, learning disabilities were starting to. Be a part of a larger conversation. And so, you know, they offer you extended hours to take your tests or your exams, right. Extended time. So that was sort of the era that I was growing up in.
Like, it wasn't necessarily like labeled anything. Like I wasn't labeled with ADHD. I wasn't labeled with anything except for just like an umbrella learning disability of some kind. And really it was just. It was probably the method in which I was being taught and how I was supposed to be retaining information, which is no fault of any teachers either, because that was the curriculum that they were expected to teach in a certain format.
So I went to a couple of different schools and the last School I went to prior to high school, they even said, you know what? I don't think Olivia's gonna thrive here, academic, academically. I think she should leave. And then I was going, what is going on here? Like what? Mm-Hmm, . Where is the support? I mean, she's trying, she's trying at home, we're doing what we can.
You know, I had extra studying after school and I really didn't like teachers. But I eventually went to a. Boarding school, which sounds like I was sent away. I actually sent myself. I love the concept even though I hated school I love the concept of sleeping at a school for some reason and I went to a boarding school in canada called trinity college school and I Really found my strides because they, you had to do a sport every semester or an art.
It was just a really like all encompassing school. And I just had, they just really push you to, to be yourself. So I might not have been thriving in one school, one academic, but I was thriving in sports and I was thriving, thriving in leadership capabilities. And because you live at a school, you just have supportive teachers that sort of like. whole as parents or become parents. So there, I don't know, there was something really beautiful about people watching out for me from morning till night and being like, you're great. You can do this. Like, I'm going to help you with your homework because my teachers were also the ones that were like, there at the, at the end of the day to help you with your homework too.
So that was probably one of the big things. And then eventually going back to school, eventually moving to New York city and going to Parsons was also where I really found my all. And that's crazy. Cause that was really when I was 25. So that was years later, nearly a decade later.
But to your point, people learn in so many different ways. And the idea that the only method of learning is to read and memorize and regurgitate is one so boring and it shows none of your creative or life skills or just the ability to put things together. It's, it's so slim in how things are taught. No one meeting you today would ever think anything other than whatever Olivia is doing, we should support it, invest in it, and be a yes.
And the fact that you had teachers as a young child who are telling you the exact opposite, I can feel horns coming out of my head.
I know. And you know what? It's like, it's There's a forgiveness aspect to it because they probably didn't know any better. It was just, it was the 90s, you know, a different time for education.
It's funny because I was never a great, great at math, but when I went to Parsons and I had to do merchandising math, I mean, I was, I certainly didn't get a plus across the board, but I got. I got A's and I was doing very well. And all of a sudden my math skills came to me, but maybe it's because I was doing it in a bubble of fashion.
That's something that really spoke to me. It's just the approach. It's just the way that you learn. So if there's something that you find that isn't resonating with you on a certain way, like Why don't you put it into a different scenario and have it resonate with you in a different light because maybe it'll stick.
Well, and you'll laugh because in my, in business school, the class I hated the most and got the worst grades in, Operations. Ah! I know. Like, all A's in marketing, all A's in business strategy, everything else, even accounting, I got A's in. But business operations, I'm like, this is so fucking dumb. Who cares about this factory process, FIFO, LIFO, whatever it is.
Like this is, it was, but it wasn't applying to anything that made sense to me or I cared about. I was like, I never want to work in a factory, granted, I have now worked in many factories, but. Right, and you're head of our operations for our company, so yes, there you go, you never know, but it's so different when you when I realized that operations was just like project managing all the things to make it like it's such a different perspective than plotting the optimization of a factory floor and.
The fact that that's how it was taught to me, it's, again, it just strikes me as dumb. It's same with like Excel. I hated anything having, like when I was being taught how to use Excel, I was like, this is so dumb. I'm never going to use this. Meanwhile, I use it every day, but they were having us do problems that had no relevance to our lives whatsoever.
So right. You don't care about the outcome. You don't know what X is. It's, there's a whole different way to do it. So anyway, all right, I want to come back to you and being the most glamorous person I know. When did you start to care about fashion, beauty, style?
I have always cared about fashion and beauty sort of like comes along with it, I guess.
From a young age, I just have always, I always remember when we were traveling, when we were young, my mom and my sister and I would go buy magazines for the flight. So I'd buy like my Vogue and even like my, us weekly, you know, when this was pre Instagram. So that was like everyone's new source, I guess.
And I. I even remember decorating my boarding school room with like every single page of Vogue, just like ripping them out, floor to ceiling, images that I, that I love and I still love and resonate with. Certain magazine covers I still just have like glued into my mind. That's like something that I thought was like so amazing.
So it's always just been something that I love, but it was never something that I thought I was going to necessarily. I actually wanted to be an actor at first. That was one of the classes that I always did very well and was drama. And I, in my senior year in high school, I was in our musical and a really fun comedic role.
And. So I went to university for drama, I ended up pivoting and going to Parsons, honestly, because of a, of a friend I, I dropped out of my program, honestly, I was sick, I had like mono, I realized in the last semester of my second year of university, I was very, very, very sick, and I, it had drained on my, I had a It had really hurt my mental health at the same time, cause I just didn't know what was going on.
And I said, told my parents, I was like, you know what, I'm going to take a year off. Something's something's not working. My year off ended up turning into a year and a half. But at that point I had gotten a job through a friend working for an online sort of magazine, if you will, called the cover tour that was based out of Toronto that quickly switched into a different role at an e commerce company that eventually led to me being.
In a styling position there with an intern who I know this is a bit of a long winded story who had just come back from New York and had done one year at Parsons. We became really fast friends. She's actually one of my best friends. I was just visiting her this weekend in San Francisco. And she decided after her very short time in Toronto, she was like, you know what?
I'm actually going to go back to New York. I actually want to go back to Parsons. And I thought, Oh my God. What? You can't leave me here. You can't leave me in Toronto. First of all, we just became really good friends. Secondly, I'm like stuck in working at this e commerce company that I'm not enjoying. I want to dream bigger.
And she was like, well, why don't you apply? And I was like, can I do that? Can I apply? Can I move to New York city? Is this a possibility? It just hadn't even crossed my mind that I could be doing that. And so I did and I got in and the next thing you know, I was driving a giant U Haul across the border with all of my stuff and drove right up to my East Village apartment that I'm now sharing with my best friend and my whole life just picked up from there, which was crazy.
It's incredible that she just had to give you permission to be like, yeah, come.
I know it was really crazy. She actually jokes. It was the only, her only purpose of being in Toronto in her life was to like, come pick me up and meet me and bring me to New York city. Cause she's like, what was I doing in Toronto?
I have no idea, but I'm so grateful because it literally. Pushed me on a completely different path. And now I was fully starting to study something that I had always loved, but didn't know I could make my career. I met my, a boyfriend, which is now my husband within three months of me moving there.
And yeah, my whole life just got turned upside down and in the best way possible. So I'm forever grateful to my friend for, for making me see the light and and move to New York, move to the States.
I love the idea of who are the people that we've picked up along the way and maybe not acknowledged that we moved them from where they should have been.
I know there's always little pockets of advice that people give that sit with you for so long and they can be super profound and super life changing. When
I was at Puma and they were promoting me from working on the kids. Category is to moving into motorsports. I had done so much work in that category and involved it so much.
And the idea of replacing myself felt really daunting. And I remember there was one person that they wanted to hire. And I was like, that's not the right person. Like, I don't I just know it's not the right one. And I was. Like I brought to tears thinking that this person like I didn't trust them with the category So we kept fighting and pushing and interviewing for other people And I finally found that person where I felt okay, I can give this category to you She's still one of my dear friends And today she's the chief product officer for the whole company.
Wow, and that's amazing bananas to me it's like You know like We could have picked so many other people and who knows, maybe we should have gotten there anyway through a different path. Yeah. But yeah, I'm going to go back and do a little exercise to see who else, who else's life have I like shot into a different direction because we need to acknowledge ourselves for those impacts that we have.
Oh, yeah. Can you think of someone that you've done that for?
You know, I, yes, my most recent intern, actually. She worked for me for a year and she came from a government position in Canada and she reached out. We're the same age when I was posting on my Instagram that I was looking for help. And I'm 35. She's 34. And I, I saw her resume come in. I saw her, her information come up and I read it and I was like, you know what, she's overqualified in my head.
I said that only based on her age, but for some reason, I just kind of felt a calling to talk to her. So I did. And she said, listen, like, I. I'm desperate to get out of the role that I'm in and do something creative. And she goes, I know that you're, this is like an unpaid internship at the moment. I'm happy to not take a dollar.
I just need to be doing something creative and challenging what my current situation is and finding something passionate or something of interest and that I'm passionate about. And I remembered previously I had interviewed for a role at a women's brand in New York city to be a. As in a stylist position that I really wanted and they told me I had worked so hard on this project and they, they were so blown away from it, from what I gathered, they were like asking me like, wow, where did you find this piece?
Where did you find that piece? And I was like, oh, you know, on the, in the darkest holes of Etsy, you know, I really got into this project. And at the end of the day, they're like, I just think you're too overqualified for this. And I was like, what? Like, I want this. Like, I'll take it. I'll take the, I'll take the pay cut.
Like, this is what I want. I think I can be amazing here. And I didn't get it. And I was so bummed. And I thought, you know what, I'm going to offer her this position because a she's 34. So I don't really have to manage expectations about like the quality of the work. I think that there'll be some training in terms of like the creative process that maybe she's not used to, but I was really willing to put in that work.
But in terms of like, Expectations of like when things needed to get done, I knew she would do it. I mean, she was in the government position, their timelines, deadlines, everything. And when she came on, I said, listen, I can't promise you a paycheck right now. Maybe I can promise you a little bit of money at one point, but like you tell me where you want to end up.
I will share with you all my connections and I will get you a job eventually. And within Toronto, there's not a lot of fashion, but the number one like big luxury brand is bolt red crew our canadian department store And she thought you know, that would be the mecca for me and I was like great. I have people there I know people keep your eye out on linkedin for a job and in the meantime, I will train you She worked for me for pretty much a year And I just brought her on to every project I could.
I flew her out to LA for a couple of projects and I really taught her everything that I thought would be important for a role within fashion. And recently, up until our year mark, There was finally a position open at Holtz. I emailed my contacts there that I knew and she interviewed and I just wrote her like an amazing letter or on, on her behalf.
And I said, you know what? She only has me within fashion on this resume. Take the risk that I did because it wasn't a risk at all. It was the best hire and position I made and she got the job and now she's working up in a senior role at Holt Red Group. Wow. Yeah. So that was a big one. And I'm thrilled.
Maybe not senior role, but she's in there working for the senior people and I'm thrilled about it.
How does it feel to be a guardian angel?
I mean, that's like a big like halo to be wearing. I wouldn't be, I wouldn't necessarily call myself a guardian angel, but I'm very, very proud that like, I couldn't necessarily promise her like the financial aspect of it. Cause I, I'm still two years, three years into my business, but I'm so glad I kept my promise.
So I know everyone listening is going to want to get some styling tips from you. And if I think about myself and you and I've had the conversation about the glow up that both of us are working on right now.
Yeah. I came from a place that was working in fashion, but more street wear. So I feel very comfortable. With with denim, with sneakers, with like things that fit into that space, coats, like there are certain categories that I feel excited to shop for and know exactly what I like. And it doesn't really matter what the trends are.
Like, I'm very clear on my particular style in those spaces. And then there's other parts because I avoided high end fashion for most of my career. Partly because of my initial experiences at Victoria's Secret where I didn't want to have to be in that. It was exactly like what you'd expect walking into a fashion brand.
All women. Nobody was eating. Everybody was pretty like bitchy and competitive to each other. And I'm like, this is so dumb. This is supposed to be a dream industry. I've wanted to work in this space for so long. This should be fun. We're like making things and talking about colors and materials and trends.
And it was such a nightmare. I was like, there's no way I want to work in fashion. And then I ended up in footwear, which was because you can't starve yourself to wear shoes. It changes the entire dynamic. But so, and then as, as it's gone on, obviously I was doing all the research and ended a lot more plus living in Europe and cities, I think changed like what you got access to.
So it made sense. We were traveling the world, doing trend things. And since I've gotten into working from home, working for myself, I feel like my style has like flatlined where I won barely go shopping anymore because I'm either too busy or I'm I'm like, Oh, instead of buying clothes, let's up level our website.
Like I'm making all these choices that are not about protecting me as a person. And then I feel like there's been such a shift, especially in the past 10 years about where to find the things that are really inspiring. There's. It's not gatekeeping. It's just goes down these very narrow lanes of I'm always asking my friends.
Where are you actually finding inspiration? Where are you actually finding clothes that feel unique, that feel you, that get you excited? And of course, those websites are changing all the time or the sub stacks or whatever people are using. So how are you staying relevant to the things that you care about?
And how much work are you doing on research?
So I am embarrassingly on my phone a lot, but I am always on Instagram and TikTok at, which is very trend. focus, I will say, but I'm always so inspired by my peers and my friends. So yes, I am always researching. I'm very organized on the back end of my Instagram with like buckets of like street style, shoes, bags, and I'm saving things that I'm inspired by.
And that aren't necessarily like trend focused. I also use Pinterest quite heavily. And even when I'm walking down the street and I like someone's outfit, like maybe snap a little quiet photo or just ask them flatly for an image or a photo rather, but I, when I'm working with an individual, it's very different than me just like saving images and.
And pinning things on Pinterest, working with a client, you have to dive a little deeper to understand who they are and who their needs are because everybody is different. Every person has a different budget. Everyone has an expectation of like how they look. And also people have to, people adapt to their environment.
So I moved to LA and like you're saying, like, I actually don't dress up as much anymore at all. I haven't worn this blazer in a minute, but on your podcast, I whipped it out. And so you're, first of all, always forgive yourself. Like, it's okay to be wearing less fancy clothes if that's what your life is like.
I mean, I have a closet full of New York based attire that are currently collecting dust, but I'm going to find a way to wear it eventually. It's okay to adapt and be more comfortable from time to time. So just like start there, forgive yourself. But if you're looking to like level up your closet, start by pulling out the things that like bring you the most joy.
Right? So pull out all of the things that maybe it's your yes pile. It's your bread and butter, right? Like what are the things that you wear all of the time that Represent who you are and those can still be sweatpants, right? Like but that shows me your comfort level or it shows you rather your comfort level.
It shows you your color palette It shows you the fabrics that you like to wear and then Maybe the fun pieces that like you're most proud of like I have a couple things that I don't necessarily wear all the time But I still love it's like this vintage Jean Paul Gaultier blazer. I feel like it It literally screams who I am and You There's a lot of information in that yes pile and your fun pile of who you are.
So when you're shopping for yourself, does, do these pieces fit into those yes piles? When you buy something new, I actually just posted a video on, on Instagram. I bought these new Navy cords that I found that I love that I've wanted for a really long time. For some reason I've had been fixated on Navy cords and I came home and I made a video of like three ways.
That these cords fit into my closet, not necessarily three ways. I would style them. It's like three reasons why I should keep these cords. One outfit that was work appropriate, one outfit that was evening appropriate. And then one outfit that I could wear on the weekend. And I was like, great. And you know, I do, I take photos of myself in those outfits and I store them in a little pile of photos of like outfits to wear for like a rainy day.
So when you're feeling uninspired and you need to get dressed, that's how I. That's how I find those. That's something you can do for yourself too, is find a piece. If it excites you, bring it home. Can you style it out? Yes. Right. If not, just return it. It doesn't have to live there. You don't have to like punish yourself for keeping those pieces.
So that's some of my approach. It doesn't really answer the question necessarily, but to start, I think.
Well, and, and so I hear you're doing a lot of following friends. You're, you're following other people whose style you like. You're, are there certain brands or websites that you shop regularly or?
Yeah, I feel like they're bringing the best things to the market.
Yes, but I want to answer this in a way That i'm not how I shop is very different from how I All my clients shop. So for me, I Really enjoy luxury fashion I'm trying to invest in pieces that might have a higher price point so that they last longer in my closet especially now that i'm in my 30s, I feel like You So much.
I'm often in my stuff was just like stuff to fill a short term rush. And then they just sat in my closet and I didn't wear them. So now I'm really at this point that I'm like, okay, like, I have a really fabulous closet of like amazing pieces. I need to start investing in quality. So I shop honestly a lot on my Teresa.
They just bought Nana Porter. So that's a really big deal. So a lot of Eyes are on my Teresa right now. I also still love the real, real, because it's a lot. I know there's a lot of like issues with it. People have their thoughts to say on it, but I still really love it because I'm looking, these are what are considered luxury pieces that are being resold.
So the quality should still be there. They're also at like a lower price point sometimes. So you can find amazing things. I like to manifest things. So like, Oh my God, this dress, I've been obsessed with it for so long. And then it appears on the real, real. And you're like, yes, we got it added to my closet.
And then recently, actually this past weekend, I was in San Francisco and my girlfriend took me to a sort of like outdoor mall where there was a lot of great brands and I hadn't gone shopping in person in so long. But I forgot how amazing it was to just go in and touch and feel and see and try.
So I think I'm going to start doing that more. I think I'm going to start going back into stores, not even to necessarily try things on, but to really see what the product is like and understand it, especially when it comes back to my clients, I want to make sure that I'm giving them the best of the best in terms of like what they're asking for.
So again, it doesn't necessarily answer your question because I feel like sometimes I'm looking in like a big luxury space, but. It's client dependent, too, how I, how I source for people.
Mm hmm. Well, and I think something that all the stylists that I have as clients or friends, there are these stylist tips that I think are so powerful, and I wish all of you would share them more often of the foundational things that you always have on hand.
So. Thank you. Even just having a black and a white bodysuit always on hand. It can fix almost any outfit, as needed. Like, and You've done some great videos about belts and why you're choosing different ones and the one that you have in six colors, which I think is amazing. Cause I'm one of those people who gets so mad when I wear something out or it doesn't last the way I want to, because I'm such a keeper.
Like if I like that shirt, that jacket, I want to have it forever. And yeah. The idea of replacing it is exhausting. So I like actually have a belt that I got when Brit helped me for my photo shoot a couple years ago And it's starting to wear out already and I'm like this Is bs because this was an expensive high quality belt and the fact that it's starting to not look great anymore I'm already mad and it's been two years So I don't know what the belt life cycle is supposed to be.
Do you wear that belt the most? Oh, for sure. Yeah.
Well, sometimes it is just wear and tear, but it should last a long time in your closet. It's true. But that's when you buy them in six different colors. Yes. My, I think my style tip is actually wear the clothes that you have, you know, I might be, I'm a stylist, but I, and I'm not a salesperson.
Okay. I think that's something that I'm, I'm very clear on. I actually, a few years ago, there was a stylist who was creating this like stylist platform and she really wanted to poach me and bring me on and, and I would work for her. And I just had my guard up. I wasn't really sure about it. And I said, well, like, how do you clean out your clients?
It's like, what's your approach? And she was like, well, what do you mean? I'm sure it's the same as you. And I was like, I don't think it is. She was like, well, I go and I take out everything that is like no longer in style. And I show them everything that is. And I was like, that is not my approach at all. I would never just go into someone's closet and just start taking out things that I thought weren't in Vogue anymore.
Because what if I'm removing their favorite shirt? What if it's like their favorite jacket? I mean, who am I to tell them that they can't wear that if it brings them so much joy? Wear the things that you love. And as a stylist, I just need to find pieces that work with that favorite jacket to give them the confidence to create a cool outfit.
When I do client closet clean out, say that five times fast. What I try to do is I go in, I go through their closet, I go through their piles of clothes, a yes, a yes pile, a no pile that they just kind of donate, that should be easy, and then there's always a gun, I don't know how to wear you pile, like maybe there's still tags, maybe there's one outfit you can think of that to put together maybe you're unsure if it's in a yes, no pile, that's my favorite pile to work with, because I try to pull life back into those pieces, and create three looks per item back into their yes pile, File.
By the time I'm done, I generally can make like 25 plus looks in just like a matter of a couple of hours. I've had almost every single person tell me that they feel like they don't need to shop. And I'm like, that's great job done. Just because I'm a stylist does not mean I'm trying to push more clothes.
Like, yes, that's great. If you want to buy more things, that's great. Do I make a commission? Of course I do. That's just, that's what my career is. But if you have a closet full of clothes, like you don't necessarily need to go out and replace them. Find ways to style the pieces in your closet first. And then fill in the gaps of the things that you're missing.
These exercises that I do with my clients are super powerful because it also helps you visualize like, okay, like actually we don't have a belt here. Right. A belt would be really great. Or we don't have a really nice tailored blazer. We have one only that's cropped or maybe like a different style here would be really nice.
Then you can make a shopping list. of the things that you're looking to identify to add to your closet. And you can also do that seasonally too. So that's sort of like my little bread and butter thing. It's not necessarily like a bodysuit or a good pair of jeans, which I feel like everyone should obviously have in their closet.
Mine is like, wear the clothes in your closet first. Don't go impulse and buy something just for the sake of doing it.
Well, and that brings up some areas of The fashion world that have been controversial. So the first one, of course, is sustainability. How are you thinking about sustainability with for yourself, for your clients, and just how you do your job in general?
For my clients? Well, I really just spoke on that, which is Wear your clothes in your closet and shop your closet first That's number one because we have a closet full of clothes even now more most recently. I've been trying really hard not to Spend it's hard when you're on a platform where everyone's like, what are you wearing?
What are you wearing? What are you wearing? Is it new I'm like no this jacket is that I'm wearing right now I probably got it at a sample sale in New York and Probably in 2016 or earlier. And I love it and I keep it and I wear it and I take good care of it. And then in terms of, oh God, wait, what was the original question?
Just sustainability. Like how are you incorporating that in?
Okay. So yes. Wearing the clothes that I wear. Especially now that I've moved to Los Angeles and my life is just different. It's slower. It's not necessarily like a street style moment every day that like New York sort of provides. I'm really trying to think about, okay, quality pieces that last a long time.
I also don't go out as much anymore. So that makes it my life a lot easier too. What are the brands that are making top quality pieces? What are pieces that are flattering and not trendy that I can invest in that will make sense in my closet. And I also, this isn't necessarily like sustainable, but if you're wondering how to do that, monochromatic dressing is like super.
luxurious. It looks super luxurious. It can be Zara monochromatic, right? And monochromatic means one color head to toe. I just think it looks really tailored. It looks really polished. So if you have a pair of pants in your wardrobe and you only have like a white t shirt to style it with, and you are looking to invest in something, which is not obviously sustainable.
Something sustainable would be wearing what you already have in your closet, but find a sweater to wear back to the pants or buy a top to wear back to the pants to add that color to your wardrobe. Then you also have that in going forward in the future to wear with other outfits as well. But yeah, I mean, fashion, no matter what is going to be wasteful.
It, I mean, the packages that you get at the door, it kind of like makes you sick, but there are. You just have to be really mindful of your spending. And unfortunately you just have to be willing to do returns, which is also wasteful with the amount of like cardboard and tape and everything. But I guess shopping in person also helps.
We all bring bags. Like bags to the farmer's market, reusable bags. Why not bring reusable bags when you're shopping in store?
Well, and for someone who is working in fashion the way you are, I know that I, and I think Rebecca have also commented on, your closet is way smaller than we thought it would be.
Yes, I mean, it's definitely larger than like the average person's, but but I think people expect me to have this like ginormous, Huge space. And everyone walks in and they're like, well, where's Jack's stuff? I'm like, Jack's stuff is right here. My husband, like we share the same closet. I didn't want to kick him out of it.
I, I really edit, I, I donate my clothes, I sell them back on the RealReal, I'm very mindful of like how I'm getting rid of things, I definitely don't just like put things in the garbage. But yeah, I, I, I definitely have like edited down what it is that I have and you know, my mom's done a really good job of that.
I'm probably influenced by my mom's. Work on her closet. She rarely buys things anymore, which almost drives me insane because I have nowhere to go. I can't buy a new sweater. I'm like, okay, that's fine. But my mom has had all of her sweaters in her closet for like 20, 30 years and she wears all of her clothes very, very well.
The other part of the fashion world that can be controversial, I spoken a little bit earlier, but the pressure to stay a certain size and to look a certain way to be part of the community, what have you seen firsthand yourself? And what are you doing to make sure that You have a healthy relationship with yourself and this industry.
Oh my God. I'll be very transparent here. It is an ongoing battle in my head about that because there are certain weeks that I feel terrible and my clothes aren't fitting the way I want them to. And I mean, we are our own worst enemy. And I, and I'm so public on my TikTok and my Instagram and I'm convinced everyone can see like the pimple on my forehead or like that my jeans are tighter or it's, it's difficult.
The one thing that maybe people do see is like my confidence resides, right? I do less content when I'm not feeling my best. But there's just, there's just, like, life is full of shit that happens. And it's not necessarily, like, changes in your body can be reflective of, like, what's going on in your life.
You know, like, I had a really, really tough start to my fall. I had, I had two friends funerals to attend and it really weighed on my mental health and it weighed on my the way I was exercising and showing up for myself. And then it, it triggers into how you think your content is delivering. I don't know if I necessarily have the answer for it, but I certainly know that my husband in particular says that I need to be far more forgiving on myself because he's like, you don't look any different to me.
And those words can always. Be so fleeting when someone's so close to you, you're like, I want you to tell me that I look bad. You know, like tell me that I'm crazy or like, don't tell me that I'm crazy. Like agree with me. But he's, I mean, who's ever going to agree with you when you say that it's true, like, just take the time to look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself.
Like you look beautiful every day, even if you don't like it, you know, you know, sometimes you argue with someone that you love and you're like, I love you and you're like, I love you right through gritted teeth. It's the same thing. You got to do it with yourself. Look in the mirror, tell yourself you look fabulous.
There's something that you. I don't know. Like, maybe it's like, go get a blowout, you know, go get your nails done. Like, like right now I've chewed all my nails off and it's bothering me. You know, I'm just going to go get my nails done this weekend and just do little things that can give you a little bit of your pet back in your step.
But at the end of the day, people just want you to be authentic and be yourself and show up. So don't punish yourself. And these are words that I should be telling myself in my near after this, like, don't punish yourself if you're not feeling your best.
And I also know that you have a whole fridge full of supplements and you're taking your vitamins. Oh yeah. You're a G1 and you're going for your walks and you're, you know, we were, we're talking about our 2025 schedule and I'm like, Hey. Can I move our recurring meetings so I can do some other things? And you're like, yeah, but only if it's at 10. I'm not giving up my Monday morning class, walk, et cetera.
And I'm like, okay, perfect. That's how it should be.
Yeah, I actually, my Mondays are so different than the rest of the week. I call them myself. Slow Mondays, Mondays, when I was in New York, it was like, wake up at six, like hit the ground running, like run on the treadmill for 30 minutes, like do the Pilates.
It was just so intense. And then Los Angeles is just like lower. It's lovely. And I travel a lot. My husband travels a lot. And Mondays when we're here, it's like, okay, I'm going to give myself that extra, like 30 minutes, 40 minutes to like lie in bed because sometimes weekends can be really more exhausting than the work week.
And we wake up and we do the same thing. We go on a nice walk along the beach with our coffee. We talk about our goals for the week. We talk about, we have our best conversations on Monday mornings. And sometimes we talk about like what we want to manifest. Jack used to think that was ridiculous until I was said, just ask for a free coffee from like the universe.
And that week you got a free coffee and he was like, this is crazy. I was like, yeah, it works. It's like very small. You can ask for a lot. Bye. Bye. Bye. So I, I love that. Like my Mondays are like my sacred start to my week. I don't really like meditate or do much like that, but that is something that's like a ritual that I really, really love.
And I, I just want to keep that because my Mondays I need to start slow and then I can like kick, kick off and sprint from there.
So how are you guys balancing your relationship and your businesses and finding ways to prioritize you guys in addition to the Monday walk?
Yeah, I can't answer this without telling everyone a little bit about my husband's health journey because I think that's a really big part of it. I'll start with like the, the end, which is like, he is doing very well and he's very healthy and happy again.
We're in like the best spot and like his health is above all else at its best right now. So in 2022, six months after we got married, my husband had a stroke, which was just the most earth shattering situation. And it's a very long story, but the short story is we never found out exactly what caused it.
There was no necessarily like rhyme or reason, but we think a lot of it had to do with like lifestyle and balance. He had just, we had just moved to Los Angeles for this company that he was starting with his brothers. And I mean, in a startup phase, we just really got to like, Pound the pavement. And I think he was pounding the pavement a little too hard.
Long hours, early mornings, late nights. And we also were just in a new city. So we're like going out a lot and socializing and drinking. And our whole life got sort of like turned upside down a lot. And when he was in a hospital recovering, he was very, very reflective on our, on our life. And since then we have just He's like the best duo and he realized how important it was to come home and disconnect from the office.
And I mean, he's still like going, he's still the first person in the office at his own company. And he stays, I mean, he stays New York hours late, which is like later for LA than most people. I think most people like work at nine to five and then try to run home. But Jack comes home and it's quality time.
That we spend with the two of us those Monday morning walks again are where we talk. We share information about each other's work and we talk about our lives, what we're planning for. It's just, we've both seen our own perspectives shift to focus on our family as like our own little business unit and like what we can do to improve it.
It's just making sure that the like quality time together is like truly quality time.
Well, that makes me want to pivot to some of the core questions we ask everybody, which is what is powerful mean to you?
Powerful is giving yourself permission to go after the things that you want. And never being fearful of timing and your age.
And if something is too late, you know, I went to Parsons when I was 25 to finish the BA that I had never started or what, sorry to finish the BA that I had started in Canada Little side story. I got my visa denied after going to Parsons for two years. I had to go back to Canada for five months and like regroup.
And what did I do? I was like, you know what, I'm going to go back to school. I'm going to get another degree. And I did. And I was 10 years older than my classmates who were starting out in this program. And I thought, I don't even care. I'm going to give it my all. Graduated with honours and in both programs.
Hello, teachers that didn't believe in me. And one was a business degree. And then one was fashion marketing, which is great. And that is just like giving myself permission to like be there, not compare myself to other people and show up for myself. And then I worked in merchandising for a women's brand called Sally LaPointe and then I moved out here when I was 30 and I was like, you know what?
I'm going to reinvent myself again. I'm going to start a business. I just said yes. And I think I, it took me so long to learn all that about myself. And I'm just so grateful that I stuck with it. So that's what being powerful means to me is, is, yeah, giving myself permission to say yes and to try things.
You also have such a dynamic group of women in your life. How important have they been to you and your journey and where you are now?
Oh my God, my friends mean everything to me. And I'm, I make friends wherever I go. My brother, my wedding joke that I bring friends home, like stray cats. And it's true. I just love people.
But my friends mean the world to me. They're All my friends are super creative. They're super collaborative. Everyone is, is just striving and, and everyone is authentically figuring out who they are and showing up for themselves in the best way. And everyone's willing to share and collaborate.
That's what I'm like, most proud of, of my friend group. And then also now a lot of my friends are becoming moms and stepping into that role. And that's an amazing shift watching my friends like thrive in motherhood as well. Yeah. My friends mean everything. They're my closest confidants and they're my collaborators.
And I, I'm just, I'm so proud of my peers. You know, I'm really proud of my girlfriends. I love talking about them and love promoting them. So yeah, I'm very proud of them.
For everybody who is obsessed with you and wants you to style them, they want to be shopping all of it, they want all the things, where can they find, follow, and support you?
So you can find me at Olivia Ivey Ivey E Y it's my middle name and you can also follow my business profile at O I B style. And I'm also on Tik TOK, Olivia Ivey B is where you can find me everywhere.
And all of it is launching in January. We hope that's the plan, right? And that is the handle is shop all of it.
Yes. So you can follow us there too. We'll be, we'll start to, we will start to share more very, very soon.
Yes. So our final two questions for today. The first is, where do you rate yourself on the Powerful Lady scale? If zero is average everyday human and ten is most powerful lady you can imagine, where would you put yourself today and on an average day?
Well, on an average day. I would say I'm a five, you know, I, I, I'm more powerful than maybe I give myself credit for. But I mean, a lot of the days I'm just in sweatpants and I'm okay with that. I'm just working from my computer. But after this podcast,
I've interviewed, I'm going to give myself a 10.
Love it. And then Now knowing that Jack loves manifesting, he's going to love this question. But this is a powerful community. We have lots of connections and resources and everybody here wants to help each other. What do you want? What's on your wish list to manifest list? What would you like to ask us for?
You know, I, it's actually not asking, it's more delivering. I'm really excited to get all of that out the door into the world. So I'm so excited to show up and deliver that and work really hard on that. I'm also, I'm just, I'm manifesting I'm manifesting ideas. I'm really looking to like up level my business and I want those downloads from the universe.
I want them to tell me then whoever they are to tell me exactly what it is that I need to do next. So they're all a bit self righteous manifestations, but I mean, that manifestations are for yourself, but yeah, I'm just, I want to grow and expand my business and I'm so excited for 2025 because I feel like it's going to be a really big year for me.
Well, thank you so much for being a yes to this podcast and just for being a yes to me. I'm so thankful that you're in my life. I'm so excited about all of that. And yeah, I'm just, you're the best. So thank you.
You're the best too, Kara. I think you're just incredible. And I mean, yeah. Meeting you has been like such a life changing experience. And I think you, I think you change a lot of people's lives. And I don't think you realize that you're incredible.
You're going to make me cry. Thank you.
All the links to connect with Olivia OIB style and all of that are in our show notes at the powerful ladies. com. Please subscribe to this podcast. If you ever listening and share it with a friend, join us on Instagram at powerful ladies. And if you're looking to connect directly with me, visit Kara Duffy. com or Kara underscore Duffy on Instagram. I'll be back next week with a brand new episode. Until then, I hope you're taking on being powerful in your life. Go be awesome and up to something you love.
Related Episodes
Episode 284: Cat Pope | Fashion Stylist
Episode 139: Britt Theodora | How One Celebrity Stylist Launched Her Business & Survived the Pandemic
Episode 153: Lauren Stephens | How to Create a Successful Family Run & Sustainable Fashion Brand
Instagram: @oliviaivey
Website: www.oliviaiveybannock.com / www.oibstyle.com
TikTok: @oliviaiveyb
Email: olivia@oliviaiveybannock.com
Created and hosted by Kara Duffy
Audio Engineering & Editing by Jordan Duffy
Production by Amanda Kass
Graphic design by Anna Olinova
Music by Joakim Karud
