Girl Boss

“A #GIRLBOSS is in charge of her own life. She gets what she wants because she works for it.”   The first thing Sophia Amoruso sold online wasn’t fashion—it was a stolen book. She spent her teens hitchhiking, committing petty theft, and dumpster diving. By twenty-two, she had resigned herself to employment, but was still broke, directionless, and working a mediocre day job she’d taken for the health insurance. It was there that Sophia decided to start selling vintage clothes on eBay. Eight years later, she is the founder, CEO, and creative director of Nasty Gal, a $100 million plus online fashion retailer with more than 350 employees. Sophia’s never been a typical CEO, or a typical anything, and she’s written #GIRLBOSS for outsiders (and insiders) seeking a unique path to success, even when that path is winding as all hell and lined with naysayers. #GIRLBOSS includes Sophia’s story, yet is infinitely bigger than Sophia. It’s deeply personal yet universal. Filled with brazen wake-up calls (“You are not a special snowflake”), cunning and frank observations (“Failure is your invention”), and behind-the-scenes stories from Nasty Gal’s meteoric rise, #GIRLBOSS covers a lot of ground. It proves that being successful isn’t about how popular you were in high school or where you went to college (if you went to college). Rather, success is about trusting your instincts and following your gut, knowing which rules to follow and which to break. A #GIRLBOSS takes her life seriously without taking herself too seriously. She takes chances and takes responsibility on her own terms. . She knows when to throw punches and when to roll with them. When to button up and when to let her freak flag fly.  As Sophia writes, “I have three pieces of advice I want you to remember: Don’t ever grow up. Don’t become a bore. Don’t let The Man get to you. OK? Cool.  Then let’s do this.”

I remember when Nasty Gal was still on eBay and I was still skinny. I have always loved vintage so I LOVED Nasty Gal and still do to this day although I am really fat and can’t fit into their clothes (I am working on that). So when I heard that Nasty Gal had a book out I just had to read it. so I downloaded it onto my nook and read.

It is a mix of memoir and business tips. I loved the memoir part. She explains how she was homeless and then how she started her business. I loved reading how she survived when she was homeless and the honesty of the mistakes she made before she made it big. So often we claim that a college education is needed to make it but this is not always the case.

I also loved how she told how she got the clothes and made them into something beautiful. I have tried thrifting myself but what my friends can see to make something all I see is a piece of crap. I have one friend who I LOVE her clothes and apartment and everything. She get everything at thrift stores and makes it her own. I have taken to tagging along with her and she has taught me a LOT  about how to find what looks like a piece of crap but in reality you can do a few things and it is a beautiful vintage piece. I am getting better at this and it is something that I hope to improve on in the coming year.

There was not a lot of fashion advice in this book. I was somewhat sad about this but then I realized that it is a book that is meant to be a memoir and a business book. It had the same business ideas as a lot of other books out there but I really enjoyed reading it in her tone of voice. She also gave great ideas for interviews, such as how to dress and interact with the interviewer and so forth.