#GIRLBOSS Lessons from Chapter 2

Chapter 2: How I Became a #GIRLBOSS? 

In this chapter, Amoruso takes us through how she went from being an ID checker at a university to creating and running her company, Nasty Gal.  It's a good story to read if you are interested in fashion, online retail, and/or running an eBay business selling vintage clothes.  But I'm not going to get into her details of her story here.  You can read the book if you want to know all that.

Here are the more universal lessons I got from this chapter 
 

Drawing Strength from Other Women (and Men):

Throughout this chapter, Amoruso mention many other women who helped her and inspired her along her journey.  When she first started her eBay business, her mother helped her prepare garments and descriptions for listing (25).  She had several models, friends, model-friends, photographers help and believe in her as her business grew.  The name of her store was inspired by "legendary funk singer and wild woman Betty Davis" (22).  Amoruso describes her decision to name her shop out of homage to this woman:

"I thought I was just picking a name for an eBay store, but it turned out that I was actually infusing the entire brand with not only my spirit, bu the spirit of this incredible woman." (23)

#GIRLBOSS Lessons from Chapter 1

Introduction to #GIRLBOSS 

Because I am interested in fashion, I quickly picked up Sophia Amoruso's book #GIRLBOSS when it came out in the early summer.  For those who don't know, Amoruso is the founder/creative director/CEO of the online fashion retailer Nasty Gal--- a site where I have shopped a lot.  I definitely dig Nasty Gal's vibe which encourages its customers to show some attitude, be themselves, and take risks.  It is sort of a more curated, more punk, more sexy, less cutesy ModCloth.

In #GIRLBOSS, Amoruso tells us her life story and how she came to be where she is in her business and career, while at the same time encouraging her readers to become #GIRLBOSSes themselves and giving her advice as to how to do this.

I read #GIRLBOSS rather hastily and uncritically while flying from Philadelphia to LA and back.  When I got to the end of the book my impression of it was that (1) it was an easy read, (2) a lot of it was the sort of fun, positive, inspirational guff that one usually finds in such books, and (3) there were a bunch of points and practical, straight-talking suggestions that she made that I thought were really great . . . only I couldn't 100% remember what they were.

So over the next few weeks, I am going to quickly re-read the book, chapter by chapter (11 chapters total), to rediscover the pearls of wisdom Amoruso has to offer, and share them with you.

Chapter 1: So You Want to Be a #GIRLBOSS?

On Role Models:

"Not too long ago, someone told me that I had an obligation to take Nasty Gal as far as I could because I'm a role model for girls who want to do cool stuff with their own lives.  I'm still not sure how to feel about that, because for most of my life I didn't even believe in the concept of role models.  I don't want to be put on a pedestal.  Anyway, I'm way to ADD to stay up there: I'd rather be making messes, and making history while I'm at it.  I don't want you to look up, #GIRLBOSS, because all that looking up can keep you down.  There energy you'll expend focusing on someone else's life is better spent working on your own." (13) emphasis is mine

The idea of role models has fascinated me since I was a teenager.  I love to find people I admire and emulate and obsess over their lives.  I think being able to find great role models and understand why you want them as models for your life is really important, integral to development, and natural for the social animals we are.  Much social science research exists on the subject;  much of the debate around getting more female characters and more diverse female characters into our television, films, books, etc. revolves around the idea of role models.  If she can see it, she can be it, right?