Photo: Adele Makulova 

An astrologer once asked, baffled when guessing my profession, “Are you a writer?”

It made sense. I assumed that he often performed readings for industry folks seeking their big breaks. But the question did strike a chord.

That was May 8th, 2018. And yes, I did keep a voice memo recording. It was two years into my Happy Isles journey. I, of course, wondered if it was all going to go anywhere.

“I write,” I said. “But it’s very… B+ and it’s really not what I do at all.”

“Wellll that might change,” he said. Twenty minutes later, still ringing in my ears, he assured me, “Calm down, Drusilla.” Which did shut me up from not a small amount of whining.

Last thing I’ll say about the astrologer. He also told me I have a big “editing feature.” This was in response to him learning my actual source of income - selling vintage.

More so than the writing thing, that piece has always stayed with me because it’s unequivocally true. I am an editor. Whether buying inventory, merchandising a rack, posting on IG, or making daily (hourly!) operations calls, I find myself in a constant state of decision making. Which is editing. Choosing what I think is the best-choice and going with it! Decisions and decisions and decisions! I am constantly making them.

So when in the spring of this year, a newsletter seemed on the horizon, I tried.

I tried to try. But the writing just didn’t come, and no amount of will could get me there. The astrologer was wrong! And Happy Isles wasn't just me anymore - my voice alone didn’t represent the fullness of the Happy Isles universe. So I made a decision. I edited instead.

Though often we think of editing as eliminating, I actually went in the opposite direction - of biggering, as Dr. Suess loves to say. (Apologies - I have a 2 ½ year old.)

Soooo, drumroll please…

Instead of a newsletter, we’re going full-blown: a Happy Isles culture website! Can you believe? A place to incorporate all the unique, hilarious, and stylish voices of our entire team. We’ll give you regular salon BTS, HI Real Brides, styled and *ahem* shoppable looks incorporating our favorite current pieces, Runway Deep Dives, and much much more. While I’ll be popping in with yes, some writing, I’ll mainly be editing. Ma’ main thing.

So here we go! The Happy Isles journey is journeying, in yet another new and expansive way. And today, I have the privilege of wondering less about if it’s going anywhere and more about where do we get to go?

I hope you enjoy the Happy Isles Leisure Page as much as I have enjoyed working on it. I’m so excited for the adventures ahead!

Hi Y’all,

First, I should introduce myself. My name is Alice, and I got my first Seventeen magazine when I was 9 years old.

It had Drew Barrymore on the cover, looking gorgeous in her Ever After era. My mom, a former department store dress buyer and fashion gal herself, got me a subscription to the magazine for my 9th birthday.

I combed over every inch of those pages. Every article, ad, quiz, and photoshoot of the mag was absorbed into my brain as I entered this new world. I even bought a second copy of that same issue because the first copy became so worn from my flipping and flagging pages.

Then, another issue arrived the next month, and somehow, I loved it even more. I feverishly circled clothes that I loved and dog-eared pages of quizzes so my cousin Cole and I could discuss at our next sleepover. (Not to mention an awkward moment when I asked my mom what the magazine meant when they used the term “V-card.” 🫠)

And thus began my long love of fashion magazines.

In high school, my English teacher, who saw that I had very little interest in Hemingway, suggested that I read Vogue and Vanity Fair instead. (Ms. Ballard thought encouraging reading of anything was better than discouraging a teen for not reading the “right” things. I happen to agree.)

When I was studying film at college in Baltimore, the edges of my small apartment were stacked with back issues of everything under the sun. Often, a stack of Elle would act as a side table for my guests, but I would quickly shoo their damp PBR off my prized collection.

And even as I went down the path of becoming a writer in earnest, a fear crept in that my love of fashion was too pure to become my career. The idea of opening up my true love and combining it with “work” felt entirely too vulnerable for me.

But as we always tell brides here at Happy Isles, what’s meant to be will happen; if a gown is meant to be yours, it will be. And that’s what happened here; fate intervened.

One Saturday afternoon, while spacing the racks between appointments, Lily and I started discussing some thoughts she’d been percolating on. Some kind of newsletter or magazine or something – a place for us to welcome people into the world of Happy Isles outside of the appointments in our salons. The ideas started swirling, and with many drafts and many beverages from Joan’s on Third later, here we are! Our very own little digital magazine of sorts.

There’ll be stories from our brides about their big day, deep dives into Runway shows of the past that we just can’t keep our minds off of, some fun playlists, some things to shop, and even a look into my closet/brain. (Which is often feeling like one and the same these days…)

I’m excited to channel all that love that Baby Alice felt with those first few issues of Seventeen and make something worth sharing at your next metaphorical sleepover.

So, lastly, thank you. Thank you for reading this and joining us on this journey – it’s going to be fabulous.