Today we’d like to introduce you to Monique Sedlar.
Monique, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve dreamt of being a magazine editor since I first saw The Devil Wears Prada when I was 10 years old. I’ve always loved beauty, fashion, and writing and I thought the world of high fashion editorial work would be exactly where I should be. In my teens, I began modeling and was pleased that it seemed to perfectly fit my dreams of working in the magazine world. But soon, I realized that the high fashion lifestyle didn’t make me happy and didn’t allow me to let my own personality shine through. When I got to college, I started becoming more aware of blogging and what it could really entail. I followed The Blonde Salad and Song of Style religiously, but I still wasn’t sure if fashion was the exact route I wanted to take. I decided to start cultivating my own sense of style and create things that made me proud and showcased what I really loved the most — beauty and living a healthy lifestyle. Deciding on a name for my new brand was the most difficult aspect for me and the reason I didn’t start my blog sooner. I decided on Le Freak when I was getting down at Disco Chicago and heard the 1978 disco hit, Le Freak, by the band Chic. I knew it would be perfect since it so effortlessly encompassed my affinity for 70’s culture and style, my edginess, and it also rhymes with my name! I fell in love immediately and Le Freak was finally born.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a particularly smooth road so far. I’ve been finishing my Public Relations and Advertising degree at DePaul throughout this first year of the blog, and it’s been difficult to keep a set schedule and grow my brand while working two jobs and having a full-time class schedule. Still, I don’t regret starting when I did. In fact, my advice to young women just starting their journey would be to go for it as soon as possible. You do want to have a strong brand that you will stay true to, but once you have that figured out, my advice would be to go full force as soon as you can.
This industry is getting extremely saturated very quickly, and the sooner you start, the better. I also cannot stress enough how important it is to let go of fear. There’s always the thought of, “what if no one likes this?” Or, “what will the people from high school/middle school/work think of me for doing this?” But the important thing to always keep in mind is that none of that matters. But you can never know what another person’s reality is comprised of. If they have negative thoughts or opinions of you or what you do, the only thing you need to worry about is that you are doing what you know in your heart is right for you and your reality. Of course, be an ethical and socially responsible person as well, but ultimately, focus on your reality. It’s the only thing you’ll ever fully know.
What should we know about Le Freak? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
As of right now, my main focus for the blog is beauty and lifestyle. I used to be considered kind of an ‘odd duck’ in my childhood, mostly because I’m an only child raised by a foreign single mother. I had very little exposure to American pop culture and spent most of my free time playing dress up by myself or with my mom’s older friends. For those reasons, I was always the odd one out of things at school and didn’t have any older siblings or neighborhood friends to teach me how to be ‘cool’ and accepted by my peers. What sets my brand apart from all the others is that I’ve embraced my uniqueness and have learned to define ‘cool’ in my own way over the years. I’m truly self-taught in the realm of beauty and lifestyle and I’ve come a long way in my 22 years. I’ve still got a lot to learn, but I’m so incredibly proud of my unapologetic approach to writing and sharing my world with my followers. I no longer have a burning desire to be accepted by my peers, only to live a life I’m proud of and create beautiful things that make me happy. And for those reasons, I’ve actually gained acceptance and support from so many people in my life. I’m so proud of the voice I’ve been developing and the life I’ve created for myself. I hope it shows in my work.
Looking back on your childhood, what experiences do you feel played an important role in shaping the person you grew up to be?
Yes! Growing up as an only child with a half-sister who has Down Syndrome, living with an immigrant family, and being the first true American in my family have all set me up for success. I didn’t have a lot of guidance in the areas of beauty, self-care, style, and pop-culture, so I really had to learn from trial and error. Additionally, spending most of my childhood with people in their 30s and 40s meant that I communicated best with adults, not my peers. While that made it difficult growing up, those experiences have made me a very old soul and I’ve absolutely loved having such a vastly different perspective on life than people my own age. It’s always tough growing up, especially as a young woman in a world so hell-bent on deciding who we ought to be for us, but having those different experiences growing up equipped me to handle all of that today.
Contact Info:
- Website: lefreak.co
- Phone: 952-393-1137
- Email: moniquesedlar@gmail.com
- Instagram: lefreaks_
Image Credit:
Monique Sedlar
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