Style Icon: Daniela Guido

(Personal) Style Icon: Daniela Guido's Tips for Cultivating Style without Compromising Ethics

5/12/2015

Daniela Guido is a girl after our own hearts. The globetrotting Brazil native developed a passion for fashion at a young age, inspired by her glamorous grandma, whose homespun creations were worn not only by Daniela, but her entire family. In 2001, Daniela joined the ranks of the digital nomads, hopscotching from Brazil to Mexico, then Spain, England, Denmark, and now Asia.

While living in Copenhagen in 2013, after years of using her natural knack for style to help friends edit their wardrobes, she turned her hobby into a career with the launch of SilverLining, an online personal style consultancy agency. As the consultant, she helps busy people develop their sartorial style, build amazing wardrobes, and ultimately feel empowered in their clothes. In between clients, she produces videos and blogs that burst at the seams with both humor and practical information, but it’s Daniela’s colorful style—which she cultivated without depending on leather, wool, feathers, or fur—that is the most vivid visual testament to her amazing talents.

Today, the longtime vegetarian works with clients from around the world from her newest home base: Malaysia and Singapore. Fresh off a Himalayan trek, Daniela took time out of her busy schedule to share her fashion wisdom with Swell!, and help us discover our own style without compromising our ethics.

You grew up in Brazil in the ‘80s and ‘90s. How did the Brazilian culture influence your style?
My culture influences all aspects of my life, particularly when it comes to style. Brazilians are bubbly, talkative, colorful and very (very) curious people. We try new things all the time, just for fun. I've learned never to judge a piece of clothing from the rack, and to always experiment. I remember that we used to follow the styles of famous soap opera heroines and trends from international magazines; we love anything new and fresh. It's an ever-changing culture, intensely influenced by our mix of Africa and Europe. There is plenty of space for being playful and chic at the same time.

Tell us about your worst fashion moment.
My worst fashion moment has to be when I was about 15 years old. I was super thin and in Brazil at that time beauty was all about curves. I wanted to add volume to my derrière (excuse my French), so I used to fill my trousers with face towels. It was not pretty, but I did that several times to make a good impression at the discotheque. Thankfully, my behind started to develop and I gave up the towels!

And how about your best fashion moment?
My best fashion moment is whenever I feel comfortable wearing a dress that flatters my body shape.

When and why did you become a vegetarian?
I grew up in a big city and when I was little, I never made the connection between animals and food. We had a maid who prepared the meals, and I would eat without questioning where it all came from. I've always been an extreme animal lover, but the only animals I had around were dogs (tons of them).

When I became older and started to connect beautiful cows, chickens, and pigs with the food in my plate, I began to research it and found out the horrifying ways animals are treated and decided to become a vegetarian. It was a slow process. With fashion it was different; I could connect the animals with clothing faster. It was clear that a fur coat or leather shoes were once a cute animal. I stopped wearing animal products before becoming a vegetarian.

Do you think the way you eat is reflected in your outward appearance?
Ai, caramba! It reflects 100 percent, girl! My mother always focused on providing us with excellent daily nutrition and never saved money on food. She would always say, “Eating well is an investment. And you won´t leave the table before you eat it all!” She is a scary lady, but very right.

I can see that what I eat has an impact on my skin, hair, nails, and overall appearance, not to mention that after a big plate of salad with fresh juice, I'm in a better mood, with more energy, and my brain functions better.

It doesn't matter how much make-up and gorgeous clothing you have, if you eat poorly, I doubt you can look fabulous for long. Maybe while you're very young, but time will remind you of your actions. Oh, no, I do sound exactly like my mother! She did it!

Some women who wouldn’t dream of buying new leather or fur are totally OK buying these items in vintage shops, since they are already in the waste stream. What are your thoughts on that?
In my opinion, buying vintage is the same as any kind of shopping. I believe in no animal cruelty, and it doesn't matter if the action was taken 100 years ago or today. It's about not supporting this cold-hearted industry. Above all, I don't feel joy wearing animals, no matter what.

In your amazingly fun and super helpful videos, you discuss the issues women face every day getting dressed, many of them relating to our bodies. What advice do you have for the ladies out there who struggle with the way they look?
I always share this concept with my ladies:

Find out what you dislike about your body;
Then ask yourself (be honest) "Can I (or do I want) to change that?" For example: Maybe exercise to get more muscle definition. Or perhaps get a skin treatment to improve the appearance of your legs and behind. (Anything but surgery!)
If your answer is yes, go ahead and work on it, girl! I'm sure you can do it! If your answer is no, accept it, because life is not always the way we want it to be.
When we accept the fact that we cannot change something, then we can now start to find strategies to deal with it. Which does not include complaining. There are so, so many styling tricks to camouflage, elongate, shorten, anything you wish to! It's just a matter of finding the correct shapes and silhouettes that flatter your unique figure.
Now that you accepted and found styling tricks to “fix” your dislikes, let's celebrate what you like! Find the parts of your body that you love, and highlight them. (Note: Read more from Daniela on this topic here.)

Do you have any tips for getting us started finding a style that matches who we are on the inside?
Oh, yeah! Find a style icon to get inspirations. It could be an actress, a TV show character, a blogger or a friend. For example, one of mine is Jess, from the TV show “New Girl.” I like her because she's funny, full of energy, colorful, and has a vintage style. I collect pictures of her on my Pinterest board and try to replicate some of her outfits. You can start with one style icon, and later add a couple more. I have on my list Reese Witherspoon and Solange Knowles. But don't limit yourself to a single style. Experiment, you can have 100 different styles in your closet. If you feel happy and gorgeous in all of them, good for you!

Fast fashion retailers have been getting a bad rap from environmental and human rights groups; is there a way to shop “responsibly” at places like H & M, Zara, and Mango?
Yes! The way to shop responsibly (anywhere, not only at high street shops) is to avoid waste. Never, ever buy clothes just because they’re cheap. And avoid over-buying at all costs. Only purchase items that you can wear to several occasions and that you can mix and match with other pieces in your closet.

These shops are cheap, and some people get excited and impulse buy for no reason. They don't wear the clothes and later toss it and go back to the shops to buy more. Extreme consumerism leads to rubbish, which is a huge environmental problem. We should shop for clothing only after we've worn everything in our closet. If there is an item unused, wear it before shopping.

When you want to dispose of some clothing, make sure to either donate to charity or give it to a friend. Also, you can have a “Swap Party” with your friends and colleagues to exchange clothing.

When I was a kid, we had a rotation concept in my family. The older cousins would gift to the younger ones the clothes that they didn't want anymore. And at the end, we donate to charity. Recycling is fundamental.

We know you love to travel; when you’re not hiking the Himalayas or sipping fresh coconut water on a Malaysian beach, do you cruise local markets?
Mamma Mia! I absolutely love, love, love local markets! Started when I was a kid, shopping for fabrics with grandma. After finding what we needed for her to make new clothes, we would spend the day looking around at “Mercado de São José”, the most popular market in my city. Filled with treasures, delicious spices and artisans making the clothes in front of you.

Most of my summer clothes are from street markets in Asia. There are some excellent quality products, plus you can bargain! My favorite place to shop (for summer wear) is Bali, where I bought some super feminine dresses from hidden stalls.

What is your all-time favorite travel destination and why?
Sri Lanka! Asia can be noisy and chaotic at times, but Sri Lanka is so peaceful. We're adventurous, and there we found several magical places to hike and get lost (literally, we get lost more then normal).

We went to the top of the “Sri Prada” mountain, which is a blessed placed, according to the Buddhists. Rumor says that the Buddha was there several times, and if you reach the top before sunrise (which is mesmerizing), you bring peace to the world. Me, bringing peace to the world? I'm too Latina for that, I guess.