Brianne Osowski can’t fake her passion for the clothes rack. We asked the former New York City model to demonstrate the process of her new custom styling service with the help of her clothing store’s head stylist. The goal was to capture the essence of what occurs during her styling sessions, to stage her working with a client in front of the specialized attire Osowski and her team had handpicked from their impressive inventory of items. All we needed her to do was pretend that she was helping a client understand the versatility of a top or the purpose of the waist height on a unique pair of pants. Essentially, she just needed to pose as if she was partaking in the process of her Styled By Curious service. But, Osowski can’t fake her passion for the clothes rack.
Standing in front of the customized rack with a client there to partake in our attempt to capture the process, Osowski and Lauren Sandy, the head stylist, quickly drifted into a real-life styling session. Each spoke to the client about the reasons for their customized choices. They would press the back of their hand against the fabric of a shirt hanging from the rack or they would hold up a jacket against a faded pair of denim pants. They talked to the client about occasions to wear items together and asked what event the client was needing a new outfit for most. They acted, and it was clear they weren’t acting, as if everything they were doing was all real and the photographers nor I were there for a staged encounter. Had we left, it’s likely they would have continued for the full session talking style with the make-believe client.
Since meeting her husband and moving back to the region, Osowski has been pursuing her passion for clothes and creating unique shopping experiences. Roughly five years ago she founded Curious Gift to help clients discover new items unrelated to clothes. Shortly after, she opened a boutique inspired by her experience in the clothing and fashion industry. Recently, she decided to create a customized styling experience to give anyone, of any age, the same treatment celebrities or those that use professional stylists get. “I always want to help people create new experiences,” she says. “Styled by Curious is a new experience for most in the region.”
Determined to outdo the allure of the e-commerce shopping experience and to provide her team’s unique styling expertise during a 30- or 60-minute free styling session that includes a customized rack hung with items specifically for the client, she launched her new service this year. “E-commerce paints a picture of who you might be. With our process, we help you find out who you are and what works for you,” she says.
Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, Osowski has never been afraid to venture into the unknown (she loved New York, but she loved her farming husband who couldn’t leave more). “People always joke about me that if I want something I always find a way,” she says.
The creation of the customized style service and clothes rack experience was something she’d always wanted to do. So was opening her own store, then adding a second store, then getting her master’s in business administration and becoming a mother. Now, with more than 100 styled sessions completed and a sessions schedule that is continuously active, she can’t hide a smile when asked about her accomplishments or what’s next. “My grandfather and father [both crop dusters] gave me the ability to know I could create anything I wanted,” she says, “and I want to do more.”
Seeing her unable to fake her enthusiasm for helping people shop boldly or gain a better grip of their own style during the staged sessions we arranged, it became more clear every time she left the rack to go find another item to add to an already robust amount of clothes, that her clothes rack, curiosity and desire to create the next experience for herself or others, is never complete. G
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PHOTOS BY: MANSTROMS PHOTOGRAPHY
From Issue 4, 2018