Meet Mary Alice Stephenson, a fashion industry icon, consultant to Hollywood's elite and Founder of GLAM4GOOD. Discover how she uses fashion and beauty as a platform to promote well-being, honour courage and empower self-esteem in women today, and how you can help GLAM4GOOD reach their goals.
Appearing on the mastheads of every major publication, working as a consultant for a slew of high-profile designers, and doing all of this on top of being the most glamorous philanthropist in Cobble Hill! Besides hard work, what advice has helped you get to where you are today?
Always strive to be the best you can be. Remember the importance of surrounding yourself with people and things that empower all your magnificence. Know that you have the ability to use your compassion to make a difference in this world. When you harness your passion, your magic, your spirit, and all that style to serve others, miracles happen. And wear your heart on your sleeve, a smile, Spanx and some statement jewellery!
How do you use jewellery in your everyday looks?
Jewellery adds soul to style. I dress my looks up or down and express my mood through jewellery. For example, if I want to look sexy I might layer chains of different lengths around my neck or wear larger earrings that dangle in a sensuous way. Using jewellery to draw attention to your erogenous zones like the neck or décolletage is a subtle, chic way to look sexy in anything you wear.
GLAM4GOOD seeks to affirm that every woman is beautiful and should have the access and resources to feel so ardently. "Joy" is a word you use quite frequently. How did GLAM4GOOD begin, and what made you want to use fashion as a platform to assist women find their joy?
After 15 years of working in the fashion and beauty industries, I started GLAM4GOOD as a way to use my love for style to honour courage, raise awareness, bolster self-esteem, dress people in need and empower women and girls. What began as a personal mission has now become a thriving movement, community, empowerment platform that creates and celebrates fashion and beauty making a social impact.
In just a few years, whether through our self-esteem enhancing initiatives, #shoppingspree4free pop-up shops, or confidence building makeovers, GLAM4GOOD has helped over 20,000 disadvantaged women and girls and raised awareness for hundreds of causes.
My team and I have used fashion and beauty to empower women who have lost children from gun violence, lost limbs at war, lost breasts from cancer, lost their homes from a natural disaster or lost their way because of substance or domestic abuse. We have witnessed first-hand, the tremendous healing power fashion and beauty has to shine the human spirit, promote wellness, affect positive change and ignite joy.
What is the one thing you have achieved with GLAM4GOOD that has made you most proud?
Everything about GLAM4GOOD makes me proud! When you help others it empowers you too. There are so many unfortunate reasons women often connect self-worth with how they look, but it is a fact that when people look good they feel better, and that affects everything in their lives.
At our GLAM4GOOD Foundation events, I have witnessed teens battling life-threatening illness get up out of their wheelchairs and hospital beds after being pampered to celebrate the fact the feel so good. I have had women who have served our country and done all sorts of incredible and heroic things look at me and say, "Today was the first day I feel beautiful and it's liberating." It is an honour, and I am so grateful to have witnessed so many ways in which style can make an impact.
You once said in an interview that a good pair of statement earrings can make any woman feel and look amazing when having a bad day. How else can jewellery make an impact?
Jewellery has the power to touch lives in a profound way. Jewellery makes you feel better when you are going through a tough time, it can take your mind off stressful things and bring delight, excitement, happiness and help promote wellness! Jewellery is sexy and glamorous and the attention it brings can be harnessed to raise awareness for far more serious things.
Has motherhood changed the way you look at style? What would you say to a new mother looking for a way to achieve everyday glamour and confidence through style?
Remember fashion is not about rules. True style is about tuning into your creativity, self-expression, and courage to dress in a way that celebrates your individuality and brilliance, Wear things that empower, inspire and make you feel great and try wearing them in new ways every day. The more you are comfortable with taking chances and still embracing trends as a new mother, the better.
Purchasing the Monica Vinader X GLAM4GOOD bracelet is one way to support the work of GLAM4GOOD. What other ways are there to get involved and champion the charity?
You too can be one of our #GLAM4GOODgirls and empower our mission to use style and beauty to make a social impact in three ways. You can make a donation here, follow us on our social media platforms to support our work @GLAM4GOOD or volunteer or partner with GLAM4GOOD by reaching out to info@GLAM4GOOD.com.
If you could engrave anything on a Monica Vinader bracelet what would it be?
I would engrave the word, MOM! My mother is, and will always be, my greatest hero. I could have never started GLAM4GOOD without her incredible support. Now, as a mother myself, my son inspires me every day to continue the legacy of empowering others to be the hero they are destined to be!
Made from the finest precious metals, using only ethically sourced diamonds and gemstones - these pieces are too beautiful to be left behind.
