[Below is an excerpt from my interview w/ the team at StyleLend]

FEATURED LENDER OF THE MONTH:

VANESSA PILAR MINNIS

"When Vanessa agreed to be our featured lender of the month, we were over the moon! She’s got this whole cool city girl thing going on but still manages to be down to earth. We recently invited her to our office, told her to bring some of her favorite pieces and got to meet the girl behind one of our local fashion influencers on instagram, 'Shop Save Sequin' (instagram name has changed to 'Paging Mrs. Gehrels)."

"She’s known for having a lust-worthy closet that’s filled with items from just about every price point. A lover of Target collaborations, Vanessa mixes luxe finds with chic items that won’t break a fashionista’s budget. I think that’s part of the reason why her followers are obsessed with her achievable looks. Vanessa recently told us about one of her most recent shopping experiences / purchases. The coveted Lilly Pulitzer collection from Target:

'Oh the few pieces I managed to scoop from the debacle known as #LillyGate …lol…Lilly Pulitzer for Target. What madness that turned out to be. I got lucky. I stayed up and waited out the website glitches and manged to get the few things I wanted. And truth be told, I love them all. Despite what critics say, I think the price point matched the quality just fine. I love Target. I love how I gave 0 effs about Lilly Pulitzer until Target announced a collaboration. Then it’s like suddenly I wanted whatever it was and I had to have it.' "

"That’s how Vanessa is. She’s a very smart goal-oriented woman and when she wants something, she makes it happen. That’s how she got her coveted Miu Miu bag...

'Well, my favorite, my most cherished piece might have to be a miu miu bag I bought with part of a $5,000 gift card I got from Bloomingdale’s. I happened to win a style contest with Bloomie’s and they flew me out to New York, set me up in a hotel and gave me $5k to shop with in their flagship store. And so my lovely little miu miu bag entered my life. The bag is timeless, but I love that there’s a fun story attached to how I got it.' "

"While Vanessa splurges on certain pieces, she’s smart about what she chooses to buy. She recommends that her followers...

'Invest in those statement pieces because it’s worth it. Yes, Zara is great. But a DVF wool, camel-colored trench coat is going to be there for you year, after year, after year.' "

"That’s why Vanessa loves the idea of Style Lend so much."

'Renting certain pieces gives you the freedom to actually save money for those investment pieces of which I spoke of. OR pay your bills! Sometimes it’s hard justifying these ludicrous price tags for pieces we’re just going to wear once or twice. And I really like the idea of being a lender and lending out pieces I haven’t worn in forever but can’t bare to part with. Makes sense to me!' "

"As successful as Vanessa’s blog, Instagram, and Facebook are, she attributes her success to her fans and followers,

'My readers are awesome by the way. It’s all thanks to their enthusiasm for what I do that the blog continues to grow.' "

"We asked what she wanted to rent next…

'I’d rent something from For Love & Lemons. As a blogger I’d love to shoot something of theirs. Who doesn’t love their whimsical lacey productions?!' "