4 WAYS MY HUSBAND SUPPORTS MY BUSINESS CAREER (AND WHY IT WOULDN’T WORK WITHOUT HIM!)

ON GARRETT:  SWEATER  ||  CHAMBRAY BUTTON-UP  ||  PANTS (his favorite brand for fit!) ||  SNEAKERS  ||  SUNGLASSES

ON ME: TOP (I’m wearing a small, runs large)  ||  JEANS  ||  SIMILAR HEELS HERE AND HERE  ||  SUNGLASSES

I had to give a little credit to the man behind Elle Apparel today. Because for every blog post, photo shoot, Fashion Week, and instagram post is a man who is tackling the fort at home, giving his opinion on which shoes go better with an outfit, and helping me pick which photo to post. This guy is a huge reason why I have kept Elle Apparel running for the past 7 years, and I thought I would share a little bit about why it is so nice to have him as my support system. No matter what we choose to do for work or as a hobby, when you have a spouse who is supportive, and even excited about what you are pursuing, it makes such a difference!

1. He runs the legal side of Elle Apparel: Back when Elle Apparel was much more of a hobby while Garrett was in law school, he always encouraged me to sew and post and keep the ball rolling on it. He saw how much I loved it and what a creative outlet it was for me. When I decided to launch my own clothing line of skirts a few years ago, his legal knowledge really came into play. He opened my business account and organized my LLC. When I launched my online sewing course, he wrote up our Articles of Organization (I had no idea what those were, or that we needed them). Now that Elle Apparel is run as a business, he wrote the NDA agreement for me when I hired my first assistant, goes over all the business expenses and write-offs, and takes care of figuring out the quarterly taxes (he has his undergrad in Accounting). He reads over every one of my business contracts because he reads dozens of legal contracts each week and knows exactly what to look for and when there might be red flags. If there are changes or legal negotiations that need to be made, he makes them in a much more eloquent and legally binding way than I could. Before I hired my assistant, he edited all of my posts (he basically became a professional editor in law school). Little did we know all those years ago how crucial his legal skills would be for my business.  He has been such an important player in the legal side of Elle Apparel, and my business is much stronger because of it.

2. He honestly enjoys fashion and clothing: I know not all men do, but I feel like I really lucked out in this category. Garrett has always spotted trends way in advance. I remember a few years ago he mentioned that he really wanted maroon framed glasses, and I thought he was crazy. About 7 months later, maroon framed glasses and other maroon accessories were popular. He has been wearing a bow tie and pocket squares every once in a while for years (back when he had to search high and low for good ones), and now they are everywhere. He also has a really good appreciation for women’s fashion. He has naturally good taste, and I am so glad I can ask him for his opinion on color combos, style, which shoes go with a dress, etc. He has an opinion, and it’s usually a very spot on opinion. When we were first married, I remember waiting for him while he perused through the men’s section of Nordstrom. He is very particular about his clothing, and I’ve mentioned this before on the blog; he finds exactly what he likes, and will be loyal to that brand/cut forever. He has been looking for a good pair of slacks for ages and has loved the cut and fit of these Bonobos pants from Nordstrom. He owns them in a dark grey as well (he’s wearing them in this post), and I’m hoping he picks up a pair in the olive shade they have as well. He still turns to Nordstrom for men’s fall fashion. They cary brands that are quality, well designed, and they fit his preppy classic style. Whenever I do a post featuring men’s fashion, he always picks out his look. I trust his taste completely. I love the look of this navy sweater over a chambray button-up he chose for this shoot.

3. He used to be my photographer: Did you know that?! He was my instagram husband long before an instagram husband was a thing. I taught him a few basics on how to use our SLR when I first bought it, and he got so good at it! He talks to my photographers sometimes during our shoot and they are always impressed that he know what ISO and f-stop are. He would make sure my top was laying right, that the bow on my skirt wasn’t crooked, shoot my good side (very important), and know just how much time we would have until the lighting was bad. This was back when I was so self conscious of people seeing me on the street taking pictures, so he had to talk me through all that as well! I would always make him stop shooting and pretend like we were just casually standing and talking if someone walked by. He would always say “who cares what they think! Don’t get intimidated because someone walks by!”…..which would embarrass me even more, but it really did help me gain confidence! Now I couldn’t care any less how many people are around when we are shooting. I’ve learned to just mentally tune them out. Ain’t no time to stress over things like that!

4. He never complains when I ask for help: Just yesterday night I sent him a frantic text at 6 PM that said, “Honey I am exhausted and I still need to write a post, can you take over with the kids the second you get home so I can get started on work before I pass out??!” And then when he walked in the door at 7 PM he belted “Hero of the day!! Boys, come bug me and leave mom alone!” I’m cracking up as I write this. If you follow us along on stories you can probably picture our boys cracking up and then attacking him as I book it up the stairs with my laptop under my arm. Honesty, I’ve asked that man to take a picture for me at the most stressful times, then to retake the picture, or to help with the kids after a long hard day at the office and he doesn’t complain. That’s probably why I take advantage of his services so often (*wink).

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in partnership with Nordstrom  |  photography by Jordan Zobrist