“I want to place a spotlight on the positive things we possess and not about the negative things we hear about ourselves,” Tamika says about her book.
The Brooklyn native says the concept of the book stemmed from an idea of a beauty and image consulting company she wanted to create four years ago. Tamika says her friends and family embraced her fashion expertise. As she brainstormed and wrote notes on paper, she noticed her notes took the form of an outline that mirrored chapters of a book, which she says serves as a bridge to connect people and introduce them to the first few stages in fashion. She says there are many style books out there, but they are more couture focused, and the mass majority can’t relate to them—so she created her handbook.
“I decided to take that road and this is where it took me, which feels very organic,” comments Tamika. “I just take the step and the ground meets my feet.”
The marketing manager by day attributes her mother and grandmother for not only their fashion sense, but their examples of how to act like a lady and how to be a great person.
“Growing up in a conservative home, my mom taught me about modesty,” she says. “As far as fashion, one of my grandmothers never left the house without lipstick and my other grandmother had a great sense of style.”
Tamika adds she admires the various personal styles of some of her girlfriends a nd admits it took her years of trial and error, but she found her signature style.
“I wanted to get my look refined and polished,” she adds. “I’ve always liked fashion, but I wasn’t necessarily fashionable. It took a while for all those seeds to germinate, so here I am. You can get there, and you don’t have to be a model to get there.”
Tamika stepped onto the fashion court after college when she entered a beauty pageant—the turning point when the author says she started to take fashion more seriously and integrate it into her life.
Through international travel, she became influenced by fashion and style in Paris and London. She said her style journey transformed from the streamlined, tailored look in the East Coast to the colorful, laidback Miami style when she moved across the country. Somewhere down the line, she says she merged the two to create her signature style when she moved to Chicago.
With her B.S. in accounting, M.B.A. in marketing and professional experience, Tamika created It Girl Industries in 2010 with the mission to empower and inspire women in their everyday lives. Through speaking engagements, she not only promotes her book but speaks out to women about her mission.
“I want people to feel this is accessible and I’m accessible,” says Tamika. “Look at who you are, love who you are and enhance it.”
From a grammar school book order request to a Dress for Success workshop at Howard University, Nurse shows no sign of slowing down. She says this book is the beginning of a series, and the next book will focus on corporate conduct and interview tips for women.
For more information on The It Girl Rules and the It Girl Industries, visit www.itgirlrules.com.
