INTERVIEW: Sara Jordan

 The problem with knowing a Supermodel is . . . you always have the urge to shake them and remind them that they're a supermodel.  For example, getting Sara Jordan to do an interview for me, was like taking candy from a baby.  Just too easy. I sat at my computer, held my breath and with a "here goes nothing" clicked send. The following morning I received a shocking reply. "Me? For sure! I'm flattered!" Uhm... yes you. 

I met Sara when I became a new face at Swish Model Management.  Three weeks before I walked through those doors, I learned who Sara Jordan was. I waited nervously and impatiently to meet her, this illusive Winnipeg born superstar. But -maybe it was her smile, or the fact that her demeanor was so inconsequential and yet so full of confidence- when I did end up meeting Sara, I realized that my worry was needless. She'd made me comfortable in every setting, about every casting. 

I suppose the reason Sara doesn't understand her prowess is because she's valued family and friends over the glamour of the industry. Although, as she explains to me in her email, Sara did want it. "I was 13 when I started, but I was still very much in my awkward stage, so I didn't start travelling until I was 15.  I had always been told I should model, so I begged my Mom to let me.  She finally gave in...  I met my first agency in New York (IMG) a few months later, and it all started from there."  

Sara has been the go-to girl in Winnipeg yes, but that was partly because she was the go-to girl in Paris and New York as well. It took about 5 seconds for the heavy hitters in New York to fall for her, with her flawless skin, honey colored hair and bitten lips, she was what seemed to be at the time, the exact look the top clients were looking for. And now, after a strong career that bought her an Abercrombie & Fitch ad, and the ability to see her face among the pages of VOGUE, Sara has made her home here in Winnipeg, with a new husband.

The reason I asked Sara for an interview specifically, was because I was always enamored by her impeccable personal style when I ran into her at the agency. She was always sitting in her perfectly fitted jeans, feet up, eating some sort of junk food at a desk, looking so superb it was irritating. When I worked with Sara at a show last spring, she walked in flustered, disheveled and infuriatingly beautiful. I needed to talk to this girl. 

So now by some miracle, I've got her, and I'm waiting with bated breath to learn what designers she's loyal to. " I don't have any favorite brands." she explains. "I don't follow any designers and I am not particularly attached to any one store. Brand names don't really play any part in anything I wear."

 ~humph~ 

Well.. Okay. After some serious thought about this statement, I realized it was the exact reason I started the blog in the first pace. Models have a very unselfconscious way of finding a personal style, and thats exactly what makes them so interesting. 

  Shortly after having this thought, I realize that Sara has just put this in her own words. "Modeling introduced me to so many unique people, that really express themselves through fashion. Seeing how fabulous they were and how little popular opinion affected what they wore really gave me the courage to just wear what I love. I like street fashion as opposed to celebrities style or designers. Often I steal ideas from people I see walking down the street." I knew I loved her for a reason. 

Looking for style has always been as easy as looking to the person you're sharing a sidewalk with. Street style will always trump runway, because its what the consumer takes from the clothes that becomes true style. Thats why when I hear that Sara sticks to vintage and consignment stores, I'm totally unfazed. "Normal people don't try so hard, many are just effortlessly fashionable I love that. I like vintage stores. I have found some amazing pieces at Value Village". 

Sara's current must-have? Flat boots. Which isn't surprising seeing as how they're a perfect choice for fall. And what's so great about Sara's style is that she sticks to vintage finds as a way of contributing to the environment. "Reuse and recycle, right?" Well, we're with you on that one, lady. 

We were all very heartbroken when Jillian Coubrough (SANBOX mag), reported that Sara was taking her leave from the industry. She'd been doing it for 15 years, it was time to move on. But really Sara? You're just disappearing?  "Just check out Polo Park, you'll be sick of seeing my face by the time you leave!" Doubt it. 

One last thing Sara. Any tips? "Don't blindly follow trends, wear what looks good on YOU."