Style: Madison in California

Introduce yourself!
M: My name is Madison Dewberry! I’m half black, half white and all artist. I live in Los Angeles (and I love it). I’m an actor, singer, dancer, writer, and style enthusiast. My future will be filled with big movie roles, record deals, awards, and traveling the globe performing (gotta think positively right?). But for now I’m building and growing as an artist day by day.

What is your style philosophy?
M: My style philosophy is dress for you. Which means, just because you see that such and such is “in”, doesn’t mean you should automatically buy it! If you love it on you, go ahead; but only think about yourself when you get dressed. I dress for my body. I know what my favorite parts of me are, and I highlight them. Like heels for my awesome calves, high waisted bottoms and crop tops for my small waist, etc. I definitely can’t say I’m in love with every inch of my body, but the parts I do love I make them work overtime!

How would you describe your sense of style?
M: My sense of style has changed greatly. I used to be ALL about color. Like, aggressively so. Now, I still love my color, but I’ve scaled back. I go for blacks and whites with pops of color, or one item with a bold print. I used to be OBSESSED with buying vintage items. Seriously, my mom would look at more than half of the things I’d bring home and say she owned it in the 80s/90s. I’ve definitely scaled back on that front too. I still love vintage, but my looks are more inspired by the good ole days, rather than directly taking from them. It’s safe to say I’ve hung up my “Bill Cosby” sweaters.

What is the process of deciding what to wear in the morning?
M: My process in the morning is getting up and thinking about what’s in front of me that day. Based on that, I choose what clothes are going to make me look and feel the best in those situations.

What are the three favorite things in your closet?
M: This is a tough question! I feel a weird attachment to all of my clothes. But here goes:

1. Jeffrey Campbell Coltrane Boots: No joke I wear these everyday. EVERY FREAKIN DAY. But who even cares when they are so cute and versatile? These were a Christmas gift. My mom’s awesome boyfriend got them on Karmaloop.com.
2. My (Fake) Studded Leather Jacket: I put it on and become an INSTANT badass! It’s quite magical. Also I can’t help but be partial to it because I got it for 18 whole dollars! The original price? 110. SCORE. I got this at Wasteland, a recycled clothing shop.
3. White Asymmetrical Skirt: I know every fashion blogger and their mom has this skirt, but there is a reason for that. It is SO versatile. I snatched it online from alibaba.com for only 14 dollars.

What are some of your favorite shops/websites for clothes, shoes and accessories?
M: Right now I’m ballin on a budget, so I go for stuff I love at good prices! Recycled clothing shops in LA are great. Wasteland is one of my favorites because they take in vintage and modern pieces. They also have AWESOME designer shoes for way cheap. I frequent the American Apparel Factory in Downtown LA for clothes. They sell their “defected” (I put this in quotes because it all looks perfect) clothing for MUCH cheaper than in store! Brandy Melville is excellent for basics. And I also go to Forever 21. That store is a toss up. Sometimes I go in and it looks like the sequin fairy threw up. Like they are just trying too hard to be trendy. But recently I’ve found some EXCELLENT pieces, like my Palm Tree Harem Pants. (Yes, that was me slyly sneaking in the fourth favorite item in my closet…)

How long have you been natural?
M: All my life really! Only once have I used a relaxer and let me tell you, it jacked up my stuff real good. We are talking kinked out lifeless roots holding on to frizzed curls. I waited until it got just long enough and then chopped it off. But this brought on the era of mushroom cloud hair. You can guess it was completely au naturel from that point forward.

How and why did you transition into natural hair?
M: After that experience with the relaxer, I learned early it wasn’t for me. I thought I could handle what happened with a myriad of different products. NOPE. I just needed to have healthy locks. Now I either wash and go with my hair or use a curling iron to get a tighter more defined curl. But it’s still all me.

What is your signature hairstyle?
M: My signature has become down and curled! I love curling my hair with the wand. While it may take some time, I feel luxurious like I’m a movie star from the 50s. I’m in love with that era stylistically speaking, so the more often I feel like that the better!

Describe your styling regimen over the course of the month.
M: My styling regimen changes depending on how I want to style my hair that day. Most of the time, I’m going for the defined look. I will curl my hair with a wand curling iron and then run Moroccan Oil through it to make sure it stays soft and moisturized. And to keep definition I run some Garnier Fructis Gel through it and spray with Garnier Fructis Hairspray for good measure. If I’ve got five minutes I shower, leave my conditioner in (Nexxus brand) and let my more crazy curl pattern fly, but I still use the gel for hold. Then I have my go-to hairstyle if I don’t want to curl my whole head. I leave out the hair at the top of my head and braid the rest into a side pony. Then I curl the top of my head and pin the curls around my crown. I also curl the bits of hair sticking out of the pony. That way it looks like I curled my hair and braided it…but I didn’t! My styling decisions always come down to what is going to make me feel the best. If going with my crazier curl pattern will make me feel good, then that’s what I do. If I want the tighter curl, boom! It’s a day to day thing. Also, once or twice a month I do some deep conditioning with Olive Oil Hair Mayonnaise.

Tell us about your hair color?
M: I’ve only deviated from my natural hair color once. Last year I went through a phase of dying my tips. I went to the Paul Mitchell School and they really wrecked the color; I wanted light purple and got rusty magenta. After that I bleached and dyed my hair myself. I had purple, green, blue and pink tips. Pink was my favorite, but the upkeep was too much. And the bleaching process I had to do before coloring it KILLED my hair. Thank goodness I didn’t do my whole head. My ends were done after that ordeal. In hindsight, my hair would have been fine if I wasn’t so impatient. I did the bleaching process waaay too fast. I just wanted results. I didn’t think about the health of my hair.

Is there a blog/webpage where we can find you?
M: Yes, yes! You can find me many places like…
Instagram: msmadidew
Lookbook: lookbook.nu/msmadidew
Tumblr: happierhealthierhotter.tumblr.com AND postcodeenvious.tumblr.com
Facebook: facebook.com/madisondewberry.actor
Twitter: @msmadidew
And YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5NQmfNcPSY