By Javacia Harris Bowser, See Jane Write Magazine Founding Editor
Style blogger Cydni Robertson wants to help you find your strut — your confidence and a unique sense of style. And on January 4, she’s giving Birmingham residents the chance to help other women find their strut too.
Robertson’s upcoming Serve and Strut Brunch will be held from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 4 at Shula’s Steakhouse in Birmingham. The event will feature a three-course meal, live entertainment and door prizes. Tickets are $30 and are available for purchase online. Attendees are asked to donate a pair of new or gently used women’s shoes which will be given to Birmingham-area women’s charities.
“The theme for the Serve and Strut Brunch is ‘Give The Gift of Style,'” says Robertson who blogs at It’s Her Strut. “Through the shoe donation one woman can help another woman find her ‘strut’ or the confidence to walk in her purpose.”
Robertson sees empowering women through fashion as her personal mission and it was this mission that drove her to start her blog. “I started my blog in October 2012. That month, a close friend of mine and I were preparing for an audition to model for a breast cancer awareness fashion show. I’d be lying if I said this friend is anything short of ridiculously gorgeous, which is why I was shocked when she told me she was afraid to audition,” Robertson says. “At that moment I realized low self-esteem can prevent us from experiencing things in life. It can stop us from trying new things. The fear of not being good enough places road blocks in our lives that can take years to knock down.”
Thinking about all the other women and girls out there who might be letting low self-esteem and fear hold them back, Robertson launched ItsHerStrut.com. Today she’s also happy to report that her friend is participating in several modeling campaigns and competed in the Miss Texas USA pageant in August 2013.
Oftentimes, however, the fashion industry can be seen as the culprit of a young woman’s low self-esteem. Nonetheless, Robertson believes fashion can be a source of empowerment.
“When we wake up in the morning and decide what we want to wear for the day, there is power in that choice,” Robertson says. “It’s a moment filled with the opportunity for creativity and personal expression that most don’t notice.”
This is something Robertson learned at an early age.
“At 18 I realized that what I wore was a direct representation of how I was perceived by the world,” Robertson says. “Once I understood this power, I began to take control of my future — and my closet — and with each added piece, I made sure it said ‘This is definitely a Cydni piece.’ I didn’t have to compare myself to my classmates or the models in the magazines anymore because I had my own style now that couldn’t be copied. Once we stop comparing ourselves to whoever and whatever, especially the images that the fashion industry put out as what’s desirable, we leave room for self-confidence to build.”
The Birmingham Serve and Strut Brunch will be held from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 4 at Shula’s Steakhouse, 1000 Riverchase Galleria in Birmingham. Tickets are $30 and are available for purchase online until Jan. 3.