Meet East Sider & Young Fashion Maven Devyn Penney

A college student who owns not a single pair of sweatpants? Meet Devyn Penney, 20, owner of Arriving in Style, a company she founded in 2012, that of- fers closet design and organization and personal shopping and styling. An East Side native, Penney landed an interview – and then a job – with Michael Hayes, an upscale Newport clothing store, at age 14! Stylish and self-possessed, Penney attends LIM College (formerly the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising) in midtown Manhattan; she returns often to Providence.

You’re young to own a company. Do you have business or fashion role models?
“I come from a family of entrepreneurs; my mother started her business in our basement when was I was very young. Fashion role models... Brigitte Bardot,
Sophia Loren and Ali MacGraw... serious fashion icons. Even when I was in first and second grade, my choices were atypical; my parents allowed me that creativity.”

How do you make your clients, many much older, feel comfortable?
“I don’t... work in the world of celebrity. My business is about making women feel good about themselves and feel confident,” Penney says, though she will “try to push you outside your com- fort zone a little bit.”

Where do you shop for yourself or others?
“I’m all about mixing and matching whether it’s a secondhand store or a great deal online,” says Penney, whose local shopping choices include Dorothy
Williams in Wayland Square and J Marcel Shoes on Hope Street. On Thayer Street, NAVA (New and Vintage Apparel) has awesome jewelry, and Berk’s Shoes and Clothing is pretty good.

Can you offer any shopping advice?
“Look your best. Sales people are extremely judgmental... [many] won’t pay as much attention to you if you’re not put together,” she says. “American women often don’t know their proper measurements... we overcompensate [and buy too many clothes] because we don’t know ourselves.”

What’s your own fashion sense?
“I’m always overly accessorized; I love big jewelry. My closets are full of very simple pieces and not ornate in color and detail,” Penney explains. “I’m less
conscious of trends and more of what looks good on me.”

Do you see any consistencies among clients?
“Many women are paralyzed with fear about wearing colors or patterns – risk it,” encourages Penney, who confesses that, she, too, needs to incorporate more color into her wardrobe to avoid the classic “all black” look so common among women in Manhattan.

Contact Penney at Arriving in Style: dparrivinginstyle@gmail.com or dparrivinginstyle.com.
Nancy Kirsch is a freelance writer on the East Side. Find her at nancykirsch.com or writernancy@gmail.com.