Wear is She Wednesday: Ayanna Swan

Tenacious visionary, Ayanna Swan, is changing the sustainable fashion game with her brand, Eat Sleep Chic. This vintage clothing company is not only bringing the 70s back in the best way, but they’re also bringing it straight to your door, monthly! With their subscription service, they create a box of unique vintage goodies tailored just for you.

Boldly going into this uncharted territory on the fashion front, Ayanna is blazing a wonderful new trail for the sustainability movement. Today however, we’re getting to know more of the woman behind the brand. So keep reading for Ayanna’s thoughts on ice cream addiction, Marvin Gaye and the versatility of all women.

Hi Ayanna! Please introduce your wonderful self!

Hi my name is Ayanna Swan. Everyone calls me Yanna! I’m located in the heart of north Jersey but I’m always moving around. You’ll probably catch me in Houston or Cali if you’re lucky. I started my vintage boutique in 2014 straight out of high school. I knew I wanted to do fashion but wasn’t sure if I wanted to design or go into fashion merchandising. I went to the art institute for a few years but they shut multiple locations down. So for a long time I was just working job to job but always had fashion in the back of my mind.

Once I moved back to Jersey in April of 2020 I buckled down and restarted my brand. I personally have an eclectic style. So I try to bring feminine and funky together to make my brand something fun and different. You’ll find vintage items from the 60s onward. Some days you might want to look like a princess and other days you might want to wear an oversized blazer set. We have a little bit of everything. Every week we have a new themed collection for purchase. And we also have vintage subscription boxes. So we cultivate the vintage for you and every month or every other month you have something new that only costs $40/month. So we’ve been pretty excited about that.

1. How would you describe your personal style?

My style is definitely a mix between princess and street style. I love oversized or loose fitted items but I also love to wear frills, lace and ruffled dresses in the summer time.

2. Who or what are your current biggest style inspirations?

I’ve really been into the late 80s/ early 90s era with Marvin Gaye and Chaka Khan. I live for a good disco soul train line bodysuit or flared pants. And I love men’s oversized button ups to wear with a mini skirt.

3. How did you discover your personal style or are you still discovering it?

Everyday I’m discovering my style. Once I get on Pinterest I get inspired all over again. I see something new on Instagram and want to bring that forward. This is why we do collections every week. Because women are so versatile. I know it’s women out there that don’t stick to one aesthetic and just go with the flow. We love women who buy things that as long as it’s cute, we want it.

4. What’s on your thrift list right now?

Definitely men’s dress pants. We want men to shop with us to. So by August we will be providing cool men’s fashion too. We want you to shop for your boo. Or wear a men’s shirt and style it your way. It’s your prerogative.

5. What’s your go to midnight snack?

I love icecream. I have a mean addiction to anything icecream related. It’s a sickness.

6. And the bonus question I like to ask everyone before they go: what’s something you’re really proud of right now?

I’m proud of every black woman hustling and making money moves everyday. I’m proud of every person standing right now for social injustices that people face everyday. I’m proud of myself for not counting myself out because we can be our own worst enemy and taking the first steps in doing what I love full time.

Where else can we find you, Ayanna?

You can find the shop at @eatsleepchic on Instagram and Facebook or your can go to our website shopeatsleepchic.com every Sunday at 1pm to see our new collection or purchase your own subscription box.