NEW YORK – Born in the Big Apple, caught in the Big Peach. My name is Cortne Morgan and I’m the editor and founder of We’re Not Exclusive. After moving to the South, I found myself caught in a web of neon collared shirts, plaid shorts and boat shoes (even when you have never been on a boat). Being the new kids in a whole different world changed me a bit. I wanted to fit in and make friends instead of stand out. I wore the clothes they all wore. I spoke the way they all spoke and that includes ‘yall’ and ‘honey’ and ‘sweet tea’ I found myself morphing into a little preppy carbon copy of my southern surroundings.

Fashion had always been a love of mine, but soon it became a chore. I kept putting myself into little boxes. Preppy. Minimalist. Boho. These boxes could only hold so much variety. You can’t wear leather pants as a prep and those Sperry sliders don’t go with fringe bags and how in the HELL can you incorporate a sheer lace button down with Doc Martens? I put restrictions on everything I wore in order to remain particular to one aesthetic.

And then it happened. In 2013 I scored an internship with Rebecca Minkoff. Within the next week I was on a flight back to New York. I worked in Manhattan, in the middle of the bustling city. Chic woman of all kinds breezed past me with Blackberrys in hands and cigarettes flicking between black polished fingertips. I was amazed. I was fascinated. I was back in my element. Being in New York shocked me back into the real world. Fashion was fashion and it shouldn’t be a chore. Getting dressed should be the best part of the day and the easiest.

We’re Not Exclusive was born this year based on what I learned in the city. Style doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else but you and it definitely shouldn’t be put into a box.

Sometimes modern,
sometimes boho
sometimes it has no definition.

Cortne Morgan – We’re Not Exclusive

 

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