A Look Back : Charlotte’s 25 Most Stylish People of 2011

Ahhh 2012!  The New Year brings promise, hope, more diet resolutions and the most anticipated celebration of the year.  As nominations open for the 25 Most Stylish People of 2012, we’d would like to once again celebrate the tastemakers of 2011 in Fashion, Business, Entertainment, Philanthropy and more.

The Top 5 Most Stylish

Ron Freeman – Business

As the Managing Partner of Dry Creek Holdings LLC and Bespoke Media, his company invests in and helps to grow lifestyle brands primarily in the print and online media industries. In Charlotte, Ron is most recognized for the successful 2009 launch of UPTOWN Media Group’s regional property UPTOWN Charlotte, which celebrates the success and luxury lifestyle of affluent African Americans. He is married (Nicole) with a seven-year old son (Spencer).

Jami Svay – Beauty

Jami Svay is the makeup artist and creator of Tastee Cosmetics, a national line of organic lip products. She decided to forgo college dreams of being a fashion designer once she realized that makeup artistry combined her love of color and fine art. Jami’s impressive client roster belies her versatility as she’s worked with Brooklyn Decker and Michael Jordan, and has done work for Neiman Marcus, Ralph Lauren, Perry Ellis, Kohl’s, Hanes, Essence and Jezebel magazines, among others.

Brittney Cason – Socialite

Brittney Cason is the ultimate socialite with a genuine love for charitable causes.  Brittney is a columnist, TV host, spokesperson, guerilla philanthropist, “facilitator of fun,” freelance writer and Frequent Flyer. Brittney’s description of herself pretty much sums it up: “I’m the girl next door, to the girl next door.” Brittney also co-hosted last year’s 25 Most Stylish event.

Sandy Bowers – Civic Accomplishments

Sandy Bowers is the perfect example of how to combine fashion and philanthropy. Frustrated by impersonal department store shopping and driven by a love of shoes, Sandy Bowers decided to open Monkee’s of Lake Norman in Davidson, a town she has called home since 2002. Sandy is active in a variety of charitable organizations, especially the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Her work with her father on the Light the Night campaign in Greensboro holds special meaning, as Sandy was 12 years old when she lost her mother to leukemia.

Nicole Sinclair – Fashion

Nicole Sinclair is the Chief Creative Officer for The Style Sanctum, a fashion art studio. While studying fashion design at Parsons School of Design (yes, the same place where Project Runway was filmed), she was involved in personal appearances with Kate Spade, Lulu Guinness, and Rafe. She has also dressed hundreds of women for retailers such as Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. She was the style columnist for Charlotte the City Magazine, and did a Wardrobe Wednesdays segment for Fox News Rising.

The Most Stylish Socialites

Natalie Pasquarella

Natalie Pasquarella Natalie co-anchors Eyewitness News at 5:30 p.m. weeknights with Blair Miller and anchors Action News at 10 p.m. on WAXN-TV 64. Natalie joined the Channel 9 team in August 2008, as co-anchor on Channel 9 Eyewitness News Daybreak and Eyewitness News Midday.  When she’s not at the news desk, Natalie likes to travel, preferably to tropical locations! She enjoys the theatre and sporting events; she’s an avid baseball fan, and has become a NASCAR fan since moving to the Carolinas.

Colleen Odegaard

Colleen Odegaard is the co-host of Charlotte Today with Rob Tanner. It can be seen weekdays from 11:00 a.m. to noon. The lifestyle/entertainment program features segments on health, fitness, beauty, finance and cooking… among other things. Charlotte Today highlights all the amazing people and places that make the Queen City so special.

Dianne Galagher

Dianne Gallagher joined CN2 in 2006 as a general assignment reporter. During her time here, Dianne has been a reporter, anchor and even handles the occasional sportscast. Dianne enjoys playing, watching and talking about every sport with just about anyone (although she is partial to Vols and Heels fans). She loves calling the Carolinas home and always enjoys meeting new people.

Rita Miles

In 2010, Rita Miles started and created Charlotte Seen. Charlotte Seen  strives  to create events, galas, charity events and grand openings that are unique and memorable.  The company aims to be the premier leader in providing consistent upscale social venues for the Charlotte Metropolitan area and to promote awareness of events, happenings and socials in Charlotte.

The Most Stylish in Business

Kathryn Goetzke

Kathryn Goetzke, is the owner and chief Strategist at Innovative Analysis.  She is the entrepreneur and innovator behind Mood-lites™, a new category of lighting in the $5 billion dollar U.S. lighting marketplace (it is about time Edison got a makeover!). Goetzke has been interviewed in top publications including Home Magazine, InStyle, Entrepreneur, CBS and NBC affiliates, BBC, and more.

Christina Thigpen

Christina Thigpen, APR, is the director of marketing and public relations for the Bissell company.  Prior to joining Bissell in her current role, Thigpen served as the public relations public relations manager for The Ballantyne Hotel & Lodge. In addition to serving as a director at large for PRSA Charlotte, she is the chair of the Leadership Development Institute for the Junior League of Charlotte.

Cindy Urbanik

Cindy Urbanik is a classically trained interior designer with an urban design
approach and aesthetic.  She is also the owner of an award winning and internationally published interior design firm named Urbanik Interiors.  Cindy was recently awarded the highly prestigious international “Design Is” award for her pro-bono design work on the worldwide charity, Dress For Success.  The award recognizes momentous design work with the power to “reshape the world”.

Belva W. Greenage

Belva W. Greenage is President and Chief Executive Officer of Today’s Woman Inc., a publications firm for area magazines and which currently publishes the award winning, business and lifestyle magazine, Today’s Charlotte Woman.   For nearly 15 years, Today’s Charlotte Woman, has highlighted the achievements and triumphs of area women and connected them with valuable information and resources.  In 2010, in the midst of her own journey with a second round of cancer, Ms. Greenage founded The Belva Wallace Greenage Cancer Foundation; a non profit organization which provides cancer patients with holistic therapies to integrate with traditional cancer treatments.

The Most Stylish in Entertainment

Tamara A. Marbury

Tamara A. Marbury is a lawyer by day and blogger by night.  Merging her love of football and fashion, Tamara is blazing her own path in social media with www.BlitzandGlam.com  She understands the female football fan is the chic sophisticate professional, the haute couture fashionista, and the everyday woman who just loves fashion and loves to shop.  Her goal with Blitz and Glam is to bring the topics that are of  interested to the women to the forefront while displaying a style and personality that women will love.

Nicole Darin

Nicole joined WBTV as Weekend Sports Anchor in the summer of 2010. In addition to anchoring sports on the weekends, she also acts as sports reporter during the week, is the host of “Sports Saturday Night” and Co-hosts “Football Friday Night” and “The Point After”.  If you catch her on WBTV, you’re sure to find her stylishly outfitted in the season’s latest trends.

Chef Jay Jones

Chef Jay has been in the culinary and hospitality business for over 15 years. He is a graduate of the prestigious French Culinary Institute in New York City. His culinary career has taken him around the world and the country working with well known chefs and industry leaders.   As the Executive Chef of Chateau Noir a full service catering and event planning company; he is able to provide high quality catering services to the public and private sectors of Charlotte and the surrounding areas.  Jay’s range of cooking goes from simple cuisine to fine dining and can entice any palette in between.

Anique Oliver Brewer

Armed with one-of-a-kind real world, real Hollywood experience, Anique decided to develop Vanity7Studio. V7S is a unique ”Glam Squad” service for the ladies of the Charlotte area. Although Vanity7Studio team specializes in makeup artistry, wardrobe styling and even dance based fitness classes, their relationship with many different types of beauty and fitness professionals allows them to meet a wide variety of glamour needs.  While living and working in LA for a few years, She was honored to have the opportunity to perform with several major recording artists such as Usher, The Black Eyed Peas, Kelly Rowland and many more on live shows, music videos and tours around the globe.

The Most Stylish in Fashion & Beauty

Anthony Simons

The visionary behind Charlotte NC Fashion Week, Anthony has a true passion for connecting creative people.  In 2008 he produced the city’s first multi-day, multi-cultural fashion event designed to showcase emerging designers, models and retailers from around the city, the region, and the country.

Mike Watson

Mike Watson is an educator of fashion marketing and design at The Art Institute of Charlotte where he has collaborated with community powerhouses like the McColl Center for Visual Art, Neiman Marcus and the Southern Women’s show. He has collaborated with Neiman Marcus on their Fashions Night Out and Art and Fashion events. In the past Mike has created his own clothing line, styled for major retailers, won national awards for visual merchandising and store design, has lead a variety of creative and fashion focused workshops.

Tara Davis

Tara has been designing since she was a child, sewing beautiful dresses for her Barbie Dolls and is now creating dresses for mature and sophisticated women everywhere. The FLOW by Tara Davis collection continues to stay on top of current fashion trends, fabrics, and silhouettes, providing dresses that continue to flow, move and bounce. Davis stays very active in the community, visiting schools and educating youth about thefashion industry as well as motivating them to continue to strive for their passions in life.

Nicole Hale

During college, Nicole joined the fashion industry as a model represented by Wilhelmina-Evolution here in Charlotte, NC. Nicole now offers personal shopping services and industry expertise and provides styling services for photo-shoots and fashion shows. Nicole has worked with many industry professionals such as Charlotte Style Magazine, Fox News, Neiman Marcus, Belle Ville, Sloan & Step by Sloan, Ivey & Leo’s and Bella Ropa.

Ameila Keith

She is an avid beauty product researcher and writer, sharing her reviews and experiences on her personal blog PrettyintheQueenCity.Com . She is also a weekly contributor to the beauty websites BeautyStat.Com and typeF.com (the new beauty/fashion website for Tyra Banks).  A former model, Amelia currently is the owner of the media agency, Social Edge Management. She hopes to take her experience as a talent agent and build the careers of bloggers, social media experts and traditional media such as journalists.

The Most Stylish in Civic / Non Profit

Jeff Hood

Currently serving as the executive director for the Police Activities League (PAL) of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Jeff Hood has been involved with several youth related causes for more than 20 years. Prior to joining the Police Activities League in March 2009, Jeff was the Executive Director and co-founder of Athletes United for Youth (formally Dell Curry Charity for Youth) since its inception in 1998.

Patrick C. Graham, PhD

Dr. Patrick C. Graham is President/CEO of the Urban League of Central Carolinas, Inc. (ULCC) since September of 2007. During his tenure the organization increased its National Urban League ranking from a “Fair Affiliate” to a “Strong Affiliate.” In 2006, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity named him Citizen of the Year for North and South Carolina. Dr. Graham has published several academic and popular media articles on subjects ranging from migration to diversity.

Janine Davis

JANINE DAVIS is a motivational speaker for teen girls and Founder and Executive Director of Girl Talk Foundation, Inc.  Since starting Girl Talk, the program has served nearly 4200 girls. In addition, Janine’s start of Girl Talk’s Annual Prom Project has collected over 3500 prom gowns for girls in need. Janine is the recipient of the prestigious Pride Magazine Youth Empowerment Award for her work with young girls in the Girl Talk program and has been featured on WSOC.com as one of those ‘Making A Difference’ in her community.  Janine is also the creator and founder of For Teens Only Expo, launched in Charlotte in 2009, in which over 2000 teens gathered for self-empowerment.

To nominate yourself or someone else for the 25 Most Stylish of 2012, click here.