Working in the beauty department at Seventeen Magazine opened the doors for me to a number of things, but the last thing I would have thought it would get me is a graduation dress.

Zoe's October 2011 Seventeen Magazine Cover!

Thanks to their Pretty Amazing cover contest, I had to the opportunity to meet five pretty amazing (pun intended) girls.  One of them, who would eventually become the winner and score a cover and feature story in Seventeen, was Zoe Damacela.  Zoe started her own clothing company at the age of 14 after taking a sewing class in school.  Since then, she has designed clothes for the likes of Tyra Banks and been honored by Oprah and President Obama.  After all that she’s accomplished, you’d never guess that she started off homeless.  Zoe’s determination and knack for entrepreneurship helped her to get to where she is today – a sophomore at Northwestern University, running her own very successful clothing company.  I don’t know about you, but I’d certainly call that pretty amazing.

But what does that have to do with my graduation dress?

The Claire Dress

I am so insanely excited to introduce to all of you my college graduation dress.  The Claire Dress, a Zoe Damacela original.  After meeting the Pretty Amazing finalists during my Seventeen Magazine internship days, I immediately friended them on Facebook.  Weird?  Maybe.  But it paid off in the end!  A few weeks ago, after scouring the Internet (sans luck) for the perfect graduation dress, Zoe posted a photo of this doll on her Facebook.  I immediately fell in love and had to order it.

Zoe was an absolute sweetheart throughout the whole ordering process.  I sent her my measurements via email, paid via Paypal, and I had my perfect, custom-fit dress within two weeks!  Too good to be true?  Nay.  She even mailed me a handwritten thank you note for ordering from her. Next time I need a dress, I won’t hesitate to go to her first.

You can get your own Zoe Damacela original on zoedamacela.com.