With a camera in her hand and a complete wardrobe in the other, Kamilia Hyman looks to style and capture the everyday woman’s finest appearance with her photography styling company, Kay’s Way to Wear It.
What started as a vintage clothing collection to help clothe homeless and battered women has flourished into a business for Hyman, who creates vintage and edgy styles for women looking to gain a new look or stand tall as a model.
“I was collecting vintage clothing so I could actually work side by side with a women’s shelter [to] help women who were going through situations (and I) wanted to enhance their style for a nice cost, not anything too expensive. [I] made it affordable,” Hyman said.
“Then it evolved into people asking me about styling them. It started from one client, to multiple, and then the photography came about because I was like ‘OK let me take some pictures of my clothes…people need to see people in my clothes,”” she said. “I ended up taking pictures of one girl and then it ended up to the point where I started doing photography — it was overall fashion photography.”
The mother of three boys is a California native, who has most recently brought her love of fashion to Covington.
She moved to Georgia from Portland, Ore. 10 years ago and settled in Covington after she married her husband, LeJohn. In 2011, her business, Kay’s Way to Wear It, began.
Hyman said her fashions are more of a quirky kind of style and most of her clients are women who want a change or who want a unique modern look that is original. She also photographs aspiring models to help with their fashion portfolios.
Hyman said her creations are one of a kind but that creating a new style is not just about clothing.
“I want a woman to not only just wear the clothes, but I want them to actually have a whole complete look from hair to make-up to self-esteem inside and for them to be able to have everything in order—accessories, shoes, purses,” she said.
“People can’t help but to respect my style because it’s mine. It’s not anything that’s carbon-copy and it just stands as individuality.”
Hyman credited her parents for her appreciation of vintage fashion, adding that Covington is a great place for her fashion creativity.
“My mother kept us in second-hand stores. I couldn’t stand it, but what I ended up falling in love with was vintage [clothing] — the psychedelic colors, the delicate buttons and all the art,” she said. “As I got older, a lot of people were complimenting my style.
“I love [Covington] because I find a lot of good vintage [clothing]. I go to the Good Shepard Thrift store, I utilize a lot of the flea markets,” she said. “I found a lot of good places to shoot (photos) — like broken down houses.”
Though Hyman has inquires about her fashion services, she said it didn’t start out that way.
“Not everyone likes different. Everyone wants to do what’s trendy, and what’s in,” she said. “It went from nobody liking my stuff to people really wanting to order it.”
In addition to her business, Hyman said she works a full-time job. She has an assistant who helps book appointments and consultations.
Eventually, Hyman said she wants to pursue a store front for her business and said she dreams of one day styling edgy, unique celebrities such as singers, Lady Gaga and Gwen Stefani. She said she hopes to be an example to her three sons that they should always go after their dreams.
“They’ve seen the struggle. They’ve seen everything,” she said. “They still can have more; they can still want more. They still can dream; they can allow their dreams to come true.”
You can view Hyman’s fashions by visiting Kay’s Way to Wear It on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or by visiting http://www.storenvy.com/stores/62389-kay-s-way-to-wear-it.
