Montreal style maven Zohar Benjelloun has taken her flare from Montreal’s cobblestone streets to the Big Apple to conquer the fashion and beauty industry by working with big names like Cartier and Tiffany & Co. as a management consultant.
But just because one of our fellow young professionals (YPs) leaves the country doesn’t mean their style and persona isn’t still looked up to and talked about. In this case, Zohar seems to have left a major mark amongst Montreal’s most stylish ladies; let’s check out this girl about town:
Job: Management Consultant.
Currently wearing: Rebecca Taylor top, Zadig et Voltaire sweater, Zara pants, Dolce Vita boots, Tiffany earrings, purse from Chloe, Ray Bans and bracelets, which are a gift a friend got me from South Africa
Favourite labels: Isabel Marant, The Kooples, Acne, Maje, Chloe and Erdem
Fashion and beauty pet peeves: Overdone hair and makeup, French manicures, white socks with black shoes and Herve Leger dresses.
What’s in her closet? : Harem pants, baggy dresses and Moroccan-inspired items (my friends tell me I have to stop wearing kaftans outside of Morocco. I respectfully disagree).
Cities that influence her style: Istanbul, Paris and Marrakesh.
What’s wrong with over the top hair?: Overdone hair seems to be an American thing. Something about Parisian girls grocery shopping in ballet flats with messy hair while sporting the best blazers or riding their bicycles to work in 9-inch heels just makes Paris style always seem so elegant and natural (even though it would never come naturally to me to ride a bicycle in heels). New Yorkers will wear flip-flops or Nikes to work and change into heels once they’re at the office. It’s cheating! My aversion to the “overdone” probably comes from the fact that I was never very fashion-y growing up. I was an awkward tomboy with a mushroom cut and looked like Mowgli. So my style has unfortunately kind of derived from that.
What is her style advice for young professionals? Don’t dress to appease others. Every time you dress with the intention to please others, you always end up looking far worse than you would if you had just worn what you wanted to. Even with a strict dress code at the office, stick to your gut and go for what feels most natural to you. If all else fails, go for simple, comfortable and subdued. In my case, that would be staying away from tight skirts and Louboutins. When it comes to fashion, happiness is the most important and external forces come in second place.
