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A WRITTEN PORTRAIT
ANNA SEAVEY dreams of limestone and marble greek busts against green rolling hills, Parisian balconies against blue shutters, and the day when she bewitches her own Mr. Darcy, body and soul, and becomes an elegant Elizabeth James-esque mother. Her flowering period drama/cottagecore aesthetic aspirations paint her eyes as forward-looking into a glittering future, while her personal life inspirations, hobbies, and work color in a full portrait. Her main inspiration in life is her mother who also doubled as her photographer for our cover and written portrait images. She describes her mother as someone she wants to emulate, who “will always do her best to understand someone, to give them grace, to have empathy,” and through working with Anna, it is clear that she is what she hopes to be.
At 17, Seavey started creating Seavey Style, a hand-drawn graphic design business with merchandise from art prints to sweatshirts and tote bags, and now at 20, she creates fashion and lifestyle content on her Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube channel while also planning to re-open a new version of her brand. She candidly opens up about her struggles during COVID, her love/hate relationship with LA, childhood memories, and her favorite content to create. Read below for a full PORTRAY-T of Anna Seavey.
How would you describe your aesthetic in terms of your preferred color palette and style?
I’ve always been drawn more towards neutrals and earthy tones (blues, greens, beige, white, etc) but I do love color! European culture has always been an inspiration of mine so think colorful midsummer festivities in Scandinavia, green rolling hills and warm toned villas in Tuscany, and blue shutters against wrought iron balconies in Paris.
I love Seavey Style, can you talk a little bit about what drove you to start your own brand and what you learned about creating a business. Is there anything you would have done differently?
Why thank you! I’ve always had a great love and appreciation for art and fashion so Seavey Style was my way of combining the two with my hand-drawn pieces! I actually used to just sell sketches on Instagram, but many people suggested I put them on merchandise, so I obliged and am so happy I did. Fashion is something I’d always hoped to pursue and my amazing followers encouraged me to do so.
In terms of what I’d do differently, I wish I would’ve accepted sooner that it’s okay to ask for help! I started working on that project when I was 17, which I’m very proud of, but running a business is a lot of work and I’d somehow convinced myself that it was all up to me. I have since stopped being so terribly idiotic and am in the process of working on a relaunch!
What made you make the move to LA? A lot of people seem to have a love/hate relationship with LA, what has been your experience?
Family, opportunity and sunshine is what brought me to LA! One of my brothers, take a wild guess at which one I’m referring to [Daniel Seavey of Why Don’t We], had just gotten his foot in the door of the music industry, and my parents had grown up in SoCal, and after being in rainy Washington state for 20 years, they were eager to get back to perpetually warm weather. I knew I wanted to work in a creative field i.e. entertainment, fashion, etc, and since there’s so much opportunity for those things in LA, I was more than happy about the move.
Fast forward to having lived in LA for the past 4 years now, I would definitely say I’ve fallen into the category of having a love/hate relationship with LA. On the one hand, I absolutely love that so many creative souls reside here. I feel like it’s helped me grow so much creatively and gives you that edge to continue improving where you can. It’s also such a wide, ever-growing, ever changing city--you can never run out of new things to do and try. On the other hand, I think a lot of people here, myself included, always feel like they’re not doing enough. A bit of imposter syndrome, if you will. Like great, so you launched a whole company at 18, you’ve worked with some of the most well-known brands, you’ve gotten to travel to incredible places and experience amazing new things because of your job--but what now? What’s next? It’s a fickle place, and one that can be exhausting to keep up with. It’s also a tough place to be socially. I’m someone who values friendship so much and has had some of the same friends for the past 10 years and it can be hard to form dependable relationships here, in my experience. When I first moved here, meeting new people every night was fun and enticing, but after some time, I mainly just crave consistency and consideration, which can be a scarce and seldom thing in such a fast paced city full of ambitious people.
When I first moved here, meeting new people every night was fun and enticing, but after some time, I mainly just crave consistency and consideration, which can be a scarce and seldom thing in such a fast paced city full of ambitious people.
ANNA SEAVEY
ANNA SEAVEY Photographed by KERI SEAVEY
You created a Youtube channel about a year ago and post content often on your Instagram page. I think a lot of people in content creation often suffer from feeling stuck creatively. Have you felt this way?
Oh, I’ve undoubtedly gone through bouts of creative blocks. COVID had a huge effect on my creativity because I went from traveling a ton, getting content in places so beautiful that capturing them was effortless, exploring and doing fun things with friends to being stuck in my apartment with little to entertain. And, unfortunately, I was not one of those creators who worked on their fitness and/or gained a new hobby to share with the world, but rather gained 10lbs, watched many, many movies and TV shows and truthfully became a bit depressed.
I’ve experienced creative blocks before and after COVID as well, and I’ve learned that it’s important to give yourself time to rest if you’re able to, time to recognize how far you’ve come, time to brainstorm new ideas, and time to find passion in what you’re doing again. Like I said before, I think it’s safe to say that a lot of us feel like we’re not doing enough most of the time, but pushing ourselves too hard can often cause a burnout and a lack of dedication or authenticity to the work we’re putting out there.
You are a movie and book lover; If you could live your life as one of your favorite characters from a book or movie, who would you want to be and why?
Okay this is so difficult to answer, so the best I can do is give you one character from a book I’d want to be, and one from a movie haha. For a book, I would probably be Feyre Archeron from the “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series. First of all, I very much envy her love life. But I also think it’d be pretty amazing to live in a magical land and have superpowers. For a movie, and this will be a shock to absolutely no one, I choose Pride and Prejudice (2005). I’m cheating a bit because it’s obviously from a book adaptation, but aside from the heavy misogyny and politics of the 18th century, I think it’d be fun to experience the wardrobe and the parties and the “simpler times.” Also...Mr. Darcy. Case in point. I would like to bewitch someone... body and soul haha.
"For a movie, and this will be a shock to absolutely no one, I choose Pride and Prejudice (2005). I’m cheating a bit because it’s obviously from a book adaptation, but aside from the heavy misogyny and politics of the 18th century, I think it’d be fun to experience the wardrobe and the parties and the 'simpler times.' Also...Mr. Darcy. Case in point. I would like to bewitch someone... body and soul!"
Who are some of your style icons/inspirations? Who are your personal life inspirations?
My top 3 style inspirations would probably have to be Hailey Bieber, Elizabeth James from “The Parent Trap” movie and Matilda Djerf. Hailey has such a sophisticated, cool girl style and I love how she balances being sporty and chic. A bit controversial, but I love how she’s always pairing a dope pair of sneakers with a mini dress. And do I really have to explain why I’m obsessed with the mom from The Parent Trap’s style? She gives timeless, elegant, hot mom energy--what more could you want? Matilda Djerf is an influencer I’ve been following for years who gives me cottage core, endless summer, “Oh I just threw this old thing on but look absolutely incredible” vibes. I love how she plays around with bright colors and she’s probably a main reason I started exploring more outside of neutrals.
My main inspiration in my personal life is my mom. To know the woman is to love the woman. She’s thoughtful, honest, a great listener, always willing to help the ones she loves. She will always do her best to understand someone, to give them grace, to have empathy. She makes me feel unequivocally safe and loved. I hope to emulate those qualities.
"My main inspiration in my personal life is my mom. To know the woman is to love the woman. She’s thoughtful, honest, a great listener, always willing to help the ones she loves. She will always do her best to understand someone, to give them grace, to have empathy. She makes me feel unequivocally safe and loved. I hope to emulate those qualities."
What type of content is your favorite to create? Do you have a favorite piece of content you have created (whether it be a specific photoshoot, TikTok, reel, etc)?
I think taking and editing photos will always be my favorite- specifically fashion and travel photos. It’s what I started with and something about having a feed I’m proud of makes me feel like I have my life together haha.
However, one of my favorite pieces of content was a TikTok I made with one of my best friends, Rachel [Gonzalez]. We both became obsessed with the Bridgerton musical that was circulating around TikTok (if you’re a Bridgerton fan and haven’t heard of it, you must look up Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear—they’re amazing) and made a TikTok skit lip syncing to one of their songs that actually went viral! It was really fun because it was just a quick little idea I had while we were getting ready to take photos and it randomly blew up.
What is the best advice you have received or your favorite words someone has told you?
Pretending to be someone you’re not is the toughest and least rewarding job there is, so be authentic in who you are.
You have been documenting the process of decorating your apartment on Instagram. One thing I actually took inspiration from was using vintage images from an old art or fashion book to frame and use for a gallery wall! Do you have any other interior decorating hacks or tips?
I love finding ways to reuse things! Not only is it cheaper but it’s also typically more environmentally friendly. One example is I love using old wine bottles for flower vases (pictured on my instagram). Also, never underestimate the power of Goodwill when trying to find unique, cute knick knacks! I’ve found tons of little decorative pieces there like candlesticks, vintage frames, vases, and artwork for my gallery wall. I think my favourite find though is when I found this normally really expensive large greek head bust there for $12.
I was watching HALSTON on Netflix and one episode goes into how we strongly associate certain smells with memories. Do you associate any specific smells with any of your favorite memories?
Oo, I have yet to watch that one! Now I have a new series to binge. But yes, I’ve definitely smelled things that have brought me back in time. When I was younger, my mom invented this dish called “breakfast rice” that my siblings and I still love having to this day. She told us later on that she just threw it together because she was busy with 4 kids, hadn’t had time to go grocery shopping and just threw some ingredients we had together for us. Basically it’s jasmine rice, milk and some french vanilla creamer mixed together. We’d heat it up in the microwave and add some cinnamon and sugar and it was heavenly. I hadn’t had it in years and recently found a DW home candle, I think it was the birthday cake one, that smelled so similar that it immediately brought me back and I made myself some breakfast rice shortly after that.
Especially with you having a prominent presence on social media, there is often a difference between how others perceive you vs. how you perceive yourself. How would you describe yourself and do you think people perceive you the way you see yourself?
I think my true self shines through well on social media, but of course it’s all a highlight reel! I feel like I’m very open about mental health and struggles I’ve gone through with my followers and I share just about everything when it comes to interest and hobbies like what books I’m reading, what I’m listening to, what I’m watching, and future hopes and aspirations. The one misperception I could see is that I probably seem more extroverted than I am online. I like to call myself an introverted extrovert. I am very social and bubbly, but I also really value my alone time and being by myself, and that’s something that’s probably usually not shown online.
Quick Questions:
Favorite place you have traveled?
Paris!
What is one thing on your bucket list?
Fly in a hot air balloon
One of your dreams for the future?
Get married and have kids
Favorite movie? Song? Book?
I love far too many of all those things to ever possibly pick favorites.
What’s next for you?
Hopefully more traveling and re-opening Seavey Style!
Anna Seavey
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