Melynda Choothesa

Melynda is originally from the Bay Area and got her official start in fashion styling at the age of 15 while living in San Diego, Ca. As a child, however, she would sit for hours sketching outfits and making cartoon drawings of women in different designs (much of this was inspired by her uncle, Danny Choothesa, whose travels in the US Navy left him shopping for her and drawing style guides he would send her each season). In high school, she joined a (now-defunct) youth internship program called "The Retail Project" where she was able to dress fashion shows for Nikita, Doc Martens, Quicksilver, and many other early street-wear brands of the time. Since then, Melynda has managed (and even bought for) multiple resale retail stores, worked/traveled as a sales rep in fashion wholesale and even been a boutique owner/operator herself. Melynda has been in theatre for 20 years, been in commercials/features/local theatre productions. She was even agency represented but realized her passions were truly in fashion. However, she still uses her acting experience to create characterization through costuming.