This month, I was chosen to serve as an honorary guest speaker for the Dynamic Women to Women session, thanks to Cassandra Diaz, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Business Administrative Training Specialist. I was especially honored because this monthly event was created to encourage and inspire women to open their own businesses across the city of El Paso.

I participated in a Q and A session, which I’m excited to share, below:

Q: Please give us a brief introduction about yourself.

A: Hello, my name is Gesuina Legaspy I was born and raised in El Paso. I started retail at the age of 18 and now at the age of 25 I have my very own business and I love our Sun City.

Q: How did the idea of Gal Fashion manifest, what was your A-Ha! Moment?

A: It’s so important for me that when someone walks into Gal, they leave feeling confident. My “A-Ha” moment was thinking, “wouldn’t it be amazing to do that for thousands of women?” My passion is not only fashion, but also building a community of women and encouraging women to make their own dreams a reality.

A lot of the times as women, we take care of everyone else but we don’t always take care of ourselves. I learned a short time ago, that in order to be a great mom or wife, you’ve got to take of yourself before you take care of others.

Q: Take us through a day in your life as a fashion entrepreneur.

A: One thing I do and focus on daily is training, since my job is to build up the people that run Gal so that our standards are consistent across the board. To ensure my team is always growing, motivated, excited and constantly learning is a key to our success. We have a major product knowledge training program and our stylist Jessenia Cruz is our Product Knowledge trainer. I spend a lot of time with my clients, and I also travel to markets in Dallas, LA, and New York to find the best product for El Paso. You can say I’m also a firefighter in my job since I put out “fires” all the time.

Q: Can you virtually walk us through Gal Fashion, What do we see? What should we expect?

A: Expect the unexpected! We pride ourselves on being very different from other department stores and specialty stores. From the moment you walk in, it smells great, it feels great, we try to create a welcoming a environment and we carry fantastic, eye-catching merchandise that will definitely make an impression on our guests.

Q: How are the brands picked to be in Gal Fashion, and how exclusive should we expect the brands in the boutique to be?

A: By the end of the month of April, we are launching our evening gown store/department and when we say ‘exclusive,’ we mean it. If you purchase a gown or dress at Gal, it no longer can be special ordered. It goes on a list that keeps track of exactly who bought it and where they are wearing it. El Paso is a small city and I never want anyone who shops at Gal to have to worry about someone wearing the same gown as someone else, or feeling less than one-of-a-kind.

Back to your first question, a lot goes into choosing the brands at Gal. I like to buy a lot of American made brands because I like to support America’s economy. I always think about what garment or brand is going to do for my customer, and I love lines that have a story behind them. I don’t just buy what I think is pretty but instead think about why certain items work for my customer; is it breathable, packable, quality, how does it make you feel? I especially like knowing who made the product. The stories behind the lines, the reason why they started and how they’re made.

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