In Bed With Cyndi Ramirez

By the time you wake up, Cyndi Ramirez has probably already crossed ten items off her to-do list, put out a few fires, and purchased a fab pair of pumps—all while lounging in bed and sipping green tea. Cyndi is the founder of Taste The Style, an online publication for the fashion- and food-obsessed. She’s also co-founder of skincare company DAILE. Oh, and she is a partner at Den Hospitality. How does she do it all? We sat down with this busy lady to find out.

Quickfire with Cyndi:

1. Instagram or Facebook?

Instagram.

2. Cocktails or Wine?

Cocktails.

3. Flats or Pumps?

Daytime flats, nighttime pumps!

4. Press play or Shuffle?

Press play.

5. Salad or Burger?

Today I’ll say salad, but yesterday I would have said burger.

Refinery: What is the first thing you do when you wake up?

Cyndi Ramirez: I wish I could say I have a really awesome routine, but it mainly consists of me diving right into work. It’s something that I’d eventually like to break out of, but right now that’s all I can think of when I wake up. I think eventually I’m going to start trying to meditate, and do something that’s more for me and not work.

Refinery: Are you a stickler for making lists?

CR: I’m kind of a freak where I remember a lot of things. If I write something down I’ll remember it, but I don’t need to task them out. I always magically finish everything that I need to get done.

Refinery: Where do you find fashion inspiration?

CR: I have my shops that I visit online like Reformation and The Dreslyn. I like to see how they style their clothing, and I’ll draw some inspiration from there. I’m a hat girl, and I wear a lot of handkerchiefs now. Those are my main style pieces, and then from there I put on things that are trendy right now.

Refinery: And you wear a lot of accessories too.

CR: Oh, yeah! Sometimes I’m on and off with accessories. Sometimes I’ll be super accessorized, and other times I want to feel naked. I like to mix it up.

Refinery: How would you describe your sense of style?

CR: I’d say it’s a mix between casual, bohemian, and rock and roll. It’s a little eclectic, mixing colors and prints. Really, it’s whatever makes me feel good. I don’t like to put things on just because they are trending. It’s more about what flatters my body, and knowing that this is something that I feel stylish wearing. For me, priority number one is that my body looks as good as it can in the clothes that I’m wearing. I think the most important thing for a woman is to feel comfortable in her own skin.

Refinery: Where did you find the inspiration to bring fashion and food together?

CR: Taste the Style actually started off as a restaurant review site. It was just a little blog; I didn’t even know how to design a site. It was total crap, but the content was great. It was fun. It was my voice. I always knew that I wanted to bring fashion into it, but I didn’t quite know how to do that. When I relaunched the site, I did style blogging, restaurant reviews and travel posts. As the site gained traction, I wanted it to become a resource for people to meet new people in fashion, food, travel and beauty.

I’ve worked in both the hospitality and fashion industry since I was 18. I went to school for fashion marketing. I did the internship thing, I’ve freelanced. I was heavy into the fashion industry while I was working in hospitality. I loved both of these things, and I thought how can I do both. It’s kind of cool to know that I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do.

Refinery: How are you in the kitchen?

CR: [Laughs.] When I want to cook, I’m really good and my flavors are great. But I don’t cook very often because I’m always out eating! I get a lot of invitations to dinners and events. I know it’s no excuse for not cooking, but I’d say I’m a better bartender. I’m really great at mixing cocktails. As long as you follow the recipe, you’re solid.

Refinery: With so many things going on in your busy life, how do you manage everything?

CR: I have help. I think the key is learning how to delegate. I have a really great support system right now, and I hope they stay with me for a really long time. They’re an awesome team!