VICTORIA HAVLIK

The Person Behind Refined

It all began in my childhood. I am the youngest of 3 girls to a very stylish Vietnamese mom. When I wanted to play, I would go into my mom and sisters' closets and dress up in their heels, jewelry, and clothing. Playing around with clothes was my creative escape where anything could become something. 

I would dream and visualize getting dresses made out of materials and how I would look and feel in them. I would beg my mom to take me to the mall and go to where my older sisters shopped because I wanted a personal style that wasn’t offered at the kid clothing stores for my age.

This passion for clothing carried on throughout my childhood and into my teen years. Where it really came through was in high school. I developed an eating disorder and my life felt like it was crumbling around me. During this difficult time, I used clothing to express myself when I felt like no words could explain how I felt on the inside. From that moment, I knew I had a bigger purpose in life to help people see themselves enough as is and truly embrace that. 

You would think the next natural progression in my journey would be to go to fashion school (like my mom suggested) and it would be a straightforward story. Well, like any good story, it took some twists and turns.

I fell in love with the idea of being a therapist at the end of high school. With my journey of recovering from my eating disorder, mental health and mindset became an interest in my life. I went to college and got a degree in psychology and planned to go to graduate school to become a psychologist who specialized in working with prisoners. (Side note: I love a good crime show and find it very fascinating.)

I ended up not getting into grad school and felt getting a job in corporate America was the right move. The first job I worked at ended up being cut short. Within one week of getting out of training, they had a massive layoff in the company, and I lost my job. 

THIS MUST BE IT?

During the time I was looking for a new job, my friend asked me to style her. We had talked about redoing her wardrobe for years and this time was finally right for both of us. We shopped together, I redid her whole wardrobe (the whole damn thing from pajamas, to workout attire, and undergarments, to going-out looks) and helped her choose the right clothes for herself. She was amazed, people were amazed, and I was hit with a sudden realization: this is what I should be doing! I styled a few more friends and it finally became clear to me that this must be a big part of my life’s purpose.

I knew that this talent that always felt so easy to me was something I could help people with. I tucked the idea in my back pocket and decided that I would pursue it when I felt the call from within me. 

The Founding of Refined By V

I went on to get a new job that I manifested and started a new adventure that I could have never predicted for myself. I enjoyed the job but felt that I needed to not forget about starting my styling business. I prayed and meditated for a year and heard the universe tell me, “Wait & I will tell you when to go.”

While I was at the airport flying to NYC for work on a Sunday, I knew that it was time to brainstorm ideas for my styling business. I figured that if I’m going to start one, coming up with a name should be the first step. As I was waiting to board the plane, I googled words that are related to fashion. I loved the word 'refinement' and decided to go with Refined by V. 

This journey of creating this wonderful business that has helped so many people of different backgrounds has been a true gift. I help people come back to who they truly are and embrace it. 

If you feel called to deepen the journey within yourself, I offer a variety of services and programs ranging from 1-hour consultations, digital courses, reiki healing, speaking, and a full wardrobe revamp package. You can work with me 1:1 in person (Atlanta, GA based) or virtually. 

xoxo,

V