Melanie Bacon is changing the face of downtown – not just with her style but as the executive director of Downtown Shreveport Unlimited. In her role, she works to create a more attractive downtown Shreveport. Running Mudbug Madness, known as one of the Top 10 festivals in the country, she works hard and looks great doing it.

Can you give me three words that describe your style?

BACON: Simple, tasteful, random.

Where do you gather your style inspiration from?

BACON: Friends, magazines, the Internet [Pinterest].

Do you have any style icons?

BACON: I love Wendy Nguyen. She’s a fashion blogger and has YouTube videos showing how to wear certain items in different ways, scarves for instance.

Where locally do you love to shop?

BACON: My favorite local store is M. Martha Thomas and her staff are wonderful advisers. They keep me from getting in a rut and will actually tell me when something doesn’t look good.

What do you get complimented on the most?

BACON: My legs.

Can you tell me a little about your favorite item(s) in your closet?

BACON: I have two things in my closet that I haven’t even worn yet, and I’m dying to. One is a simple asymmetrical shift with a black and red pattern. It’ll be cool to accessorize. The other is a striped, cropped jumper. Very fun.

Do you have any style secrets?

BACON: The only thing I can think of is you can take some seemingly random things and tie them together with one piece. I tried on a lace skirt (not my style) at M and really liked it but couldn’t figure out what I’d wear with it. Martha pulls out a T-shirt, which I think will never look right, and says think about the jewelry and shoes you have. When I realized I had everything to put an outfit together, I bought both pieces. It’s still one of my favorite looks.

Tell me a little bit more about how Downtown Shreveport Unlimited has been ‘Dressing Up’ downtown.

BACON: A DSU board member mentioned that his brother was in town for the holidays so they came to look around downtown. He said one of the first things they saw was buildings that were boarded up, had bars on windows or were just plain dirty. We decided to offer matching funds to any downtown business owner who wanted to improve the curb appeal of their buildings. We partnered with the owners of the old Rubenstein’s building and installed colorful, large-scale vinyl pictures of things you’d buy in an upscale department store. We’re looking for other partners now!

Brittany White is the art director for The Forum and CityLife magazines.

She has been a personal stylist for years and has contributed her style tips to local photo shoots and fashion shows.

Know someone stylish?

Email brittany@theforumnews.com with more information. We might select you or your person of interest to feature in an upcoming issue of CityLife.