"I am first and, finally, my only model." - Coco Chanel

Meet Whitley

Fashion Stylist + Creative Director and Producer + Fashion Contributor + Style Editor

Whitley spent her childhood in the idyllic surroundings of Asheville, North Carolina. Both her Grandmother and Great-Grandmother worked as buyers for an upscale luxury boutique in Eastern North Carolina. This early exposure to personal style and high fashion led her towards her work as a stylist and the creation of her blog, the Queen City Style. Whitley believes it is because of this exposure and DNA inheritance that she has always possessed an innate connection to all things fashion and style.

Whitley obtained an Associate of Arts Degree from St. Mary’s College in Raleigh, NC, playing two undefeated seasons as number one seed on the women's tennis team and obtained a top 20 junior collegiate national ranking. She then received her Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a minor in Exercise Sports Science. Upon graduation Whitley moved to New York City to pursue her dreams in the big city of bright lights. She worked as an assistant to several of the world’s top supermodels and stylists and also served as executive assistant to the director of investor relations at Ralph Lauren Corporation.

Upon her return to the south, Whitley owned and operated Charlotte's oldest nanny placement service, Private Placements, Inc., for eight years.

It was with the birth of her second son in March 2011 that she decided to reevaluate her personal and professional goals and begin the pursuit of her passion for all things style. This creative nesting phase inspired her to submit a story to Lucky magazine which published and became the catalyst for the Queen City Style.

Teaming up with three other Charlotte entrepreneurs in 2011, Whitley co-founded Warm Charlotte, a charity collecting and delivering cold weather items to local shelters and families who need them most. Whitley has enjoyed philanthropic efforts in a close partnership including the role as spokesperson for Goodwill of the Southern Piedmont. In 2014, Whitley completed her first Boston Marathon. As an avid runner, while her boys were younger, Whitley enjoyed coaching a team for the boys not for profit characater building and running organization, Let Me Run, as well as serving on the advisory council.

In 2019, Whitley assumed the role as Style Editor for Southpark Magazine, a role she created in her own response to seeing a need. In March 2020, in light of the Coronavirus pandemic, Whitley established the industry- wide coalition, Fashion Forward, to support and preserve the retail fashion sector in Charlotte, NC.

Whitley’s current menu of services includes personal, commercial and editorial styling, as well as providing creative direction and full production for photo shoots for idividuals, businesses and brands. A self-engineered marriage of creative passion built on the notion of daydreaming and playing dress up, Whitley feels she has been blessed with an infatigable drive to pursue her passion on a professional level in order to help others look and feel their best while in pursuit of their own personal and professional goals.

Whitley contributes as a writer and stylist to various regional magazines and is available for television and speaker appearances.