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NYLAMAG.com
July 25, 2007
While some of her peers at the University of Arizona were probably
content pursuing something they weren’t passionate about,
26-year-old Tucson resident BEBE was busy trying
to find something that she was passionate about. So she
halted her business studies at U of A, packed her bags and headed
to the east coast to pursue a degree in fashion merchandising at
the world-renowned Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.
The bold move has paid immense dividends. These
days, Bebe spends the majority of her time as the owner of Collage
Boutique, a trendy clothing store in Arizona. “My location
is close to U of A, and my clientele is mostly fashion-forward college
students and young professionals,” Bebe explains. She takes
frequent trips to N.Y. and Los Angeles to purchase items from vendors,
and also attends the yearly Magic fashion convention in Las Vegas.
While her looks alone could have probably garnered her success in
the modeling industry, Bebe has parlayed her innate beauty and appeal
into modeling shoots for billboards, ads and commercials for her
own boutique.
The
daughter of a real estate agent and artist, Bebe’s business
savvy and sense of fashion are both seemingly a product of her environment.
While her mom is very much into clothes and fashion and helps design
Collage’s window displays whenever she gets a chance (not
to mention the fact that she’s responsible for all the priceless
paintings that adorn the store’s walls), her father has provided
Bebe with retail space on one of his properties for her boutique.
But this ain’t the story of daddy’s little girl getting
a free ride: Bebe pays her father rent.
Though
she is currently single and “into Persian guys,” Bebe
laments that there is a lack of Persians in Arizona. “I don't
get to experience Persian culture as much as i would like, but i
do travel to L.A. and San Diego often and that’s when I see
my Persian friends,” she explains. “I also have a lot
of Persian ‘MySpace friends!’ As I’ve gotten older,
I’ve wanted (my culture) to be a bigger part of my life. I’ve
always been very proud (of being Iranian), but we moved from L.A.
when I was 8 years old, so I never got to fully experience that."
Adds
Bebe: "What I love about Persian culture is our pride, and
that the idea of family is very important to us. Traditions are
important, education is important. I love our sense of style and
attitude about parties and gatherings. No one knows how to party
better than Persians!”
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