Stylemaker Spotlight

Indian heritage inspires Dallas Stylemaker finalist's fashion-forward looks

Rida Mandavia pairs a traditional Indian sari with a casual, contemporary look.

Photo by Hoyoung Lee

Editor's note: We're shining a spotlight on the six finalists in the 2017 CultureMap Stylemaker Awards, continuing with finalist Rida Mandavia. Voting for the readers' choice winner continues through October 24 at 11:59 pm. The winners will be named at our Reveal Party on October 26 at Tootsies in The Plaza.

Rida Mandavia has diagnosed herself as “a little bipolar when it comes to fashion.”

The 27-year-old behavioral therapist is just as comfortable draping a traditional Indian sari over colorful separates as she is throwing a jean jacket over a graphic tee.

The unifying detail? She looks confident in her clothes because she feels confident in her own skin.

Mandavia, a Dallas native whose parents hail from India, pulls inspiration from her heritage into her everyday looks. Drawing on her family's culture has been part of a gradual style evolution, she says.

She also serves as chief editor of Dallas[Intuitive] and founder of Rida's Pop-Up Shop, a South Asian thrift boutique. "It's through style that I have been able to connect my work in clinical psychology, fashion, and digital media marketing — three very distinct industries — to inspire myself and others," she says.

Mandavia shared more about her personal style evolution and the inspiration she gets from family, including her grandma in Bombay.

CultureMap: Tell us about the sari you're wearing.

Rida Mandavia: "The sari is a very traditional garment worn by, usually, married women in India. It symbolizes elegance, timelessness, and a kind of demureness for the Indian woman. I like that a lot of those values reflect in how I visualize my style, so I like to pull inspiration from a lot of my culture and my background.”

CM: How has your personal style moved in that direction?

RM: “I've gotten a lot more in touch with my Indian side and have learned to embrace that. Being a first-generation Indian-American, born and raised in Dallas, it was always kind of difficult to navigate your identity, so I found that style really helped me celebrate my culture and appreciate it for what it is … and really give people a visual of what it means to be an Indian-American."

CM: But there’s a whole other side to your fashion choices, right?

RM: “I feel like I have kind of multiple personalities when it comes to my style. I have this really vibrant Indian side, but I also love a lot of street style, grunge wear, athleisure ... so I’m a little bipolar when it comes to fashion.”

CM: Who are your biggest style influences?

RM: “My mom is the most sophisticated, elegant woman I know. She’s always taught us to take care of ourselves and to make sure we look good and feel good. She inspired me to take on the sari, as well. She wears it and drapes it in like 5 minutes, and I’m over here, like, ‘What do I do with all this fabric?’ She and my grandma both are very elegant, very classic, and very timeless in the way they dress, so a lot of that materializes in my style, as well.”

CM: What is it like shopping with them?

RM: “My grandma is in Bombay, and we were there twice last year. When I go shopping with my mom and my grandma, it’s the craziest thing because my grandma is so traditional in the way she thinks sometimes, but then she’ll come out of nowhere and pick out something really skimpy and I’m like, ‘What are you doing?’ We all have similar tastes — we all gravitate toward really bold colors and patterns. But at the same time ... I’m a lot more eclectic and wild in my fashion sense, and my mom and grandma are a little more traditional.”

CM: What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?

RM: “I’m a total psych nerd, which, if you know what my do as my day job, you know that about me. I read a lot of psychological journals on therapy, hypnosis, and all sorts of weird stuff. So I’m kind of a nerd like that.”

CM: How did you react when you found out you were nominated for a CultureMap Stylemaker Award?

RM: “I was really excited because I felt like finally there’s a platform that’s looking at diversity, looking at inclusion, and really celebrating style in this broad spectrum that it is. So I was really excited to take on that role and help my followers see that you can be cultural and stylish and pull influences from a lot of different places, and have it materialize in a really great way.”

stylemakers

Thrifty shopping

Massive Goodwill store in Garland reopens as 2nd largest in the U.S.

Photo courtesy of Goodwill

The Goodwill in Garland is the largest in Texas.

A major expansion has made a Garland Goodwill store nearly the largest of its kind in the country. Goodwill Industries of Dallas officially reopened its "Broadway store," at 451 W. Interstate 30 #100, on April 30 after a major renovation. The new-and-improved store is twice its previous size.

According to a release, at 31,000 square feet, the Broadway Store and Donation Center is now the largest Goodwill in Texas and the second largest in the U.S.

The expansion will significantly boost inventory turnover. According to the organization, the store will introduce about 10,000 new items daily, including clothing, home goods, and accessories. At that pace, inventory cycles through the store roughly every four weeks, they say.

“Our newly expanded Garland store sets the gold standard for Goodwill in Texas — not only as our largest location, but as our most operationally complex,” says Tim Heis, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Dallas, in the release. “Turning out 10,000 fresh items every single day requires a tremendous, coordinated effort behind the scenes to make sure our shelves are always stocked with new finds."

The reopening comes amid "explosive growth" in the resale sector, Goodwill says. A 2024 report from ThredUp found that the U.S. secondhand market grew 11 percent in 2023 (growing seven times faster than the broader retail clothing sector) and is projected to reach $73 billion by 2028.

“As consumers are increasingly turning to resale for its affordability, unique product variety, and positive environmental impact, the new Garland store redefines what’s possible — every visit promises one of the widest, most frequently refreshed selections anywhere in North Texas,” says Joel Ibanez, vice president, Donated Goods Retail.

To support its larger retail footprint and meet demand, Goodwill Dallas has also expanded its donation network, they say, opening new Donation Express locations in Frisco, Plano, and Lantana in recent months and bringing the total number of donation drop off locations in North Texas to 52.

The Garland store includes a drive-up donation center, and additional sites are in development across North Texas, they say.

"Over the past two years, Goodwill Dallas has experienced record-breaking performance, earning recognition as the top performing Goodwill in the country for two consecutive years," they say in the release.

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