Toledo Free Press will receive a makeover this issue with the addition of Ali VanDyke and Alli Bartley. The duo will write a column, “Mirror Talkers,” highlighting the latest in fashion, beauty and health care trends for local readers.

“We’re bringing different viewpoints, but we want people in the city of Toledo to know this is a fashionable town,” Bartley said. “Toledo can definitely have the fashion and beauty other big cities have.”

Bartley said she is a licensed aesthetician specializing in skin care and massage, with a degree in business and fashion design from Owens Community College in Toledo. VanDyke said she is a hair stylist who trained at TONI&GUY Hairdressing Academy. Bartley and VanDyke ply their respective trades at Nrgie Salon & Spa at 690 Dixie Highway in Rossford.

Alli Bartley, left, and Ali VanDyke are salon professionals at NRGIE in Rossford.

Bartley, a married mother with two children, said they cultivated their perspectives through their lifestyles. VanDyke said she has never married and has no children, but recently became engaged.

“We live two completely different lives,” VanDyke said of her differences from Bartley. “I am more about the younger women going into their careers, yet still looking modern and trendy.”

“I am a working mom with a husband, two kids and a dog,” Bartley said. “I want people to know that at my age you can have a career and a family and still look good for yourself.”

Meeting three years ago at Nrgie, VanDyke said she and Bartley found a common ground on fashion trends, which transcends their circumstances. The two started taking cosmetic courses together, Bartley said, and during a bridal makeup class at the Pavilion in Farmington Hills, Mich., the idea arose of a column offering style tips for Northwest Ohio.

“People are afraid to ask questions in the salon,” Bartley said. “There are so many great restaurants and places to go in Toledo, I truly think people want to look their best.”

Despite any separation between their fashion approaches, Vandyke and Bartley agree on one principle. The driving force behind their Toledo Free Press column, Bartley said, is educating Toledo’s citizens on the latest in improving one’s image.

“I want everyone to learn something from us,” VanDyke said. “I enjoy making people feel better about themselves.”

“Beauty starts with personal style,” Bartley said. “Personal style is wearing what you feel comfortable in as far as your shape and who you are. We want it to be fun and something people look forward to reading.”

VanDyke said she admired the brevity of fashion trends. Her column with Bartley, she said, would keep locals aware of every change in the world of the chic and the hip. Regardless of what is in or out, she said, true beauty lies in a person’s value of their self.

“A lot of women and men get in the chair and have no idea how they should dress,” VanDyke said. “Everything starts with your inner beauty and confidence. It all spins off of that.”

This entry was posted on Friday, August 7th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Ali & Alli: Mirror Talkers, Arts and Life.
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