A Road Less Traveled Podcast · Hilary Haron

Desk to Dusk Fashion: Melissa dos Prazeres Allard | A Road Less Traveled Podcast

·33 min·2 clips

Melissa says brand sizing becomes a psychological marketing tactic for women.

Melissa joins Hillary Heron and gives a straightforward answer about what she does. She calls herself the founder and CEO slash do-it-all for Desk to Desk, and says the brand started online about five and a half years ago before a showroom opened six months ago. Desk to Desk is a lifestyle brand for women in business. From there, the conversation widens into quality suiting, workwear, and Melissa's wish to build something that stands for more than clothes. She keeps returning to community. She wants the brand to connect like-minded women and give them resources for professional development. Right now, she says, the community is national. One day, she wants it to be global. That bigger ambition gives the talk its shape. Melissa is clear that fashion matters, but the mission matters too. She does not keep those things separate. Instead, she treats the brand as a way to bring women together around work, style, and support. The conversation then turns toward the reality of building something for yourself. She admits there are times when it would be easier if someone else told her what to do and the paycheck came every two weeks. She also points out the upside of learning on someone else's dime. That tension between comfort and ownership stays honest throughout the exchange, along with her belief that if this is what you feel called to do, you keep trying even when you trip along the way. She keeps choosing gratitude. Melissa says she loves what she does now and also loved what she did before, so the work becomes a matter of making the rest fit. The sports language comes in too, with her calling it a numbers game and saying she has not lost enough yet to claim she has earned her spot. By the end, the baby-learning-to-walk image helps her rethink when to quit, and the whole thing lands on her effort to commit to herself the way she commits to others.

As heard by us

A founder story about workwear, community, and the realities of building something of her own.

Melissa's conversation with Hillary Heron frames Desk to Desk as a lifestyle brand for women in business. The founder describes it as starting online five and a half years ago and adding a showroom six months ago.

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A workwear founder walks you through the journey of building something you call your own.

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