Wharton sophomore is a self-made social media fashionista

Wharton sophomore Morgan Brown has styled her own path at Penn. While her peers seek coveted consulting and banking jobs, Brown is using social media and creativity to get to the top.

“I’m not taking the typical Wharton route,” Brown said. “I can capitalize on what I’ve learned here and carry it onto my own personal business.”

Brown first became a well-known personality on YouTube and Instagram, which then allowed her to work on larger creative projects.

Brown’s YouTube career began because of her love of social media and expressing herself creatively. After seeing YouTube channels that focused on beauty and fashion, Brown decided to create her own channel.

Since starting her channel “ItsHeyMorgan” in January2014, she has attracted over 140,000 subscribers, and some videos have had more than 1 million views.

For Brown, how she presents herself online is one of the most important parts of her channel.

“I’m very expressive, theatrical and I’m very personal with my audience because if you put yourself on YouTube you have to be open,” said Brown. “You want to be as transparent as possible.”

It is also important to Brown that her content is original and that it represents who she is. When asked about her own style, Brown said, “I think it depends on how I wake up that morning.”

Her closet is based on simplicity, and features a lot of black, white and grey. Her hat is her must-have accessory on a daily basis.

You can most likely identify Brown on campus rocking her big black hats. “Every time she wears it, it’s been something different and she always brings a new look to the hat,” College junior Chaz Smith, a friend and collaborator said.

Aside from promoting her own take on fashion, this fashionista has used her online fame to create a potential career path. Brown has continued to use her social media presence to create and promote her own brand, which now includes an app and clothing line.

The app, which allows her viewers to see behind the scenes of her videos and also offers exclusive tips, is currently available on the app store for free. Brown said she had the opportunity to charge money for the app, but she would rather have it be available to as many people as possible.

Just last week, Brown rocked an outfit with the first shirt from her very own clothing line. The shirt says “Not Today” in black print on a white background. It costs $22 and is currently the only item available in the clothing line so far. Brown hopes to expand the line and keep prices relatively low in comparison to other small brands.

Currently, Brown is working on a collaboration with Smith, who is also known on campus for his social media presence.

The idea to collaborate began when a mutual friend suggested the two should work together. “I looked her up and I was like ‘Woah, how does she have like 100,000 subscribers on YouTube?’” Smith said. “That’s pretty cool.”

As one of their collaborations, Smith and Brown have joined forces to make videos for a new media site, FlockU. Smith was originally picked up by the creators of FlockU because of his popularity on Vine.

Smith describes FlockU as a cross between “Sparknotes and Groupon except with videos and articles for college students.”

The website launched Sunday Nov. 1, and college students can sign up for an account to gain access to their entertainment content. FlockU will be partnering with various businesses, enabling it to give discounts to those college students who subscribe.

The first video made by Smith and Brown for the site is entitled “20 things you should know about college”, which is intended to be a funny video about what they would’ve liked to know before coming to college.

On working with Brown, Smith said, “she’s hilarious, really creative, fun to be around and really down to earth.”

For other students interested in creating a social media presence, Brown advises, “Stop worrying about how others are going to perceive it, don’t be shy, just do it.”

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