Meet Alexandra Boyle of Frum and Fashionable in Littleton

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexandra Boyle.

Alexandra, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
As cliche as it sounds, my story starts when I was born. While I wasn’t told until I was eight, my parents found out shortly after I was born that I have a condition known as Turner Syndrome. This is a chromosomal abnormality that only affects women, 1 in 2500 to be exact, and only 2% survive after diagnosis. From a young age, I learned what it means to survive. Fast forward to my senior year in high school, my peers and I experienced tragedy when another student opened fire and shot up our school. This event shook everyone, even the community. From that point on, I leaned into something comforting to me: faith and fashion.

I really clung to my Judaism and went as far as to start taking on more stringencies. In September of 2014, I packed up and moved to New York, into a neighborhood in Brooklyn known as Crown Heights. Crown Heights is known for being an observant community and for being the headquarters of the Chabad Lubavitch Chassidic group. I decided to attend seminary there, not with the hopes of being a Rabbi, but being a Rabbi’s wife. That was my ongoing joke while I was there.

This small neighborhood is actually the birthplace of my blog, Frum and Fashionable I used it to documented my journey in bits and pieces, and allowed people a peek into a world that’s not so publicized. After two years of living in the city, I moved back home to the suburbs to take care of my health. I ended up being diagnosed with something called Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. This condition causes the hardening of my arteries between my heart and lungs, which will cause them to fail. It’s a disease that’s fairly rapid and there’s no cure as of yet. This type of news is never easy, but my faith has never wavered. My blog has since transitioned into being a platform to inform people of hidden illnesses and the idea of maintaining faith through it all. At this point, my blog is thriving, and I have a book in the works. It is humbling to know that people want to hear what I have to say.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road leading to where I am now was not an easy one. It is one that is paved with blood, sweat, tears. From medical issues to normal growing up issues and everything in between, it hasn’t been smooth. I’ve been bullied, I’ve been sick, I didn’t know who I was. But, growing up helped me become someone that I like. I had finally gotten comfortable and content in my life and with myself, and then G-d had another plan.

Facing your own mortality is hard, especially when you’re already a “rarity”, not being exactly where you’d want to be in life is hard, but the truth is… nothing good comes without a bit of hardship.

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
In this day and age, there are a million names for what I do; Influencer, blogger, multitasker, Jack of all trades and master of none? I Just call myself a blogger. It’s a passion and something I enjoy, but it’s also something I hold very high expectations to. I have tried to curate a “brand” of being the authentic girl next door that you want to hang out and go to coffee with, while at the same time talking about the hidden struggles of the day to day and living with an illness and life as an “Ultra Orthodox” Chassidic Jew. That’s what Frum and Fashionable means– frum is a Yiddish word meaning pious, and I am combining that part of my life with the fashionable down to Earth part that grew up in secular society. I’m giving people a view into a different world and not sugarcoating any of it along the way. That’s what makes Frum and Fashionable, and what will hopefully make my book unique. Social media isn’t renowned for being authentic, it’s a highlights reel, but I try to remain honest and real and show that my life is more like a blooper reel. I’ll be the first to say that I don’t have the highest follower count, but those who do follow me are people who are curious and they care, and I’m fortunate that they enjoy the content I put out.

What were you like growing up?
As a child, I was very inquisitive and had much deeper thoughts than the other kids. I attribute part of that to being an only child and having two very intelligent parents, but the other part I think is being an old soul. I loved to read, I loved history, I loved to travel– and I still love all of those things. By the time I was ten, I had already undergone more surgeries than most adults I knew, and I had spent a large chunk of my like in and out of the doctor’s office. I was never allowed to let my health get in my way, and my parents made a point of not allowing me to let it be a crutch. I lived a more grown-up childhood, but a childhood all the same. Sports were a part of my life that I loved, and miss a lot. I did everything, from gymnastics and dance to hockey. I was good at them too, but my health started to complicate things the older I got.

I always had a knack for writing and stories, so this path of writing is not a surprise to anyone, and neither is my love of fashion. My mother jokes that we had to buy me a new wardrobe every few months because of how often my style changed. I was deeply connected to my summer camp, I lived all year for the two weeks, and youth group. I liked feeling like I belonged. I had a hard time in middle school (didn’t we all), dealing with bullies and body image issues. By 13, I already had developed an eating disorder, among other things. It was a very rough time, but I survived and am able to tell the tale. I firmly believe I am a better person because of the things I had experienced. Luckily, we do all grow up, life forms who we are, but it can be that way by helping us become the best version of ourselves.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.frumandfashionable.com
• Phone: 7202266200
• Email: frumandfashionable@gmail.com
• Instagram: @frum_and_fashionable

Getting in touch: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.