Tell us what motivate you to start blogging. Were you following a lot of personal style/fashion
blogs before you started blogging?
About a year out of undergrad, I realized that I pretty much hated the way that I dressed for work. I had never really figured out what kind of style I wanted to pursue, I just bought a rainbow of identical collared shirts. It was boring and not really me, but I thought that was how I was supposed to dress for work. Around that time I stumbled upon the wardrobe_remix group on flickr and was amazed by how crazy creative everybody was with their wardrobes. I eventually mustered up the courage to start my own blog so that I could document how my style was evolving. I only read a few blogs back then, but I don’t really know why. Hmmm.
What blogs do you read every day?
Oh boy, I have so many blogs in my google reader! Some recent additions that I’ve been really liking though are The Perpetual Student’s Wife, Literate&Stylish, and WhatHelenWoreToday. It’s easier for me to relate to bloggers that post work-ish outfits, which is totally what got me hooked on this awesome blog written by this girl in Wisconsin. Maybe you’ve heard of it...it’s called Franish?
Who takes your pictures? What camera and lens do you use? Have you ever been caught in the
act of taking these?
Most of my photos are taken with a Gorillapod and a remote either in our dining room or back alley. If they look good, then my boyfriend probably took them. Either way, they're taken with Bruce, a Nikon D40, with a Tamron 18-200mm lens. I've had a few people give me confused looks when I have my camera set up on top of a dumpster and am cheesing it up, but no one has ever actually asked me what I'm doing. I’m not really sure what I’d say, so maybe I should figure that out!
Do people in real life know about your blog? What were their reactions when they found out
about your blog?
My family all knows about my blog and some older friends do as well. One of my best friends told me that she had been getting really into fashion blogs lately, so it made it super easy to tell her about my blog. I can't imagine ever telling my co-workers about it though. They see what I'm wearing everyday anyway! I used to worry a lot about people finding it, even though my full name is not associated with it anywhere, but I've definitely gotten over that.
Your blog often features what you wear at work. What restrictions does work put on your
wardrobe, and how do you keep your looks professional but still youthful and fun?
I work at an architecture firm that's officially business casual, but it's a bit more dressy and corporate than other places I've worked that were also "business casual". Pretty much all of my archi-friends wear jeans to work, since we generally deal with other fields that also wear jeans (construction and engineering). My firm has a strict no jeans policy and actually a ties policy for dudes, so I run into problems sometimes. Figuring out what to wear for a morning of meetings with clients and then an afternoon at a muddy construction site can be a challenge. I end up changing my shoes a lot!
Many fashion bloggers hop from one trend to the next. How do you manage to stay on trend
without breaking the bank and just blindly following each trend?
I have found in cleaning out my closet that most of the cheap and trendy pieces I buy end up getting donated within a few months. Whoops. I've also been pretty torn in the last year between wanting new, trendy things to wear and saving up for nicer pieces. Since a lot of the trends I see on other blogs are aimed towards more casual styles (sneaker wedges, I'm looking at you!) I have to decide whether or not its something that I can wear to work or not. I try to buy pieces that I can wear for both workdays and weekends, which general keeps me from buying things that are crazy trendy or too stuffy.
Putting yourself on the internet comes with the expectation that not everyone will always love
what you are wearing and writing. Have you encountered any of these criticisms, and if so, how
do you handle it?
I have been very fortunate in that I have not received any mean comments on my blog. It really bothers me though when I see hurtful blog comments or whole forum threads devoted to bashing specific bloggers. No one is forcing you to read certain blogs, so if you're not a fan of something just remove it from your reader and call it a day.
What has been the best thing to come out of blogging?
I don't work with very many ladies, so I really like seeing what everybody else is wearing! It's like awesome people watching. (Except you can tell people that they look amazing without being a creepy stranger!)
When it comes to promotion of your blog, what methods do you use? Do you spend a lot of
time commenting on other blogs, pinning your looks, doing link ups?
My non-bloggy life keeps me pretty busy, so I definitely do not devote a lot of time commenting on other blogs just for the sake of commenting. Ideally I would return every comment I receive, but I would rather leave fewer, more sincere comments with the time that I have to devote to reading blogs. In terms of posting other places, I pin some of my favorite outfits on pinterest and post onGo Chic or Go Home, but those are both totally just so I can archive what has worked and what hasn't.
What tips or suggestions do you have for your fellow bloggers?
I’ve found that when I’m getting bored with my own blog, switching up the design of my header or trying a new angle for photographing my shoes or something helps to get me excited about posting again. Oh, and for the love of bacon, turn off the word verification requirement to leave comments!
Thank you so much Dotty! Please go check out her blog, and then come back next week to read about Lynette Marie!
