Tell us what motivate you to start blogging. Were youfollowing a lot of personal style/fashion blogs before you started blogging?
I was motivated to start blogging because I’ve always hada passion for style, photography and writing, even as a young girl. I’ve beenfollowing a couple dozen life & style blogs for the last two or three yearsand always had the desire to start one myself. I just always felt like I didn’thave the means necessary (whether it was time or motivation or style or money)to really make the blog what I wanted it to be. I’m easily discouraged and I don’t like starting things I’m not sure I can “finish”, whatever that means fora blog! But my husband has been telling me for forever to “just start onealready” because he saw that I really wanted to. So with his encouragement, Ifinally started one at the end of November. It all seems very silly now becauseit’s just a blog, but it’s a tough blogosphere out there! No one wants to start something that might flop!
Which blogs do you read every day?
Kendi Everyday, Sidewalk Ready, The Small Things Blog, Franish (you!), Sam Ipsa Loquitur, My New Favorite Outfit, and See Mo Go are a few of the ones I make sure to visit daily. I love the girls I’ve been kind of “meeting” by being a blogger!
Who takes your pictures? What camera and lens do you use? Have you ever been caught in the act of taking these?
My husband takes my pictures. He uses my old camera, which is a Pentax K200D, and switches betweena 50mm lens and an 18-35 lens. Though we literally take our photos outside ofour apartment, we’ve yet to really be “caught”, other than the occasional person getting out of their car and spotting us. However, it is the dead of winter up here in the frozen north, and we live right on a lake, so I’m sure that come spring, we’ll have a bunch of friends joining us for our photoshoots. And by friends I mean strangers, and by joining I mean photo bombing. I anticipate every bit of awkwardness.
Do people in real life know about your blog? What were their reactions when they found out about your blog?
Obviously, my husband knows. I have never actually said to any of my personal friends "Hey, I have a blog now you know!" but when I make an entry that's relevant to my personal life, I may or may not post something about it on my personal Facebook. So I'm sure the curious ones know, but thankfully I've yet to hear any snide remarks from anyone! I did tell my parents, but my dad was like, "People make blogs about what they wear?" and my mom was like, "What is a blog?", so that's about where their reactions start and end, ha!
And just recently, news about my blog got out at work. Thankfully, I think it’s only reached about two people. I’m trying to keep the numbers down. Lord knows that last thing I want people to know is that the receptionist takes photos of her outfits and posts them on the Internet!
You work in a real estate office – what restrictions doyou have at work, and how do you manage to keep your outfits fun while still professional?
Actually, I don’t have too many restrictions for what I wear at work. Basically as long as I’m not wearing jeans, or showing up naked, I’m fine. Except for Fridays, in which jeans are okay. And on Sundays, showing up naked is okay. Just kidding, we’re not that type of office. :)
Since I don’t have many restrictions, I get to wear what I want. Which means lots of colorand skirts! I love skirts and dressier outfits anyway, so working there gives me an opportunity to not be in yoga pants every day of the week. Which is my staple outside of the office. And not blog-worthy. And looks terrible with heels. Most of what you see in my blog is what I wear to the office. I figure I must be doing something right, because I get complimented on my outfits a lot at work, from men and women alike. Sometimes even backhanded ones, such as when an agent at work told me I dressed nice… but over the top. But a compliment is a compliment in my book, and I’ll take what I can get. :)
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 try not to get too caught up in what I see popping up everywhere, and just join in on the trends that I like (and that flatter my body!). Infinity scarves? Brilliant. Peplum? Beautiful. Fox graphic sweaters? Turns out it's only cute the first time you wear it to work, and then everyone's looking at you like "Oh... you were serious. Huh." After that, people just try to name the fox on your sweater, and ask if it comes in a men’s size XXXL.
My goal with my closet is to find as many classic, timeless pieces as I can and spend the money on those items (such as blazers and pencil skirts) and just find a couple of trends that I really like each season and spend a little less on them, depending on how much I like them andhow long I think they will be trendy.
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?
Thankfully I’ve only received positive feedback by sweet, loving readers! I am grateful for that, but I know that as more traffic comes, so will the haters. And haters gon' hate, right? I'm trying to prepare myself now for the fact that someone will eventually think I'm fat, that my hair color is wrong, that I am an idiot, or that my shoes look stupid. In the past, I've dealt with self-esteem issues repeatedly, but I have definitely come into a place of being okay with me. Even if you think I'm an idiot and you hate my shoes.
What has been the best thing to come out of blogging?
The community I've been immersed in, and the creative outlet I’ve formed! I've had so many sweet comments and e-mails from such lovely gals. I love love love every comment, every e-mail from every reader, because I just love connecting with other people. Especially people who share my same passion!
Also, I'm truly an artist at heart. I hung up my professional camera a few years back and haven'treally had a consistent creative outlet for myself, and blogging gives that back to me. It helps me play with two of my greatest passions: style and photography. And to have my husband be such a large part of it is all that more rewarding!
And lastly: I don’t know about anyone else, but just in the last month or so that I’ve been blogging, I feel like my style has already improved and my eye for fashion has gotten sharper. Gotta love that!
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?
Right now I really just comment on other blogs that I like. I don’t ever find myself just blog hopping and leaving comments for the sake of leaving comments. I’m not against that at all, and I know it’s one of the only ways to really promote your blog… I’ve just never really done it. If I like your blog, I’ll comment. Also, it helps when you post about current fashion & beauty topics or products that are up-and-coming. I’ve had literally hundreds of people sent to my blog from Google because they were searching for a new Revlon foundation review. If you haven’t submitted your blog to search engines, do it! It helps!
I also have a Pinterest board, a blog Instagram account and have a link up in the works with another blogger, so we’ll see what happens! Social media is one of the greatest promotion tools!
What tips or suggestions do you have for your fellow bloggers?
Create the blog you want to read. What do you love about your favorite blogs? The great photography? The overload of helpful resources and information? The daily updates? The wit and sincerity of the author? Be true to yourself in your blog,but also create the blog you love to read! Because that means that someone elseout there probably wants to read it too. : )
See, I told you that you would love Lynette. Go show her some love and then come back next week to read about Coast With Me.
