I'm honored to have Sue from A Colorful Canvas here today for Behind the Blog. Sue has such a beautifully bright wardrobe (much of it thrifted!), and I'm so inspired by her joy in creating outfits and sharing them with us. As a woman over 50, she's seen all of the trends we are wearing now before, so I really like reading her opinions on them. Isn't it funny how trends come back around?
Tell us what motivated you to start blogging. Were you
following a lot of personal style/fashion blogs before you started blogging?
My motivation to start blogging was sparked by a desire to
step out of my comfort zone and learn something new that was technology
based. I’m not techie at all, so
whatever I did had to also appeal to my artistic nature. Blogging has turned out to be the perfect
marriage of the two. Ironically, I was
not following very many personal style/fashion blogs prior to beginning my own
blog. Hey, there’s nothing like jumping off the dock into the deep end of the
lake. Yes, I was following a few of them,
but I was also reading several art, design, and lifestyle blogs.
Which blogs do you read every day?
It feels as though I have been adding blogs to
my reading list weekly, and I really do try to read them all. A very few of my daily reads are:
Franish
(of course) Style Sud-Est
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 photos. His camera is a Nikon D5100 and he most often
uses an 18-105mm lens. I have his old
camera, a Canon Powershot SX20. Of
course I have no clue how to use it unless it’s on the automatic setting. That’s how non-techie I am. But, I’ll get there yet. So far, we haven’t generated much interest
while taking photos, which is a huge relief to me. Our favourite locations for
picture taking will likely become more populated as the nice weather comes, so
I expect that to be a whole new level of awkwardness.
Do people in real life know about your blog? What were
their reactions when they found out about your blog?
Yes, I told friends and family members about
my blog after I had published a few posts.
I was pretty certain that only my nearest and dearest would be
interested in reading my material. For
the most part their responses have been very positive and encouraging. A few friends have told me they are too busy
to check out my blog, and that is totally okay with me.
As a woman with a couple of years of experience on me,
what advice do you have for women finding their style over time? Has there been
a specific path to the style you have now?
Franziska you’re so sweet…I have a couple of decades and
then some on you. I would say my style
path has been a little bumpy, if not rocky, along the years. I
started with a very creative and colourful personal style in my teens and early
twenties, then I tried to be ‘grown-up’ by wearing pencil skirts, and suits in
my mid to late twenties. That led me to
an abrupt fashion rebellion in my early thirties and I wore only jeans and
sneakers. Moving on to my artist phase, I dressed all in
black. Then I re-discovered the thrill
of the thrift. I started having fun with
clothing again, but there was very little cohesion in my wardrobe. I found myself reaching for the same five
things day after day simply because there was too much chaos in the closet. A few years ago I bought a book titled Brenda
Kinsel’s Fashion Makeover: 30 Days to Diva Style. I learned how to create a wardrobe with
continuity. And then last year I registered for an online
program called Dressing Your Truth and it was here that I learned the most
valuable information; how specific colours, textures, fabrication and design
lines support my own unique energy type.
So I believe that my current style is the happy outcome of my
exploration with different styles over the years, and the two resources I’ve
just mentioned.
My advice for finding your own style is to get in touch
with your unique personality. Pay close
attention to how you feel when you try on an article of clothing. I literally turn away from the mirror and
ask myself, “Does this feel right for
me?” I used to buy clothing strictly
based on how I looked in the changing room mirror, only to find that I would seldom
actually wear much of what I bought.
Although I may have looked good, I didn’t really feel right. Try not to get
too caught up with wearing the latest trend, and don’t let age dictate your
style choices. I garner a lot of
inspiration from bloggers less than half my age, and I hope that young people can
get a little something from my blog as well. Lastly, I suggest that you give little to no
attention to what you may perceive as an imperfection about yourself, and rather
focus upon yourself as a whole. When I
was younger, I think I tried too hard to camouflage what I thought were
flaws.
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?
One of the good things about getting older is that staying
on trend becomes less and less a priority. In fact, individual self expression becomes
the goal. I buy the majority of my
clothing from thrift stores; it’s easy on the pocketbook, and also forces me to
be more creative with my personal style.
There are always items I like to buy new, and it has become apparent
that my preferred stores usually, but not always, have shopping carts available. A trend has to really speak to me before I
leap. That’s not to say I don’t make
mistakes. I have a pile of tulle in my
sewing room waiting to be made into a frothy, feminine skirt. They were all over the blogosphere and
Pinterest, and I fell hard. What can I
say? Truthfully, I am unlikely to finish it; I really don’t think the look is
for me.
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?
Fortunately, I have had only
positive and encouraging comments on my blog.
I like to think I would handle criticisms with maturity, but I suspect I
would feel at first personally attacked, and then rue the decision of deleting
or leaving the comment to stand. I would
like to differentiate between a well intended critique, and criticism. A thoughtfully worded critique can help us
better define our personal style.
Criticism, on the other hand, is unkind, usually unhelpful, and is, in
my opinion, a reflection of the writer.
What has been the best thing to come out of
blogging?
Blogging is having a hugely positive
influence on my creativity, and it has opened the door to so many new
friendships.
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?
I think that blog promotion is
my personal nemesis. I haven’t quite got
a handle on how to efficiently grow traffic.
I regularly comment on blogs that I like, and it’s important to me that
I write something relevant to their post. Generic comments are not endearing to me. I
always try to visit bloggers that comment on my blog. They
have taken the time for me, and I think it’s courteous to return the kindness
by commenting on their blog. I also
participate in link ups, but I easily get caught up with reading so many blogs
that I’m sure my own little blog begins to suffer from separation anxiety. I always pin my looks to Pinterest. I am also trying to get more adept at using
Twitter, but that’s a whole ‘nuther story.
What tips or suggestions do you have for your fellow
bloggers?
Speaking as an older blogger
that grew up reading print magazines for inspiration; I love that blogs offer a
more personal perspective on fashion. The
blogs that I love best and keep me coming back are about more than the fashion
runway. They are real people living real lives.
So my tip is to be as authentic
as you can; share a little bit about yourself in your posts, and most
importantly, have fun doing so.
Franziska, thank you so much for
giving me the opportunity to share a little bit about myself. I always enjoy reading Behind The Blog, and
to be featured today is a pretty big thrill for me.
Thank you so much for sharing your story with us Sue!
