Blah blah, I've been busy, blah blah... Aren't you sick of me starting every post like that? I know I AM! Seriously though, real life and all it's insane ups and downs (more ups than downs recently - yay!) has managed to get in the way of blogging yet again.
This job is going really well and I'm totally loving it, especially the fact that I have evenings and weekends to do what I like! Because of this though, sadly blogging often slips to the bottom of my priority heap, but I've got to start getting my SHIZ back on track lest I forget all about it!
I was recently contacted by a student at GCU (whose name I have now totally forgotten and I can't get onto my hotmail at the moment to check... Cringe. And also, I say recently but actually it was around a month ago. WOOPS!) asking some bloggers a few questions for her course so I agreed to answer them but then got totally caught up in other stuff and forgot to send them back, like a pure CHOOB.
Rather than just have wasted my time (since I assume it's totes too late to send her back this stuff - sorry!) I figured I'd post it here in case anyone is remotely interested. And as a sort of mental SLAP ON THE WRIST for being so lax.. Sadface.
Awesome treat for getting to the end, btw.
TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF AND WHY YOU STARTED BLOGGING
I’m 25 and I work as a Communications Executive in Glasgow. I like tea, cats and sunsets but I hate raisins, birds and having to answer questions like “tell me about yourself”...
I sort of accidently started blogging. I had read loads of blogs for a few years but gradually I began to feel like a lot of them were becoming very samey. I disliked the lack of personality and voice in many blogs which all began to feel like carbon copies of each other. In truth, it got really boring. I’d written a Livejournal (remember them?!) right from when I was really young but had let it slip. I wanted to get back into writing online and considered starting a blog for a while but I was nervous and self-conscious about my style or tone not fitting in with what was considered the blogging norm. The thought of posing for hundreds of outfit of the day photos caused me major panic! But in the end I decided to bite the bullet 2 years ago and now I’ve had over a quarter of a million hits – small fry to most I’m sure, but it makes me happy that there’s a place in the blogosphere for something other than identical tedious outfit posts.
HOW DID YOU FIRST BECOME INTERESTED IN FASHION AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO YOU?
I’ve been interested in fashion my whole life. I used to watch old films at my Gran’s when I was wee and draw pictures of Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Judy Garland, Deborah Kerr and Ingrid Bergman in all their fancy costumes. It was fascinating to me. I knew as I grew up I didn’t have the passion or talent to design but I kept my interest in fashion and, as every teenage girl in the universe does, experimented with my personal style... Sometimes to unfortunate/hilarious ends. Don't believe me...?
..Yeah. This actually happened.
CRINGE. But yeah, it’s important to me because it’s an expression of self in the same way music, art and literature are, and aren’t we all just trying to find the best ways to express ourselves? I also think it’s important as a type of escapism. I still love to watch old movies and swoon at the costumes…it’s about the element of fantasy. And again, for me anyway, catwalk fashion reflects a kind of heightened reality, which I love.
HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE NAME OF YOUR BLOG?
It’s from a line in one of my favourite books, Le Petit Prince:
“If you could fly to France in one minute, you could go straight into the sunset, right from noon. Unfortunately, France is too far away for that. But on your tiny planet, my little prince, all you need do is move your chair a few steps. You can see the day end and the twilight falling whenever you like... "One day," you said to me, "I saw the sunset forty-four times!" And a little later you added: "You know -- one loves the sunset, when one is so sad..." "Were you so sad, then?" I asked, "on the day of the forty-four sunsets?" But the little prince made no reply.”
CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR BLOG INCLUDING HOW IT DIFFERS FROM OTHER FASHION BLOGS?
I’m asked this fairly often and I never know what to say. I think there’s a mix of fashion stuff that interests me, collection reviews, beauty bits here and there, some shopping hauls... A bit of a mix. I try hard to write in a natural way as though I was talking to a friend, which is something lots of the bigger blogs lack, I think. I’m sure it puts as many people off as it does interests them, but I don’t care! I also don’t take it particularly seriously – I blog for my own enjoyment and not for any other ulterior motive, which is an increasingly rare thing these days, in my opinion.
HOW OFTEN DO YOU POST?
It varies. Less now that I have a proper job and find that I’m just busier generally, but normally around once a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. Again, I’m aware this is a total BLOG NO NO but I’d rather only post now and again about things I actually like than all the time about any old rubbish.
DESCRIBE A TYPICAL DAY IN YOUR LIFE AS A BLOGGER
Ha! I’m not a blogger full time. Blogging is most definitely a secondary consideration, but when I get the chance it’s one of the first things I like to take time to do.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BEST AND WORST ASPECTS OF RUNNING YOUR OWN BLOG?
The best is that I really enjoy it and have met lots of lovely people through it. The worst is the guilt I feel if I haven’t posted in ages, or juggling it with my actual life. A lot of the time I can’t go to events or get involved in product reviews etc. because I don’t live in London and have a 8-5 job. I’d love to devote more time to it but I just can’t, which is frustrating.
WHAT QUALITIES DO YOU NEED TO BECOME A SUCCESSFUL BLOGGER?
I have no idea! I don’t consider myself successful in that regard, but it does make me feel good when people comment on posts or when I see the views ticking up. To get people interested, you yourself have to be interested in what you’re saying, be humble and friendly in tone and do it because you enjoy it. It’s a personal preference but I hate those SUPER SHORT boring outfit posts that are really generic and have nothing interesting to say. Half of them are so lazily styled and lots don’t have any commentary at all. I avoid them at all cost.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE ASPIRING BLOGGERS?
If there’s a blog out there you love, think about why you like it and take inspiration from it. I’d never say COPY a blog directly, but it’s important to know what kinds of things you want to talk about and how you want to present it, and a good way of getting that clear is to make notes about the things you enjoy in other blogs. Also, don’t expect it to take off. It may well do, but never go into it for that reason because people can tell straight away. And try, if you can, to read and comment on other blogs. Something I’m regrettably terrible at!
HOW DO YOU THINK BLOGGING INFLUENCES THE FASHION INDUSTRY?
I think we’re only really beginning to see this happening with the likes of retailers holding blogger events and magazines including blogger features etc. It seems to me that many bloggers like to THINK that blogging is this noble cause that deserves to influence the fashion industry, but in reality I think it influences high-street sales rather than high fashion.
WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE YO SEE YOUR BLOG GO IN THE FUTURE AND WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE WITH IT?
I’m happy with maintaining the blog as it is. If I wanted to spend more time and effort on it to grow my followers and hits, then I'm sure there are things I could do but honestly I’m happy with it the way it is. I just want to continue with it. I’ve come this far and genuinely do enjoy it so I won’t let it slide. I’ve been toying with doing some more personal posts but I’m really nervous about putting too much of my life on the internet. It’s a very fine line that’s easy to cross. We’ll see.
...Phew. Like you EVEN cared! Again though, sorry to the nameless girl for not getting this back to you in time. I'm suitably ashamed.
As promised, here's your present. Don't you just hate it when you get mutliated by your boss' drug-addict chimp? I KNOW I DO!
