Do you remember the good old days where blogging was all about getting that perfect flatlay?
Bloggers were behind the camera instead of being in front of it and fashion blogging was about laying your clothes out nicely on your white bed sheets instead of actually wearing them. Times have changed and the blogosphere is moving at a quick pace. Am I mad? No. Am I jealous that my content isn't quite up to standard anymore? Yes.
When I first started blogging, I had no intention of putting my face out there whatsoever. I was so scared that everyone from my childhood would be talking smack about me or passing around my posts in return for a few bitchy comments and a few giggles. I just cared too much about what people thought of me, which is so stupid now that I think about it because I haven't seen my 'school friends' for around 5 years and they mean absolutely nothing to me. But back then, it was kinda a big deal.
This year, I wanted to change my attitude towards Instagram and my blog. I want to embrace my own sense of style and I want to start showcasing that on my socials. I'm no 5* fashion blogger huns and I don't have the time or money to be hopping off to every flower wall in London but, I got to move with the times and catch up with the rest of all the boss ladies out there if I want to take this blogging malarky seriously.
But, to take it seriously do I need to fake it till I make it and change how I run my everyday life?
I read this amazing post by the beaut Helen from thelovecatsinc.com, she explained the importance of owning certain staple pieces in your wardrobe that you can always turn to when you're having that cliche crisis of 'I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR'. Helen was totally right, I need those ride or die items to help me get by for any occasion so there's me, blowing away the dust on my bank card and I was ready to spend a coin or two on these key staples. Smart right? Nope, I literally had everything I needed in my own bloody wardrobe... I was just too stupid to put them all together to make a look.
Just for reference, Helen's post was fab and it was in no way pushing her viewers to go out and buy buy buy. The post actually helped me to pick out my simple items and to pair it with the pieces that sit at the back of the wardrobe, you can find it here.
TOP | TOBI SHOULDER TO SHOULDER BLACK AND WHITE STRIPED TOP
SKIRT | PRETTYLITTLETHING BLACK CORD ZIP UP MINI SKIRT
I have the pleasure of being friends with some awesome bloggers gals who I get to meet up with from time to time and they're more than happy to take a few outfit snaps for me. There is nothing wrong with this and there's also nothing wrong with hiring a photographer to shoot you for an upcoming post. However, what happens when you run out of things to post? If you don't have any more pics to share from that photoshoot you had, what are you now going to post on Instagram?
This is where I think the pressure of staying relevant and being 'instagrammable' takes hold of me to be quite honest with you, there's so much pressure to be camera ready every minute of every day and I just can't hack it. I can't get up every morning to curl my hair and I don't have the latest pieces from the new-in section to change into, I honestly don't have the time or money to keep updating my wardrobe so I can post an affiliate link or two.
What baffles me the most is that I see bloggers ordering £500 worth of clothes from Asos to shoot in or do your obligatory 'I SPENT THIS MUCH ON THIS STUFF' video on the old youtube then, (it doesn't stop their kids) they return it when they're done with it and still earn money from the affiliate links... obvs please correct me if you think I'm wrong but it just seems so fake. It's also highly unrealistic and if you've ever seen the film Keeping Up With The Jonses, then you will know that promoting this kind of lifestyle doesn't go down well. I also see bloggers selling on their PR gifts after they've popped it on the gram, does that scream genuine review to you?
This is, in my opinion, damaging the industry, it's discrediting the bloggers that promote the products or the clothes that they genuinely love and it makes us bloggers seem untrustworthy. Don't get me wrong, you gotta earn the dollar and you gotta have the content but maybe just think before you reply to that PR email, would I actually use this and love it?
The point is, don't be stressed out that you haven't got new in pieces from PLT or you can't afford the £7 miniature cupcake from Peggy Porschens. If you don't have the time or money then that's ok, use what you have in the wardrobe already and make sure you take 1000 pics when you next leave the house. Please, please don't think that I'm in any way bashing this lifestyle or type of content because for some people, it's their everyday lives and that's how they choose to showcase it but, as a viewer, we should not let this dampen our spirits and put a downer on our own content. You're doing your best and you're doing great sweetie!
I think it's important to grow as a creative, to experiment with our images and our writing. Just make sure to stay genuine to yourself instead of your social media handle... it's all about finding your own style instead of following the 'lives' of others.
(All pictures in this post were shot by my gyal, Megan McCoig)
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I think it's important to grow as a creative, to experiment with our images and our writing. Just make sure to stay genuine to yourself instead of your social media handle... it's all about finding your own style instead of following the 'lives' of others.
(All pictures in this post were shot by my gyal, Megan McCoig)
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Sare
• F O L L O W •
*The striped top from TOBI was kindly gifted to me, this post also contains affiliate links*
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Loved this post - especially at the start where you mentioned how bloggers have switched from behind the camera to in front of it. Personally I think its about finding the balance between keeping up with the trends and keeping your own style.
ReplyDeleteAmy x
www.whatamysays.com
Loved the honesty in this post, I genuinely had no idea that bloggers buy stuff to shot, then return them - that doesn’t seem right in some ways to me?! The blogosphere seems so confusing to understand at times haha! x
ReplyDeletehttp://www.blogeighteen.co.uk
I resonate with this post so much and it’s so true! Everything you’ve said is exactly how I feel and the way you’ve written it is spot on. Such a good post ya beaut! Xx
ReplyDeleteLoved the honesty in this post. I totally agree with what you said about returning clothes - it's not real in the slightest. I always thought fashion blogging was meant to be about your personal take on fashion, and include photos of outfits you genuinely wear... but it's so different now. I think some high-end blogger sell on their bits because they genuinely receive so any items that sometimes that don't even want to review. I think that's kinda cool that at least they don't get wasted, and somebody else gets them a little cheaper! (Aka me... scouring through Depop lmao.)
ReplyDeleteOverall amazing post. There's definitely some frustration in the air within the blogosphere at the moment and you've highlighted that very well. Let's see how we can go about making a difference! x
Loved this post and I honestly couldn’t agree more! I really disagree with ordering things to send back, I get that people need to make a living from it but it’s just fake and means the rest of us feel like we’re falling behind because we can’t afford to actually buy all that stuff. I actually changed my Instagram for the very reason that I couldn’t manage/afford to do just fashion anymore so I do more home/lifestyle shots now too, which is so much easier to keep up with!
ReplyDeleteAmy xx
callmeamy.co.uk
I honestly haven’t agreed more with a post in a while regarding this. I think it’s all too easy to feel like your failing simply because you don’t have the current it bag (or whatever).
ReplyDeleteYou’ve put this in such a great way!
Em x
Great post and so true! I'm really hoping this is a phase and things get a little back to how they used to be, when bloggers felt like real people. The thought of ordering hundreds of pounds worth of stuff just to snap and return it just sounds like far too much effort to me, and for what? I wouldn't want to be so fake, who even has time to be THAT fake?? Same goes for buying what every other blogger is buying just so you seem 'relevant' and on the pulse of what's hot right now, when did blogging become all about doing what everyone else is doing? I feel the community has really lost it's way these days!
ReplyDeleteSarah
Saloca in Wonderland