I started my blog almost 3 months ago in September 2016. The most frequent question I’ve been asked lately by my friends is, “Why did you start a blog?” I was a little surprised that everybody inquired on why I started blogging. It seems like every other person, their sister AND their mum have a blog nowadays. So given that I had studied fashion design for three years and love clothes, it shouldn’t have been a surprise at all that I chose to start a fashion blog.
WHY I STARTED BLOGGING
The truth is, I originally started my blog because I was planning to start a leather accessories brand (with pieces like chokers and harnesses) and I wanted to demonstrate how to incorporate leather accessories/jewelry into your everyday wear. My accessories were more edgy and S&M inspired so people often had difficulty picturing how you could wear it for regular outings. People also assumed that leather accessories were more sexual items rather than fashion items. I wanted to change this misconception by showing people how to pair leather with fashionable clothing and create a chic look rather than a just-came-out-of-a-dungeon-mistress look (nothing wrong with that though!). I was also hoping to garner an audience interested in this style so that this viewership might then translate into interest into my brand and bring in some sales.
After a few photo shoots I quickly realized that the range of my various styles is far too broad. Leather is hard and fierce, which I love, but a lot of my clothes are soft and feminine. So I decided to make this a personal style blog and named it after the two materials I love the most – lace and leather.
| I majored in Information Management in College, worked as an editor at a publishing company and now am a fashion designer so fashion blogging was a natural choice for me. |
THE BEGINNING
The first thing I did before I started was dig out all of my clothes in my closet and write a list of all the blog worthy items and how I could pair them. I have collected many unique items over the past 5 years since I started my path on Fashion Design, so I already had quite a bit of things to work with to create content. I devoured hours and hours worth of online blog posts and videos, learning about the basics of blogging and how to succeed as a blogger. Then I researched several successful blogs that matched my aesthetics and took notes on the frequency at which they post posts and the type of content they posted.
I asked my boyfriend to take photos for me on the streets of New York with my old Canon 5D Mark ii. Trust me, we had NO IDEA how to take even half decent photos at first. Slowly we started to get the hang of it, and I would direct him with each outfit and tell him which items I wanted to highlight. I also found photographers to work with online and now regularly work with an extremely talented photographer who understands the looks I want to achieve each time we shoot.
STRUGGLES
I had read in several blogs that blogging isn’t easy, and I wasn’t worried at all because when I’m passionate about something I never shy away from work. I like to throw myself into the work and couldn’t pull myself out even if I wanted to. But boy, did I underestimate the amount of time required to figure things out – especially in the beginning. First it took a lot of time to understand just the technicalities of building a blog (wordpress, SEO, social media, google analytics, e-mail lists, etc). I still keep my full-time job as a lingerie designer and try to be a good friend and girlfriend so the workload was just overwhelming.
Every weekend I would wake up at 7-8am to shoot (once I even woke up at 5:30 to shoot at 6am!) so that I could create good content, because as everybody says “content is king”. Every weekday after work I would do a ton of research, write blog posts and work on social media.
I love working hard on subjects I love and things I’m passionate about. When I’m motivated I have this drive that pushes me forward and this fire in my eyes that keeps my sights on the goal. Because I work hard I also am overly optimistic about achieving results soon. I have heard from everyone that blogging takes time and patience. I understand that but sometimes when you don’t see the results you were hoping for, especially when you feel like you’ve worked hard at it, it’s difficult to not be disappointed. But I have never for a moment thought of giving up.
OVERSATURATION IN THE BLOGOSPHERE
Many people have asked me, “Is blogging oversaturated?” I know it’s easy to feel like there is no more need to start a blog now because there’s already a gazillion blogs out there, especially fashion blogs. However, I think it’s definitely still possible to create a path for yourself in the “blogosphere” if you are dedicated to creating consistently good content and find your unique voice/niche. I have seen a fashion blog that started a mere two years ago, has since gained hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram and is now doing great and collaborating with amazing brands. I went into her archives and found that she was posting amazing imagery from the very first post.
So I quickly decided that this wouldn’t just be a “hobby” and that I would really dedicate myself to creating a beautiful blog with beautiful imagery that people wanted to visit often. Within two months of starting I was approached by an amazing opportunity (which I will not disclose yet), making me even more sure that I need to keep at it and always strive for excellence.
And how would you ever know if you will succeed at blogging if you don’t give it a go and give it your best?
DIFFERENTIATOR
Another question that I ask myself all the time is, “What is the differentiating factor of my blog?” I think this is a difficult question that should be addressed early on. It may be easier to answer this if you were blogging about a niche style or niche topic, but how do you describe your style and differentiate yourself when you’re blogging about fashion items that other bloggers are also blogging about already?
When I first started blogging I did typical outfit posts, travel diaries and had some back up post ideas. I would briefly describe my looks and why I chose to pair it that way. Soon it became somewhat unchallenging for me. How am I providing value in my posts if all I am doing is describing the obvious? (“This is a bomber jacket!” – Well, yes I can see that) How can I differentiate myself when all I am doing is looking at what other bloggers are doing and doing something similar (even if I am trying to do it better)
One day I saw the trailer of Park Chan-Wook’s “The Handmaiden” and decided immediately that I wanted to do a blog post inspired by that movie. (Read it here: Reimagining Erotic Fantasies: The Handmaiden, Part 1 and Part 2)
These are not the most viewed posts out of all my blog posts, but they are ones that have brought me the most joy when I was preparing and writing. That is when I knew that while I love fashion and styling, I would much rather talk about interesting topics whilst wearing fashionable items, than just talk about the fashion items & styling of each item.
Perhaps that will be how I differentiate my blog. It’s not how all the other fashion bloggers are doing it. But, hey, even better.
FUTURE
I have several interesting posts planned for the future in the series of “Reimagining” that I am very excited about. I also happen to work in the fashion industry and know a lot of designers and fashion startups. I hope to bring you more value with interesting designer/fashion startup interviews and insights to the fashion industry. Of course, there will still be the regular outfit/styling posts. And beautiful images will always be a must!
I LOVE fashion. But there are so many interesting artistic, historical and social topics that deserve our attention also. I hope to present those to you in the most fashionable way possible. So,
STAY CHIC. STAY TUNED.
Love, Tina
| Photography by Austin Donohue |