Cha Cha Cha!

Outfit Details | Dress (DVF, on sale!), Shoes (Zara), Purse (Coach, on longer available), Sunglasses (Karen Walker).

In the midst of New York Fashion Week (NYFW) and seeing all my blogger babes getting to travel to NY to participate in this amazing opportunity, I can’t help but reflect on this little ol’ blog journey of mine. Are you ready for me to get real because it’s about to get reeeeeeal right here, right now. It has been a dream of mine to go to NYFW. I mean, who wouldn’t want to go? The excitement of fall, the amazing styles, the intoxicating beauty of New York all rolled into one amazing week dedicated to everything related to style so I can’t help but feel sad when I feel like I’m the only blogger left behind.

When I first started this blog, I couldn’t believe that I had actually put myself out in the competitive world that is fashion blogging. Don’t get me wrong, I had researched the blogging world a great deal and started to develop an addiction to checking my favorite blogs (Atlantic-Pacific, Gal Meets Glam, Sequins and Stripes, the list goes on!). I loved seeing their creative style risks, glimpses into their personal lives beyond blogging, and their personal style develop and grow over time. I was inspired by these fabulous women.

In my life, people have always complimented my personal style and it was, and still is, something that is very important to me. As a person, I am pretty shy unless I’m around my family and close friends, so starting this blog was a huge leap for me. Putting myself out there for the public to possibly scrutinize and dismiss like last year’s Jimmy Choo’s was terrifying. Would people like what I put out there? Would I be a successful blogger? I’m not going to lie. It was really hard in the beginning and is still challenging. I found myself OBSESSING over the main blogger gals that I followed because their pictures were so fabulous and their sense of style seemed so effortless. I wondered, “do my pictures look as good as theirs?” This was a hard question to sit with because before I started this blog, I never asked myself that question because I didn’t feel like I needed to compare myself on that large of a scale.

However, starting something from scratch and trying hard to gain a following is not easy or effortless and to be honest, I work at it every single day. It takes work and part of that work is learning (and relearning over and over again) what works for the people following you. For example, I’ve learned that photos full of light work best aesthetically, especially for a multiple photo layout platform like Instagram, which has been my biggest success so far. However, I find it hard to stick to one particular aesthetic (black and white, jeans and a t-shirt, etc.) and am constantly changing my style (sometimes daily!) based on who I feel like being that day (i.e. girlie, edgy, causal, etc.). I’ve heard advice like “create a color palette for your blog so that there is consistency” I think, but what if what I want to wear and show you all doesn’t fit it? I just found it somewhat ridiculous!

While I am so happy to have you all following along (THANK YOU!!!), it can be hard to not compare yourself to other bloggers, especially when you can’t seem to pinpoint what makes their photos/outfits more enjoyable then yours. Trying to keep up and stay current is not only exhilarating (I love staying on top of trends) but exhausting because it never feels like I compare to the others that I admire so much. This has been something that I have struggled with since I was in middle school. While I try so hard to not see others as being “better” than me, it’s extremely difficult to not go down that road when you blog because everything is public. So when NYFW rolls around, I can’t help but feel inadequate when I compare myself to everyone that gets invited to the big shows. I think, “what else could I be doing? Am I not doing enough?” It’s hard not get down on yourself but I know that I really need to stick to who I am and that will ultimately bring me more happiness than anything.

However, even with it’s ups and downs, I can’t even begin to describe how much I love blogging and how many amazing opportunities and people that I have met through this process. Honestly, blogging and connecting with all of you through my own style has been so exciting and fun. Really, it’s the perfect creative outlet for me because my love of style is so strong. In the end, I am always morphing my own personal style and hope that you stick around for that. Every time I read your comments I smile because it means that I’ve made another connection. Please know how grateful I am to have you all with me on this journey and for letting me vent every once and awhile!

Thanks for reading!

xo,

Tamryn