personal
PERSONAL / To Blog or Not To Blog?
There are many factors that have stopped me from jumping on the blogosphere: a scarce wardrobe due to my addiction of solely buying shoes, no DSLR camera, as well as living in a Newcastle, a city where TOWIE star Lauren Pope, was our main guest at NCL FW. I must be incredibly foolish to create a blog under these circumstances, but if I waited for the "right time", I will probably never get around to starting a blog.
I’ve always been interested in fashion, right from the innocent age of three where I threw my first Bitch Fit over my mum trying to emblazon me in a overly glittery, rabbit motif t-shirt. My mum always tells me how I stubbornly decided to choose my own clothes from thereon out, animal-esuqe motif t-shirts included. Evidently I’ve made many fashion faux pas in my life-time, especially during my early adolescent years where I idolised such rappers as 50 Cent. I’ll never forget receiving my first designer garment (as a hand-me-down off a friend) at the tender age of twelve. Having braced my back on every paper round, I wore this luxurious garment to death. Sounds “hip” until you realise it was this exact Billionaire Boys Club hoodie, but in XXL. It’s safe to say I absolutely terrified my elderly customers upon first impressions but the truth was, I was the happy-go-lucky teenager who’d love a nitter-natter with the nans and deliver shopping necessities to those who weren’t mobile enough to leave the house. My clothes were just part of my fantasy persona.
For me, fashion has always been a form of expression. One of my all-time pet hates is when people say they’re “not interested in fashion” or other naive statements. All in all, fashion is too prevalent to be considered trivial. When you choose to wear or not wear something, it becomes that of a political statement. When shopping, you don't buy clothes - you buy your desired identity. Even during to the adolescent ages of 14 – 16, where I received chemotherapy four-five times a week and underwent 27 operations, I made sure I attended every hospital appointment dressed up to the nines. I even purchased multiple wigs and alternated them to cater my desired look. Sure, it seems a little impractical showing up to an operation in PVC leggings and enough jewellery to put Mr T to shame, but I don't believe people should take life so seriously 24/7. The way I saw it was that cancer was already controlling my body, but I’d never let it control my mind-set. I’d always stay true to my passion.
Days/nights spent in hospital were often spent flicking through glitzy magazines, such as Nylon and Vogue Girl, which I had imported from South Korea/Japan every month. Fast-forward almost two years and I’ve switched my magazine obsession with fashion bloggers. It's safe to say I spend a good 80% of my life resembling that of a Ryvita advert – lying in a luxurious bubble bath, scrolling through "The Man Repeller" on my (step-dads) iPad and eating black pepper crackers with salmon slices and low-fat Philadelphia. After several attempts of trying to create my own personal style blog, I’ve realised that my overly anal personality won’t allow this. I've never been able to come to terms with snapping “OOTD” posts in my own bedroom. As controversial as it sounds, I personally find the whole process extremely bland and tasteless. Choosing an outfit, setting up a tri-pod or balancing your camera on a tall object, before capturing a series of photographs that show the same outfit in twenty different angles, isn't what fashion's about. Fashion's supposed to be a form of artistic expression. I want to see real life situations showing personal style, images that reflect memories and dare I say it - outfits that people are actually willing to wear out in public...
Heartfelt rants aside, I've decided to create my own blog and (hopefully) find my niche as time goes by. I won't be uploading OOTD's captured in my bedroom, sharing my latest hauls or posting sponsored posts that have nothing to do with my blog content. Expect nothing less than me sharing my personal experiences related to fashion.
What a lovely post! Really excited for your new content, and good luck
ReplyDeletewww.laurensibs.blogspot.co.uk
Thank you so much lovely! I really appreciate it.
DeleteBekki x
THIS IS AMAZING! It's like you've transferred my thoughts into your blog post, I really like the sound of this new approach and something a was thinking about myself. Steering away from the generic 00TD posts and trying to add more content and depth. Also congratulations on beating cancer! I love your writing style by the way.
ReplyDeleteauthenticduplicate.blogspot.co.uk
Oh, thank you so much! This is definitely a cheeky, little confidence boost for someone starting off in the blogging world. I really appreciate it.
DeleteAnyway on a side-note, I just wanted to say that I honestly don't have a problem with OOTD posts that show a bit of personality or reflect a memory. Photographs captured in the midst of your bedroom are incredibly tasteless, and aren't what fashion's about. I feel like some "bloggers" are just trying to mimic professional, personal style bloggers, and are creating quite sheep-ish, yet highly dull content.
Bekki x
oh yeah and I'm in the same position as well! Team no DSLR camera but I have managed to update my wardrobe a little so I'm getting there.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is very cute.I love it.
ReplyDeletehttp://promwedding.unblog.fr/
I think it's amazing how you're so openly admitting your feelings here, which I'm sure most fashion 'bloggers' have felt at some point but just haven't expressed! I look forward to reading your future posts - good luck! - and well done for overcoming cancer at such a young age! You're an inspiration! (Also I know this kinda takes away from your point but I really do love your style from what I've seen on your instagram haha)
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm feeling incredibly smitten right now. Thank you so much, that's incredibly kind of you!
Deletei love your honesty in this post! even though i do post ootds i understand what you mean about them sometimes being bland, so I try to choose outfits which have a memory behind them and reference that in my posts! i love your style of writing too, it's really refreshing
ReplyDeletesara x
studs-on-saturday
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ReplyDeleteWhat an honest post, keep blogging and I'm sure you'll find a way to make it work for you and find your niche :) xx
ReplyDeleteWow Becki! What an awesome post this was to read, you're so inspiring :D
ReplyDeleteSo glad you've got a blog because I've always been a fan of your style XD
xxx