What’s Wrong with Blogging: Donuts and Dior’s Fifth Birthday

It wasn’t until I had over 5,000 followers on Instagram that I started to taste what being a “real” fashion blogger might be. Brands were reaching out, willing to send me samples of makeup, perfume, clothing, even fitness programs and cookbooks free of charge in return for a post on my blog and/ or Instagram account. Seeing the grandiose success of some of the bloggers I’d followed for years or bloggers I’d since watch blow up into the blogosphere after starting my own made me aspire to be someone with access like this.

I started a blog over 5 years ago for a genuine reason completely unconnected to strangers’ validation and social media popularity. It was a place where I cataloged interests, sightings and new obsessions I wanted to share, and outfits I wore day-to-day. However, that slowly evolved into something so impossibly inorganic I ceased doing it all together.

I haven’t blogged in nearly nine months. Why would I do that? Since then, my follower count on Instagram has fallen below that, at first glance, seemingly all-important 5,000 mark. I no longer add an exorbitant amount of hashtags to what should be fun and carefree posts. I’m not pulling together multiple outfits for photoshoots, which would never even see the light of day in the “real world.” I no longer wear pieces I don’t love but that I’d bought simply because they would look “great on camera.”

I love great blogs. And by no means is this post trying to take anything away from them. Almost daily, I look to strong, empowering women’s blogs who I aspire to be more like: Carly Heitlinger, from The College Prepster, who had the confidence to move outside of the city into a more headspace-friendly and equally, if not more, fulfilling life in Connecticut. Emily Schuman of Cupcakes and Cashmere, who I’ve seen (through the screen of my laptop, which is all-together creepy but a reality) grow from a nervous single woman into a married, now-role-model of a mother. At times, Julia Engel from Gal Meets Glam, whose rose-tinted glasses make me want to see the glass a bit fuller. These are women whose personal style, character, and genuine personality I truly admire and look to for inspiration.

Still, I find a catalog of affiliate links and sponsored content to be a bit nauseating. Fashion blogging, in its current hyper-evolved state has become less native and original and more marketing-centered produced content. We used to look to bloggers, the kings and queens of “street style,” as those with, to us, inaccessible access to true fashion we felt robbed of in exclusive, and at times uptight, international fashion publications. Now, however, I’m starting to see less difference between the two.

The women mentioned above are inspirational to me beyond how they look in articles of clothing or with the newest makeup trends painted on their faces. They share real stories with relatable characters, uniting and inspiring all readers without seeming pretentious.

I suppose these thoughts culminated about a week ago when catching up with a friend. He mentioned,  “I used to love the fact that you had a blog. You had a voice, and I always looked forward to reading your posts and the fact that it was more than just you in expensive clothes.”

This post’s goal is to serve as a reminder for myself that I always want to be that girl: one that has a voice, contributes something here worthy of your (and my own) time, and to always be more than a mannequin in expensive clothes.