Back to Work
November 04, 2016
Suit: Zara
Tie: G2000
Shoes: Aldo
Got some spare time to blog today and I'm very happy to share with you guys that I am featured on this month's edition of Illustrado Go!
I forgot how it feels to be featured in a page of a magazine! Most of you know by now that although I'm not afraid of the camera I'm still, quite often, shy away when I'm on the spot. Nonetheless, it's still an amazing feeling and I thank everyone from Illustrado!
Here's the complete and unabridged version of my interview with them:
WHAT
IS YOUR STYLE PHILOSOPHY?
Composition.
Its like photography, you have to have an overall angle of vision to make your
style work. It’s all about the details and how you I would play around with it.
I actually learned the hard way since I used to buy a lot of stuff and ends up
taking one outfit photo of it and never wearing it after which also took a lot
of space in my closet. I’m now typically someone who would buy a shirt and
would have to think of five ways on how I would wear it and which type of
occasions I would wear it.
NEVER
be afraid of repeating a piece of clothing, ‘cause why not? I always remind
myself that if I look good in it, there’s no reason not to repeating it again.
Be practical and don’t think about what other people would say. You do you.
WHAT MAKES YOUR POINT OF VIEW UNIQUE?
To start off, I strongly believe that
everyone is unique in his or her own way. If we were all the same, the world
would certainly be all grey and boring. I certainly cannot say that I’m unique
because I have traits, likes and dislikes that other people could also have and
I am extremely comfortable with it. I would rather say I’m strongly a person
that dedicates my life around creativity. Aside from fashion, I also love
anything relating to arts, photography, and videography. I also dream of
travelling and hopefully this year I’d be able to go Japan, which is one of my
dream destinations.
WHAT
IS A TYPICAL DAY IN THE LIFE OF A FASHION BLOGGER LIKE?
To
give a rough outline you firstly have to have a plan and schedule your shoots
especially if like me you have a day job.
Plan
your blog OOTD at least two days before and try it out in the mirror before the
day of the shoot, I always have to have a back-up outfit just in case I realize
the first outfit doesn’t work. Early in the day I think of a location on where
to do the shoot and make sure that my memory cards are clear and my camera
batteries are full.
Most
fashion bloggers like me rely on natural sunlight so I suggest you do your
shoots at least an hour and 30 minutes before sunset meaning you also have to
quickly Google what time the sunset will be. In the evening do your edits and
blog draft and schedule your posts depending on the peek time and day where you
are located.
JUST
HOW MUCH WORK GOES INTO MAINTAINING A SUCCESSFUL BLOGGING CAREER?
Consistency
and connectivity. Consistency in terms of keeping a tight schedule on when you
do your blogpost and social media posts. Connecting and exchanging messages
with your followers and other fashion bloggers and really trying to get to know
them are extremely important. Also keep a lookout on brands, online shops, PR
agencies and other industries that are willing to do collaboration with your
blog.
Research
on how you can effectively market your blog and definitely schedule your social
media posts and don’t flood your feed.
Lastly,
enjoy what you do and when you start feeling that it’s starting to feel that
it’s becoming stressful or more of like work rather than something you enjoy,
don’t be afraid to sit back and relax and get back to it rather than forcing
yourself and realizing you don’t like the end results.
ARE
BLOGGERS THE NEW FASHION EDITORS?
I
would strongly say no. The way I would go with this is that Fashion Editors
have dedicated their full life with fashion. They know all the past, present
and could event predict a new trend. They know the history and the story behind
all the fashion brands and designers and always in the lookout of an upcoming
new talent. And yes some Fashion bloggers maybe the same but most fashion
bloggers I know and I follow are more in a controlled environment with a
like-minded follower base that relates to their specific style or taste. We
don’t necessarily have to know everything about fashion because we basically
follow our own rules. Its really an apples and oranges type of situation and no
one is better than the other but each has the same end goal to inspire people
to discover their own unique sense of style.
WHAT
ROLES DO BLOGGERS PLAY IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY?
Relatability
is usually a strong point that all fashion bloggers should have. Like I
previously said we are here to inspire like-minded people that strongly relates
to our follower’s style and taste. In my personal experience and observations,
people who follows me also follows the bloggers and influences I follow. Look
at this like a Pintrest board: You filter things you don’t like and pin the
things that you are specifically interested with. It’s all about our ability to
create a visual impact that mirrors our follower’s thought vision which makes
them think that “Hey, I could also wear that!”
Another
thing is that not all people have the same body type. Some people rely more
with fashion bloggers who has more realistic body type where they can find
inspiration for their everyday look.
HOW
HAS THE FASHION INDUSTRY IN THE MIDDLE EAST CHANGED OVER THE DECADE?
Fashion
bloggers in my opinion has started to evolve to a more broad reach hence most
of them are now called as “Infulencers.” It is rarely now you’ll see a fashion
blogger focusing in one channel. Most of us have more than one social media
channels where you can easily reach us.
In
this region, people are starting to get to more comfortable with fashion
especially in Dubai. More world-renowned luxury fashion brands and retail
brands are starting to pop-up in the malls and malls are starting to pop-up
everywhere. More tourists are also coming in; meaning more demand in shopping
is extremely a must. I’m actually very excited on what is coming in the future.
WHERE
DO YOU SEE IT GOING? WHERE DO FASHION BLOGGERS FIT INTO ALL OF THESE CHANGES?
If we
are talking 10 years ahead, we going to be more social media focused having all
these channels at hand. YouTube has skyrocketed and starting to get more
mainstream so I’m guessing that most fashion bloggers could change their
platforms from blogging to vlogging. Wouldn’t it be more fun to watch your
favorite fashion bloggers in movement rather that in still life and taking a
peek in their everyday lives?
In my
case, I would pretty much be sticking to blogging as long as I can and also
keep my other social media initiatives including YouTube time to time as I’m
doing this not just for my followers but for me as well. I now have full 3-4
years documentation not only my OOTDs but also my adventures here in UAE, which
would be very fun to get back to and read as I grow older.
WHAT
IS YOUR ULTIMATE GOAL AS A FASHION BLOGGER?
To be
completely honest, in my case I have already reached my goal.
Fashion
Blogging had taken me to a career path that I can grow with and continue to
develop. I wake up everyday knowing that I love what I do and that’s not
something not everyone have. I’m not saying I’m special, I’m just proud to say
that I was able to work myself up because of my creativity and drive to be
where I am now. With the 4 years experience I have with Fashion Blogging I can easily
relate all this in my current role as a Social Media Specialist.
WHAT
CAN YOU SAY TO ASPIRING FASHION BLOGGERS?
Successful
bloggers will always say this and people might get sick of reading this but
patience is really something a Fashion Blogger should have. Don’t expect one
outfit post to put you in the map. It takes a lot of hard work. Aside from
outfit posts, again you have to be able to connect with your followers and even
fellow aspiring fashion bloggers. Have fun, do meet-ups, get to know each other
and be open to do collaborations.
WHAT DO YOU SAY TO YOUR CRITICS?
I take
critics as people who I can learn from. These are the people who would help you
grow and not necessarily tell you what to do and what not to do. It’s important
to pay attention to them especially if their comments are constructive and
something you could develop. However, there’s a strong difference between
critics and haters. I see influencers and even celebrities who continue to feed
on their haters because they keep on addressing them. The best thing you can do
against haters is to ignore them completely and go on to continue what you like
doing as long as you don’t say or do something offensive and to always be on
your best foot forward.
This week's look represents my corporate style which has been my daily armour. Finally, lol! After years of wearing a uniform, I can finally stand proud and wear my suits!
I'm wearing a modern cut suit (Zara) with a slightly cropped trousers. I added a nice blue tie (G2000) and a slight touch of style with a tie bar. Mind you, I am so obsessed with tie bars lately but for some reason they're not that easy to find! If anyone of you living in UAE finds a shop that sells tie bars please be so kind and let me know.
Speaking of tie bars, the quickest way for me to know that its in a right position is by clipping it roughly an inch and half below of my suit's front pocket. Simple and easy. DON'T go above the front pocket as it will look very awkward. Make sure you also have the right tie bar length, if goes over the tie change you tie to a regular sized tie or better not to wear it at all.
To complete this look, I wore a classic black leathers (Aldo). You don't want to go too far especially if you're working with a company with a specific dress code, plus you will never go wrong with black leather shoes. Just, please, don't wear the square toed shoes.
I have more stuff to share with you guys soon! See you all on the next blog post!
Always have fun!
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