Why I Blog

Recently I’ve had a small influx of people I’d lost touch with start following me on Instagram with a few asking a few questions about what I’m up to blogging wise and it sort of made me step back and have an objective look at my blog. If I wasn’t a blogger – I kind of wandered what I’d think of the whole ‘world’ looking in from the outside. For example – why are there 1 million extra extravagant professional photos of me on my instagram? Do I really hire I a photographer just to help me get great shots of my outfits? Is there really any need for me to include a photo of myself in nearly every blog post, does it have even anything to do with the post itself? What is the actual purpose of this industry – is it just full of a bunch of vain folks trying to hide their self centered-ness under the mask of “look, I’m just trying to show off my outfit, okay?”

With all the above in my head, I thought I’d write up a short piece on why I blog, and why I do what I do…

 

I blog to express myself

I started writing when I was 5 years old. Which sounds kind of crazy – but it’s true. I’d fold pieces of paper in half, on the left side I’d draw, and on the right side of the pages I’d write. I actually still have a lot of these stories in an old shoe box at my family home. Writing has always been a way for me to express myself – and blogging is even better because I’m actually now writing about my own life and my own thoughts and feelings rather than making up a few tales about some characters that don’t exist. If you’re a regular reader you know that I put a lot into my posts – it’s not so much a ‘here’s some pretty pictures and some waffle about why I love this outfit from Ralph Lauren‘, and more of ‘here’s some pretty pictures, and yes I do love this outfit from Ralph Lauren, but let me also tell you about XYZ!’ A lot of people tell me that I seem different on my blog than I do in real life – and whilst I don’t completely agree with that, in my posts I’m very open, pretty raw, and very honest.

 

I blog to inspire and motivate

Originally my target of this blog was for offering up advice/motivation/inspiration to teens/young adults, just as I feel like that is something I would’ve appreciated quite a lot when I was just a bit younger. But now as I’ve see the 18-24 and 25-30 readership numbers on Skylish rise to practically being 50:50, I’ve realised that the overall mission is to inspire and motivation all women full stop. It always makes me feel happy when I get comments or messages from people that say my blog has helped them for reason X, Y, or Z. And whilst blogging can sometimes be quite discouraging or fairly frustrating, messages like that always remind me of why I do what I do.

 

It’s a creative outlet

Now, let’s talk about the 1 million outfit photos of myself I have floating around… does this make me narcissistic? The truth is, I see the photos as a creative addition to my blog, which also offer up some style inspiration for anyone that is interested in fashion. I know that of all the blogs I read, one of the reasons I love them as much as I do is just due to their truly aesthetically pleasing style photos. If that draws me to other blogs, it only makes sense to also implement this onto mine. It adds to a post – I find it so much more pleasing reading a blog with some cool photos dotted around than reading a post with just a full slab of text, or a post with some very random memes added in. I am also into style – I like to look put together, I love to shop… so I share this in my posts! Plus, it’s so much better seeing some pieces on somebody else with a relatable body type, and seeing how these pieces have been styled, than ordering online and finding you really didn’t receive what you were expecting. Again, seeing clothes on other bloggers also impacts my spending habits; I know that after Patricia Bright reviewed Fashion Nova and said it wasn’t too bad that I went online and did my own little shop.

 

I blog to stay busy

I’m not sure why it is, but I’ve never been able to do just one thing at one time. For example, whilst I was in school, my focus was never 100% on just studying. There was always something else, usually creative, that was also stealing some of my time. Now that I work full time, I couldn’t imagine my life being such that I didn’t do anything ‘extra curricular’. I remember saying this so someone back in year 8 whilst we rehearsed for our school’s dance production (“I just like to stay busy!”) and they thought I was a bit crazy. But I guess it’s just in my nature. As much as I sometimes complain about being too busy – and as great as chill days are – after too many I honestly just get bored.

 

I blog because I feel like it

Life gets quite crazy sometimes and occasionally it feels like I’m working all the time as even long weeks in the office will be accompanied by weekends doing shoots, at events, or working on some posts. But even when I feel like quitting, it’s really never a viable option – because I just really enjoy blogging. I love editing together pictures, piecing them into a post, and just sitting down and writing. I love the people I meet, and I love the opportunities – for example this weekend I shot with Brun et Noir for their upcoming social media campaign and whilst I was there met two lovely bloggers Jasmine and Bonita. Last week, I got to see a preview of what David Clulow has in store for Fashion Week, and walked away with a free eye test and a very lovely pair of Dolce & Gabanna sunglasses. Great opportunities like this always make me very appreciative of the position I’m in. So yeah – I blog because I want to.

Photography: Marianna Olaleye

*Sponsored by Ralph Lauren – all opinions are my own of course