FBFF: Does Location Influence Style Choices?
Since bloggers tend to sit in front of a computer and often don’t have much interaction with other bloggers… I’m trying to create a way for all of us to get acquainted. Welcome to Fashion Beauty Friend Friday. This is an opportunity for fashion and beauty bloggers to share their thoughts on a specific topic and read what others have to say on that same topic.
- Katy at Modly Chic
For this week’s FBFF Katy asks the question of whether or not your location affects and influences your fashion choices. Since I have lived everywhere from Vermont to Boston to West Virgina and now the Bay Area of California, this is an interesting topic for me to approach.
Oh San Francisco, how I love thee.
1. What part of the world do you blog from? My blog was born in my company office which sits in the SOMA district of San Francisco, California. I blog from both my office and my home, which is about 40 miles south east of the city in a “little” town called Fremont (which is actually 200,000+ people). I also blog when I travel, whether it be a trip home to the East Coast, a vacation to Hawaii, or a business trip to Germany.
2. If you had to describe the overall mode of dress for where you live what would you say? Ha! San Francisco is a city of dressing however you please. You seriously see a little bit of everything. Everything from skinny jeans and flannel shirts, to frilly vintage dresses, to uber prep, to business wear, to hippies who look they rolled out of bed and threw on the first thing they found. And through all of these different types of dress, everyone makes sure they wear something warm, because let’s face it, San Francisco is cold year round. In Fremont, which is 110% suburbia, you see a lot of fast fashion, and your standard mall wear, since that is the majority of the residents shop. Suburbia isn’t known for its high fashion and style, and Fremont is no different.
3. Do you fit in with the status quo around you or do you break the mold? When I am in Fremont, since I am not dressed head to toe in fast fashion like Forever 21, or Express, or Target, or wearing pant suits, I stand out, often like a sore thumb. On the flip side when I am in San Francisco I tend to blend in with everyone else, simply because everyone else is standing out. San Francisco is a city where it is hard to stand out, and if you try, it seems like you blend in even further.
4. If you have lived or traveled to another part of the country/world did your clothing choices evolve? I think my clothing choices evolving had more to do with getting older, and my tastes changing, rather than where I lived. I think it also had to do with my surrounding environment, high school versus college versus the working world. In high school I tried because I wanted to fit in, but eventually gave up. In college, I was always so busy with my part time jobs, school work and attempting to have a social life, that I just didn’t care and spent most of the time in jeans and a t-shirt, except when I was working and had to dress in my theater blacks. After I graduated this mindset continued, mostly out of laziness and being extremely poor (while living in one of the most expensive cities in the country). My recent style and clothing choices have been a result of my increasing interest in developing my fashion sense, thanks to the discovery of style and fashion blogs.
5. If you had to describe your style by naming a specific city, what would you be? I always tend to get a little lost when trying to describe my style, as I really don’t think I have a set one. I tend to wear whatever I want, whether it is jeans and a t-shirt or a nice dress. I guess you could say that my style leans towards whimsical, with a major focus on comfort. Because of this, I would think that I fit quite well in San Francisco, though I also think I would fit wonderfully in Boston, since people there tend to lean towards whimsical with a side of college student (and I did live there for 4 years).
Interested in what others have to say? Hop on over to Modly Chic today and read the responses of others!
FBFF: Labeling Yourself
- On July 15, 2011
- By Kate
- In Fashion Beauty Friend Friday
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Since bloggers tend to sit in front of a computer and often don’t have much interaction with other bloggers… I’m trying to create a way for all of us to get acquainted. Welcome to Fashion Beauty Friend Friday. This is an opportunity for fashion and beauty bloggers to share their thoughts on a specific topic and read what others have to say on that same topic. - Katy at Modly Chic
This week’s questions were inspired by a post Katy recently wrote called You are Not a Label. Many bloggers expressed interest in a set of questions based on this and thus this week’s FBFF was born!
1. As someone who writes/blogs about fashion, have you placed yourself into some sort of blogging category? When I first starting blogging I really didn’t want to limit myself to on topic, so I refused to label myself any kind of blogger. When I discovered style and fashion bloggers I really wanted to start incorporating more of those elements into my blog, and so I spent a few weeks striving to become a personal style blogger. I soon discovered that was not where my interest and passion truly lay. So I took a step back, re-evaluated what I wanted out of my blog, and decided that I wanted to be able to blog about whatever I want, without having to label myself as a certain type of blogger. I like writing about everything from makeup and beauty products, to outfit of the day posts, to movies and television shows, to advice about blogging, and even snippets of my daily life. Nowadays, if you asked me to categorize or label myself, I guess I would call myself a personal life and style blogger. But honestly, even that doesn’t cover it all.
2. What keeps you from or encourages you to label yourself as a certain kind of blogger? I kind of already answered this in the previous question, but to elaborate further on it, I simply do not want to get pigeonholed into only blogging about certain things. If I want to write about a video game I love, I want to be able to do that without breaking away from my “blogging label”. Same is true for style and fashion, or movies, or makeup. Furthermore, I have found that if I label myself a certain type of blogger, I feel competitive with that group, and I really don’t think that is conducive to a healthy state of mind.
The only kind of label I like. Check out that awesome art.
3. When picking blogs to read and follow are you drawn to ones that indicate a certain group or way of thinking/being? I like to read all types of blogs and do not choose based on the “category” or label they fall into. I choose blogs based on their content, writing, personalities, whether or not I can relate to the reader, etc. In fact, blogs that are hyper-focused on one topic or theme often tend to get quite old and lose my interest quickly. For example, I love reading “personal style” blogs, but those that are only focused on one type of clothing or brand tend to turn me off almost instantly (a fashion blog that ONLY features clothing from Anthroplogie not only bores me, but actually angers me).
4. Do you think there are benefits in labeling yourself or others? I suppose if I really thought about it, I could find a benefit or two of labels, but as a whole, I think that they more often or not do nothing but cause harm. On one side they can cause you to feel isolated or separate, and on another, they can make you feel like you aren’t unique and are nothing but a part of a large conglomerate of people.
5. Agree or Disagree – We’re all just people; we don’t need all the labels. Of course I agree with this! Each person is unique and is special, and they should never be defined by a label. Labels are completely unnecessary and serve little to no purpose.
Interested in what others have to say? Hop on over to Modly Chic today and read the responses of others!
FBFF: Personal Outfits & Uniforms
Since bloggers tend to sit in front of a computer and often don’t have much interaction with other bloggers… I’m trying to create a way for all of us to get acquainted. Welcome to Fashion Beauty Friend Friday. This is an opportunity for fashion and beauty bloggers to share their thoughts on a specific topic and read what others have to say on that same topic. - Katy at Modly Chic
From Katy: “This week’s questions are in part inspired by Vahni from Grit and Glamour. A number of weeks ago she posted about her personal uniform or ‘outfit formula’ as she dubbed it. The concept struck me. What is an outfit formula or the typical ‘you’ uniform. The items you easily reach for. The easy-to-create look that is oh so you.”
1. What’s your go-to outfit formula? If you had asked me this seven months ago I would have quickly been able to answer jeans, geeky t-shirt (a la shirt.woot) and a pair of Chucks. It is quite literally what I wore every single day. Fast forward to now and that has completely changed. I actually no longer have a signature outfit or uniform. Instead I wear what I want, as long as I am comfortable. Lately this can mean anything from a fun summer dress with sandals, to a pair of skinny jeans with a colored v-neck t-shirt and ballet flats. Some days I even wear a skirt and blazer. The reason I don’t have a specific “uniform” anymore, is that I want to be able to try many different styles, and still feel like me. I want to be able to wear a girl dress and wedges and look just as good as I do if I wear a blazer and jeans. That being said, there are some key guidelines that I make sure every outfit meets. This includes comfortable shoes, something that shows the definition in my waist, and a light jacket, blazer or cardigan, because my office gets extremely cold with the AC on all day. Beyond these few guidelines, anything goes!
Six months ago you wouldn't have caught me dead in this outfit.
2. How did you come about this formula? I have always dressed for comfort. Why else would I spend years wearing jeans, t-shirts and Chucks? If that isn’t comfortable, then I don’t know what is. However, I have recently learned that you can dress for comfort and still look put together and elegant. This has been my inspiration for the last six months. and what I think of with each outfit that I put on. Dresses and skirts are some of the most comfortable articles of clothing (as long as they fit), and I love that they instantly make you look sophisticated and pretty. Plus, it is about to start getting extremely warm here in California, and I want outfits that I can stay cool in. A lightweight summer frock and a pair of sandals is absolutely perfect for that! In fact, I am pretty sure this summer is going to be the summer of no pants. That’s right, I plan to spend the majority of it in whimsical dress, and colorful skirts. Who is this girl and what have you done with the real Kate?
3. Do you have different formulas for different occasions in your life? Not particularly. I am terrible about dressing for the occasion, time of day, or even the weather. Like I have said before, I wear what I want, when I want. That means bright colors in the winter, blacks and blues in the summer, and boots whenever the hell I please (yes, even if it 90 bajillion degrees outside). There are of course some occasions where I do force myself to conform…somewhat. A wedding, yes, I will wear a nice dress, but I will add my own touch. A dinner at a fancy restaurant, I will leave the jeans and Chucks at home. Lying out on the beach, yes the boots will stay home and I will wear an actual bathing suit. See, I am not completely crazy (ok maybe I am, but lets pretend I am actually normal sometimes)!
4. Has it morphed over the years? Of course it has! In high school, well, I can’t even remember what I wore then, but I am pretty sure it was jeans, a long sleeved shirt, and sneakers. I grew up in a really small town in Vermont where we didn’t get trends until years after they had hit the rest of the country/world. Thus, I spent most of my young teenage years completely in the dark and unaware of what was fashionable. I think I only wore dresses or skirt My whole school was like this in fact. In college I was always extremely busy with a job, classes, and homework (I won’t pretend I had time for a social life, because I didn’t) so I went for the comfort of that faithful jeans, t-shirt, Chucks uniform that I carried with me until this year. Now, I look for clothes that make me feel feminine, elegant, professional, and fun, but are still comfortable. I imagine that my style and “uniform” it will continue to evolve over time and I look forward to what it (and I) becomes.
5. Which other blogger’s outfit formula would you like to swipe? I do no believe in “swiping” the style of others, but I do believe in finding in inspiration in those things around you, including people. Lately I am all about dresses and adorable skirts and am finding inspiration in Kaelah Bee (the queen of the adorable dress/cardi combo), Sal of Already Pretty (who always looks amazingly put together in a dress and some key accessories), Suze of Miss Vinyl Ahoy (in who I can find colorful inspiration) and Tania of What A Nerd Would Wear (who is one of the sole reasons I have been stocking up on skirts). And of course there are many other ladies and bloggers who inspire me every single day (and not just with style) like Elissa, Kendi, Katy, Tiffany, Liz and Linley.
Read what others have to say here, and definitely join FBFF today! It is such a fantastic way to meet fellow bloggers!
