I was a PA working at agency Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R long before I even started thinking about a career in blogging. When I watch Mad Men it’s funny how realistic it is. Only the clothes and smoking in the office has changed. Everything else, especially the politics, remains the same. I’ve always been interested in sport so shortly afterwards I gave up the world of advertising to become a PA at a big football club. Growing up with two brothers, If I wasn’t watching [British sports presenter] Dickie Davies on a Saturday afternoon, I was pretty much on my own so I always wanted to join in with what they were doing. Soon I was going to all of the games with them and enjoying it first hand, so when the opportunity came to work in the sport I just went for it. Fashion was always what I wanted to do so going into sports was never planned. I remember sketching when I was younger but preferred the business side of fashion more.
I started off in fashion as part of a community on FabSugar. It was all about celebrity fashion – it’s been an obsession of mine since I was a kid watching the red carpet at the Oscars. Quite naturally, my posts began gathering so much attention that I remember noticing my editor deleting them in what I can only assume was jealousy on her part. I knew it was something people were interested in so I started my own blog in 2007, but at that stage it was only for fun. I never knew you could make a living out of it and at the time that wasn’t my intention. I only realised it could be a business about two years later when Net-a-Porter told me that the huge amount of traffic I was sending their way was commissionable.
[show_shopthepost_widget id=”817471″]
I was made redundant and had been looking for a job for six months before deciding to go full-time with the blog. To be honest, I was pretty much forced into it from lack of other options. I would not have had the confidence to give up a job to blog full-time without knowing where it will lead. I had to consider at the very least that the money I was making covered my rent and luckily, before long I was making enough money to cover all my expenses via affiliate sales. I did still consider getting a normal job but I soon realised that the site needed 100% commitment.
The biggest difference working a full-time job compared to what I now is that I don’t have answer to anybody. The other difference is that my income is fully dependant on my traffic. The saying ‘you get out what you put in’ really applies to my job. Working in football was different to fashion because it was a totally male-dominated environment. I remember often being accused of working in football purely to be a WAG. That’s just some of the comments I had to face but honestly, I couldn’t think of anything worse. Throughout my time in that world I always had to prove my knowledge of the game and people often seemed shocked about how I knew. I also had to turn a blind eye to lots of sexism. I didn’t want to be accused of being “too emotional” so I had to be “one of the boys” just to be accepted. In many ways, fashion isn’t too dissimilar – you’re always trying to be accepted.
Nowadays from day to day it’s me and a proof-reader working on the site but during the awards season, I have five writers and five photo editors to support me. It was only when I was going to the Oscars last year that I realized that I couldn’t attend and blog at the same time so that’s when I built a team to help me. I should’ve done it way before then, but I was too much of a perfectionist and insisted on covering everything myself. I used to get caught up in trying to get things up first and would often find myself on my computer until 2am but over the years I’ve become better at creating boundaries. Now I switch off at 6pm but naturally I do find myself considering posts for the next day in the evenings. It’s important not to get too consumed with work. The key thing I’ve learnt is that being first doesn’t make you any better. Now, the main focus is quality over quantity and speed.
[show_shopthepost_widget id=”817476″]
While it’s important to monetise your blog if you want to go full-time, it’s not a bad thing working with brands for free to begin with. By letting them know what you can do, you’re putting yourself in a position to prove your worth. The trouble is, there are so many people trying to do the same so it’s important to make sure you stand out from the crowd. Always take the responsibility seriously. Working with one brand can lead to working with many so conducting yourself in a professional manner will stand you in good stead.
One of the most interesting partnerships I’ve had was with Roland Mouret. He came up with the idea of allowing my readers to vote between different designs we had created for me to wear to the Oscars. He was surprised I’d never been before so we worked on the idea to allow my readers to get involved. The experience was quite surreal. I even had celebrities coming up to me and saying I voted for that design. I still pinch myself it still feels like it happened to someone else.
It’s been so important for me to surround myself with supportive people. I ended up ending a long-term relationship because my partner at the time didn’t take my career seriously. Even my mother didn’t get it for a while. The past few years has all been about educating the people around me and showing them how much work goes into it. My current partner is much more supportive. He actually sends me articles he has read on other bloggers to make sure I am up to date with what’s going on in my field.
I don’t think I can put my finger on a specific moment that the site made a breakthrough. I think it just comes from an honest place. It’s simple to read and easy to digest. I don’t pretend I know everything. I learn from my readers every day. Early features on me in the Daily Mail and American Vogue definitely helped propel the site but it also helps that what I am writing about is topical news so my content is always current. I wish I knew exactly what it was that about the site that has really connected with people – if I knew the answer, I’d bottle it and sell it. I just haven’t been calculated in my plans. Things have just fallen into place.
I’ve seen many copycat blogs come and go. The reason they often disappear is that because maintaining a site and working on 20 posts per day is not easy. Red Carpet Fashion Awards is always reliable – I would never publish information on a look unless I’m 100 per cent sure. That’s why I try and publish celebrity pictures alongside runway shots. I don’t pay attention to criticism. I used to but fighting it was a wasted emotion. Now I just write about what makes me happy. I can’t please everyone so I just concentrate on myself.
The most important thing I have learnt is not to second-guess yourself. There is nothing worse than seeing an idea you didn’t follow through with appearing on another site. Right now my eyes are set on the future. I’m keen to build a team and have Asian, Australian, Russian and Indian versions of the site – not a Google translate but a site dedicated to local celebrities in their own language. I would also love to travel more and attend key events across the world. I’m also interested in getting into TV in the US, reporting live from the red carpet so watch this space…
Photography by Dvora for The Lifestyle Edit