About becoming a braver, more confident person - through fashion blogging.

Though I've been writing a person blog for six years, I'm definitely a newbie when it comes to the whole "fashion blogger scene". So naturally, when I saw the "How to be a successful fashion blogger"-feature is the latest Chictopia newletter, I immediately clicked on it. One can never get too much advice, that's for sure!

The feature turned out to mostly focus on those who have not yet started their blogs, but the writer shared a tweet that I really think nails what the blogging experience is all about:

"When you’re a blogger you also need to be a photographer, stylist, graphic designer, coder, writer, model & marketing guru."

Jessie Stoelwinder of The Velvet Bow

In a way I guess you could see this as being unfair - how can a person be expected to master all of these skills?! But at the same time, blogging is an amazing opportunity to practice and get better. Noone will make fun of you for starting at the bottom, you can get feedback and share your progress with your readers.

And to be honest, we all know that not every successful blogger is "a photographer, stylist, graphic designer, coder, writer, model and marketing guru". And that's okay, because just because you're a blogger, you don't have to do everything all by yourself! I know (of) so many people who have friends, parents or partners with amazing photography skills who take all of their photos, there are plenty of tutorials and generous people out there that will help you with the graphic design and coding if you don't want to get into it yourself, and there are also lots of immensely popular blogs who are almost completely based on photography (for those who aren't as keen as myself on writing way too long stories).

I guess what I'm trying to say is though it's absolutely true that being a person of many talents can surely help a blog becoming widely appreciated and recognized, but the awesome thing about blogging is also that there's a spot and a niche for everyone.

Obviously it will take quite some time before I (or anyone else) will start to think of myself as a "successful fashion blogger", but I've had a blog for a long time and thought, why not share some of my own blogging tips anyway?

The most common thing a young girl will hear from her parents when mentioning her desire to start a blog has to be "but honey, isn't that going to take up way too much of your time? Shouldn't you be focusing on school/work/ballet/cleaning your room?". The answer to this is: no, blogging doesn't have to be time consuming at all.

But - if you want a lot of people to quickly find your blog and start to follow it, then, yes. It's really simple: the more time and effort you put into your blog, especially in the beginning, the more people are likely to find it and like it.

Personally, I decided when I started this blog, that I would dedicate a lot of my time to it. The reason is that I know myself way too well - if people don't read and comment, I'd probably get bored and give it up in the matter of weeks. Therefor, I spend hours every day taking photos and editing them, writing the posts and visiting the blogs of the lovely people who comment on mine.

I didn't start this blog to become rich and famous (although that sure would be nice, at least the rich part - I found a pair of amazing shoes online today that I really wish I could buy, haha!), but I did start is to share and showcase my photography and my writing. And the whole point of that is that people see it.

Bottom line: The more time spent, the more readers you'll get! Simple, huh? :)

Yes, I know this isn't for everyone. Some people are not at all comfortable with sharing personal details from their lives. Well, as some of you may have already noticed - I'm not one of those people. I absolutely love writing about my own experiences, my thoughts and feelings and my view on different subjects. And those are also the blogs I most enjoy reading. Blogs where you come to feel like the blogger is one of your friends, you care for her, laugh with her when times are good and cry with her when they're just not. (Or him, of course.) Sure, I'm interested in nice photography and fabulous outfits, but I'm way more interested in the people wearing the clothes. It's always the person behind the blog that keeps me coming back.

I would say that one of the best parts of blogging is that it's not real life. You can wear the most imaginative, ridiculous and daring outfit in a post, just because you always wanted to try it on - who cares if you chicken out and end up going to school in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt? You might have inspired someone else to be a little bit braver, and most of all - when you realize that there are people out there who think you look outstanding, maybe you'll actually start feeling comfortable in that completely original outfit. It's my true belief that sharing our styles online makes us braver, that it boosts our imagination as well as our confidence.

So, there you have the answer. "Yeah, mom - blogging might steal away from the time I could have spent cleaning my room. But it might also make me a braver, more confident person, and let me meet some absolutely amazing new friends. I think it could actually be worth it."

Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end.

 

White lace dress, Monki. Black leather belt, Gina Tricot. Grey knitted socks, Lindex. Black leather litas, Jeffrey Campbell, Solestruck.com. Lipstick: 846 "Raging Ruby" by Max Factor.

Next week, it's time for our Swedish high school students to graduate. The event is called studenten, and it's tradition for girls to wear white (the guys are ususally wearing black suits). Sure, it might have been nine years since my high school graduation - but that doesn't mean I can't pretend I'm still 18 and have my whole life ahead of me!

When I graduated, I wore an off-white dress I'd thrifted the day before. I can't remember ever seeing it in my wardrobe, so I guess someone must have spilled red wine all over it or something. Oh, and I was barefoot - I bought some two dollar shoes at the same charity shop, but I think my feet hurt and I left them somewhere even before the ceremony started. I've never seen any photos from my graduation - the fancy but affordable DSLR cameras had not yet entered the market. If I'd have graduated today, I would probably have taken about five thousand photos!

The weeks before my graduation were such a disaster. You see, up unitl the end of "högstadiet" (junior high, sort of), I was completely obsessed with my grades. I mean it: completely obsessed. If I missed one single point at a test, I would run off to the school bathroom and cry. I was the biggest geek you've ever seen and, looking back, the pressure I put on myself was absolutely ridiculous. My parents had nothing to do with it, even though of course I wanted to make them proud, but it was me and noone else who expected me to be the best in every single subject.

Naturally, everyone loathed me. It truly was a vicious cycle - I'd been bullied ever since I started school at six years old, and I figured my only value as a person was to get perfect grades. And the more obsessed I got about my studies, the more reason people felt like they had to torture me.

Well, that all changed. The summer between junior high and high school, I decided to undergo a total tranformation. An extreme makeover, if you so wish. I was going to go to a very advanced, well respected high school where noone knew me - I had a shot at becoming somebody else, "the person I was supposed to be".

My plan was this: I would be the really smart, really pretty girl who wore nice clothes and hung out with the cool kids. Basically: I would still put all the pressure of being number 1 in my class on myself, as well as being the prettiest, skinniest, most popular girl. You think that worked out well for me? Well, I'll tell you one thing: when you stop eating entirely, there's no way you can be at the top of your game. No way in hell.

To make a long story short: I tried, I really did. But I got way too sick, I decided to transfer to a school with a lot lower academic standards, I started wearing all black, I cut class to do modeling gigs more often than I actually showed up in school. The summer after my first year of high school, I had to go take summer classes for six weeks just to go on to the next grade. I WAS A MESS. And this didn't change. About a month before my graduation, one of my teachers told me I was failing so many classes that they weren't going to let me graduate. That was a new low, even for me.

I might have had the attitude of a total screw-up, but luckily I still had the brains of the geek I used to be. I studied like a lunatic the last couple of weeks - and managed to not only pass all the classes I needed to, but to get all A's and B's. So when I finally got to graduate with the rest of my class, it was such a double win. I didn't only get to leave high school with decent grades, I'd also restored my faith in myself, in my own capacity and compentence. I left high school with the feeling that I could do anything, as long as I really gave it my all.

Then I still screwed up again and again, living way too close to the edge for another three years, before I actually got my act together. But that's a whole different story. And I did end up with a job I enjoy, reasonably healthy and happy in a beautiful house with the man I love. Not that this is the end - I try to see every day as the chance to a new beginning. Because I know it's never, ever too late to change your life.


"Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end."

Sharing is caring, so let's!

I find new, amazing blogs all the time, through Chictopia, Lookbook and through your link lists. But I can't help but feeling like there are still so many wonderful blogs out there that I'm missing out on! Therefor, I wanted to ask you guys - what blogs do you love? Which ones should I absolutely be following - and why? Share the love, let me know!

"Why don't you go get rejected by America's Next Top Model or whatever?"

Navy blazer, straw hat and light blue 90's type jeans, Monki. Dark brown leather sandals, Zara. Tan leather belt, Gina Tricot. Tan leather satchel, Vero Moda. White t-shirt, Weekday. Lipstick: "Lady Red" by L'Oreal.

Haha, I'm honestly impressed - I took these photos in less than five minutes before heading out. I was in such a hurry but I feel like, now that I have this blog, I really want to document my oufits as often as I possibly can. I guess my blog-philosophy is "quantity before quality"... Not sure that's too smart, but eh, it's just a blog.

These jeans! Aah, they're so 90's and so not flattering in any way at all! That's probably why I feel great in them - there's something about clothes like that, they make me relaxed, comfortable and confident. Actually, I think it might be because I don't feel like I'm trying too hard to look "sexy". Maybe my height has something to do with it - when I dress up in really nice outfits (especially in high heels), I sometimes feel like people look at me and think "oh my gosh, look at her, who does she think she is? A model or something? Get real, girlfriend! You ain't all that! Why don't you go get rejected by America's Next Top Model or whatever?"

Umm, yes, I am aware that this might all be in my head. But that's what it feels like. And in outfits like this one, I imagine that all that people think is "wow, those are some not very flattering jeans". Which is awesome!

(I know you can't really see how insanely badly they fit me, I must have positioned my body in ways that make the clothes look as good as possible. I just can't help myself, haha! Eh.)

You might have seen the blazer before here, and the leather satchel here.

Into the mist.

(Please watch in full screen mode to do the viewing experience justice!)

Last summer, the amazing designer and also my dear friend Sofie of the brand Sofifi asked me to be in her A/W 2011 collection film. I barely do any acting projects at all anymore and I'll admit I miss it sometimes, so I said yes right away. And as always when it comes to working with designers, I've had to wait a year to see the result. But now it's finally here!

My first thought: I can not believe how different I look. When I watched it on my iPhone this morning I could barely even recognize myself in a lot of the shots. It's truly incredible what hair, make up, lighting and camera angles can do! Not that I always thought the change was for the better (i.e. I look like a 45 year old heroin addict in my last scene - oh the sacrifices we make for the arts!), but I think it goes well with the story. And Sofie and the film crew did such a beautiful job at interpreting the whole film noir-theme.

Oh and also, I love that more and more brands choose to showcase their collections on film, instead of just stills. It's such a great way to create a story and show the idea and the inspiration of a collection! My only problem with being a part of a fashion film like this one, is that I'm sort of... not used to trying to look pretty when I act. It's like, either I act or I model, and in the film I keep making all of these ugly faces! I can just hear Tyra Banks yelling, "no, no, not like that! Model ugly! Model ugly!" :)

Anyway, please watch it, and I hope you'll like it!