More Musings: Where This Blog is Headed

I've mentioned this many times in the last year-and-a-half but, when I first created this blog, I knew what I didn't want it to be. While I can clearly see that what tends to work for style bloggers is for them to frequently post photos of themselves standing around in whatever it is they are wearing. I do get complimented on my style on a regular basis and I think I could probably be successful enough if I chose to follow suit but, in addition to the fact that I'm never been one to bleat along with with the rest of the flock, I think this is an empty path for a writer to take.

As for as what I actually want goes, I've gone through a series of opinions. When I began blogging, I was sure I would be posting about DIY projects I've taken on, creating shopping guides, sharing sewing tutorials, occasionally covering what's going on in the Montreal fashion scene and I knew I would definitely have a street style series. Since then, I've posted several shopping guides but only one street style photo, one style profile, no sewing tutorials and I've barely touched upon some of the DIY stuff I've been working on. More to the point, this is no longer of interest to me. Actually spending time on these things, yes, but sharing them with you, here, no. Oh and I have indeed been covering local events but for someone else's blog.

This has slowly been morphing into a lifestyle blog. I'm a fashion designer, a stylist, a writer, an aesthete, a traveler, a foodie, an amateur photographer, a mom, a weight lifter, an on-and-off musician and DJ, an entrepreneur and a rocker. This should reflect all of that and, more and more, it has been.

Things to look forward to:

I'm moving this blog to WordPress in July. That's the month I'll also be launching my new clothing line and another project I've been working on (that had been scheduled for a June debut but has been pushed back by a few months due to web development snags).

I will, on occasion, be inviting guest bloggers to post.

I have an instagram account  but I'll be posting more photos over here, very soon.

I will soon be kicking off a product review series that will carry us into June and end when the blog has been revamped. I have a wantable box to review and another one on the way but the most exciting news I have to share, with regards to this, is that a friend of mine showed up for Mother's Day Brunch at my place with the bass guitar I was buying for my daughter but also with a gift bag for me. Can you imagine my joy when I opened it up to find more than $450 of beauty products in there?! Cynthia works at L'Oréal and had a hunch I might appreciate some skin and hair care products. I think I was a little bit shocked upon receiving it but I went a little bananas last night when I pulled everything out and started sampling, smelling and reading. I feel so immensely blessed and I look forward to trying these out and sharing the results with you!

I'm trying out each product for three days in a row and taking notes but, thanks to my last wantable box, I'll be ready to post my first review as early as tomorrow.

Check this out! One of the Baby Lips and a mascara are missing.

This was the best Mother's Day ever! Brunch was made for me and I shared it with friends, their kids, my daughter and her father, under a bright blue sky, in my new yard. My kid got her new bass, I got the aforementioned treasure trove and I then went out to get tattooed by a really awesome friend before dinner was made for me. I'm still glowing from this fantastic day!

Here is my Mother's Day gift to me, done by the ridiculously rad Angus, at Sin City Montreal. I'll post better photos once they've healed.

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On Fashion Writing, (Mis)Representation, Compromise and Myself

Right as I had decided to start blogging for myself, over here, on a more regular basis, I got picked up by three other blogs. My experiences have been varied and I'm now pausing to openly contemplate my future as a writer.

The original idea was that I would write for other people's blogs for a year and then use the portfolio this created as a springboard that would hopefully lead me to print. In the meantime, I would add to this blog when I could, work on my first novel when I could and do all of this secondary to my clothing line. Now I find myself with a rapidly growing portfolio but feeling like quantity might be outweighing quality. There are some pieces I don't share on my portfolio or even on my facebook page because I know they're fluffy and, while I don't hand in any writing I'm not satisfied with, I also try to be picky about which pieces as I put forth as representations of myself. This aside, the writing I do is time-consuming. It's hours away from my family, from my designing, and from more inspired writing. All of this is okay if I love what I do.

1. I write for a local blog that is aimed at models. The purpose is to inform them of which shows are run how and to give them a hand navigating through the wilderness that is our fashion scene. I touch upon everything from an event's overall level of professionalism to the length of poses to the styling to the music selection and volume.

I do enjoy attending local fashion shows, as each one presents me with valuable lessons on what to do (and not do) when I present my own work and, while I do appreciate that not all shows are meant to be big, seamless productions, my tendency is to tell the truth, objectively but regardless. Where I'm struggling is with the amount of censoring I must apply to my pieces. If I attend a show where hems aren't pressed, zippers are twisted up, price tags are dangling from pieces, clothing is ill-fitting and long threads dangle from seams here and there, I am not allowed to write about it. I consider myself somewhat talented when it comes to balancing out positive and negative critiquing but the exceptionally low word count cap I have and the fact that I am forbidden to criticize negatively, leaves me with no choice but to sugar coat everything and to, essentially, fib. I think that, in the same way that I must select articles that represent me, models must do the same with their work and so I feel that all information is necessary.

My only other beef with this gig is that is leaves me yearning. Seeing all of these pieces walk down the runway makes me want to describe style elements, textures, styling decisions and sewing techniques. Astri Prugger Designs, Nisse, Travis Taddeo and Brit Wacher's designs make it hard for me not to elaborate. I want to meet with them in their environments, pick their brains and then share everything I've learned with you so that you can also appreciate them.

2. I write for an American vintage lifestyle blog. Or this is what it was when I was first hired, a little over a month ago. I was told to write about local vintage life so I wrote a piece on Montreal's evolving burlesque scene and three pieces on local shops that perpetuate vintage living. Two weeks ago, I was told that the site the blog is affiliated with will soon begin selling items and that my blog pieces should tie into said goods. I was told that I could write about vintage lifestyle from time to time but that my focus has to shift over to "vintage lamps, sofas, scarves, etc.". I can't say I'm feeling that.

EDIT (April 30th): Things have taken a turn for the best and I'm excited about the new directions I'm headed in with this blog.

3. I was hired by a seemingly prominent men's fashion blog, based in the UK. I pitched several ideas to them and they proceeded to write about each one before hiring me, which more than irritated me but I bit my tongue because I wanted the experience. We talked numbers and it was agreed that they would pay me half of what the Montreal blog pays me for pieces that are three times as long and require double the research. I submitted a shopping guide for end-of-season resort travels. I was then asked to switch over to entertainment writing and was asked to cover "style icon" Kanye West. Confederate flag-wearing Kanye, gentlemen? One day, if I write for a magazine and they ask me to cover someone I abhor, I will do as asked and do it well. Will I do it for $17? No. I asked them if I could write bi-weekly, given the recent genre shift and was told that this might be possible as of next month. I think I know what I need to do in this case.

I recently decided that waiting a year to begin writing for print is nonsense. I pitched the editor-in-chief of a prominent fashion magazine last week and will pitch someone every week until I get a bite. That was proactive decision number one.

I think the second important decision I have made is to once more bring some of my focus back to this blog. I may not get paid to write here but I am free to be creative and honest and, while I will indeed share news of my line, I will never sell out and start covering a product. I write about many things but, when it comes to blogging, I like to keep it to lifestyle and fashion. I will continue to write for the local blog, for the experience it is providing me with, and will do my best to filter myself, as counter-intuitive as that is, but I think I'll be fishing for better leads when it comes to writing for others.

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En Pointe Fashion Show. My latest piece for The Models' Coach.

Check it out here.

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Another Writing Gig

In addition to writing for The Models' Coach (I've written two more pieces that have yet to be published and I'm covering two more events, this week-end so stay tuned for more), I now write for a blog called Vintage Maya and this is my first piece. My word count maximum isn't hefty and I have to go heavy on the visuals but it's fun, nonetheless, and I appreciate the chance to build my portfolio up.

Lili St-Cyr

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