Why I Blog

Happy Hump Day everyone!!! I have officially been a resident of New York City for a little over 4 months, and on Friday, my (new) blog will celebrate 3 months since its relaunch! This summer flew right on by, and I’m sure time won’t be slowing down for as far as I can see. On this beautiful Wednesday, I thought I’d share with you the reasons why I blog. But first, we have to hit rewind and send ourselves all the way back to 2011. I was a Junior in high school back in good ol’ Statesville, NC, and I had eyes on my fashion dreams--becoming New York’s next big stylist. I spent my Sundays applying to internships that I knew I wasn’t going to get, and I even considered starting an in-home closet consulting company. I was the girl who wore dresses to school while everyone else wore sweats, and I was constantly being asked “why are you so dressed up?” In my opinion, it takes just as much time to pull on jeans as sweatpants, so why not look good?

I can’t quite remember what made me decide to start my own blog, but I did. It was called Fashionably Haute, and somehow there’s no trace of it on the internet now. Trust me, I tried to find it for your viewing pleasure because I’m sure it was pretty horrible! My first post was about color blocking and included pictures of color blocked sweaters, full looks, and even nail polish designs. The day after it went live, I spent my extra time at school writing the URL on all the chalkboards (yes, we actually had chalkboards) in the classrooms. What happened next was actually pretty crazy. When I arrived at school the next day, everyone had read it. Some of my classmates even came up to me and told me that their outfits were inspired by my post. I couldn’t believe it. It was a success. I had created dozens of colorblocked clones! I knew I needed to step up my blogging game, so I changed the template on my blog to something more eye-catching (the banner was an image of clothing hangers), and I realized that I couldn’t just steal images from Pinterest anymore. I needed to start taking pictures of myself. I used all of the cash I had saved to buy a camera. Who knows if it was really even good quality? I only picked it because Ashton Kutcher was in the commercials. I would place the camera in my opened mailbox and pose in the middle of the street as the timer counted down to the flash. Looking back, the pictures were HORRIBLE, but they did the job, and no one at my school seemed to mind. I scheduled posts in my planner, and kept up my online presence for a few weeks, and then...I got distracted. Unfortunately, when you’re 16 years old, going to parties after football games, and laying around doing absolutely nothing with your friends pretty much trumps everything else. Fashionably Haute fell off.

Now, fast forward to the fall semester of my senior year of college. It was starting to sink in that in less than a year I would have to be an employed adult, but I didn’t have any kind of portfolio to submit when applying for styling jobs (spoiler alert: I didn’t end up with a styling job anyway). I complained to my mom (when am I not complaining to my mom?), and she had the greatest idea (Michele knows all). She suggested I start blogging again, this time more consistent and carefully cultivated. I mean, I was a writing major, and I did love styling, so why not? I didn’t have to worry about putting my shitty camera on the timer setting in my mailbox. I had my best friend and a boyfriend that were practically forced into the photographer position. That’s when Zoey-Leigh.com was born. For several months, I stayed consistent and posted 3 styled looks a week. I made it all the way through winter break, and then spring semester hit, and it hit hard. My schedule was super busy, and Zoey-Leigh.com was placed on the back burner.

Fast forward (again) to my big move to Manhattan. My move was a super transitional point in my life. I wasn’t just physically moving to a new place, but a lot of things were changing in my life. I felt that it was the perfect time to get back on my blogging game. It was a fresh, new start. But, if I was going to do it again, I wanted to do it right. Previously, my blog had very little writing. It was mainly a photo journal with a short description, a caption if you will. This time, I wanted to start writing more. I spent my whole life being told that I was a great writer, and even though I never believed it, I decided to put it to the test. So, I combined my ability (not quite love yet) for writing with my passion for styling, and the new Zoey-Leigh.com was born. Of course it would be nice to be the next Chiara Ferragni or Brittany Xavier, but for now, it’s a hobby, a creative outlet, and something to do when I’m bored at work (oops, don’t tell my boss). Btw, I love the writing part now. Who woulda thought? I am beyond thankful that I have great readers/followers like you to support this little project of mine. I promise I have a lot up my sleeves, and I will continue to grow and share my passion with all of you! It doesn’t hurt if you wanna try to make me the next big fashion blogger either… By all means, go for it!  Keep on reading Zoey-Leigh.com and subscribe to my newsletter to make sure you don’t miss out on anything!

Xoxo,

Zoey Leigh