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| Nerding out at Vintage Bridge Headquarters |
The Long, Fun, and Illuminating Journey of Developing "Vintage Bridge Style: Retro Fashion on a Bohemian Budget, a DIY Plus Size Pin Up Bargain Hunter Beauty Blog"
You know, I love this site. It's my little spunky creative baby.
When it comes to writing, I think of myself first as a poet before anything else. That's at the core of who I am. It's what I received my advanced degree in. It's what I will always define myself as, "I'm a poet who..." And nowadays, I find myself saying, "I'm a poet who runs a DIY plus size pin up style blog, too."
When it comes to writing, I think of myself first as a poet before anything else. That's at the core of who I am. It's what I received my advanced degree in. It's what I will always define myself as, "I'm a poet who..." And nowadays, I find myself saying, "I'm a poet who runs a DIY plus size pin up style blog, too."
I realized that this plus size pin up bargain hunter style blog is a nourishing way for me to use my talents as a writer and a creative person -- but it's also helpful for others.
My Love of Pin Up Plus Size Style Blogging
I think about "Vintage Bridge Style" a lot and put in a lot of time into it. A great deal more than I thought I would when I first started it. In the beginning, I just figured I'd post an outfit selfie with a couple comments about where I got it or what category in the wide world of pin up fashion it'd fall into. Then, something happened. I don't even know exactly when. It wasn't a thunder clap, it was a slow development. But I began to realize that my fashion choices, and my sharing those choices in this forum, wasn't just about looking nice and enjoying my clothes.
The more I followed other women who love pin up fashion, like Cherry Dollface, and other "plus size" fashion people, like Georgina Horne, and the more I worked on my posts and got feedback from friends and strangers alike, the more I saw that what we're doing is important in many socially subversive ways.
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| "I have chosen to no longer be apologetic for my femininity. And I want to be respected in all my femaleness. Because I deserve to be." Quote from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie |
Firstly, we're reclaiming the origin of pin up fashion from it's decidedly anti-feminist time period and making it a new expression of feminism by owning and proudly showing our sexuality, for ourselves. Secondly, plus size bloggers and models are challenging beauty standards by asserting that the standard isn't everyone's taste by any means. Lots of people, men and women, find beauty in all shapes and sizes. And most importantly, we're reclaiming femininity from its place in male dominated society as a "frivolous" thing, to where it belongs: celebrated and honored. There's something empowering and comforting in looking good and feeling good about the way you've chosen to express yourself. And when style blogging helps people achieve that feeling, it's just the best.
What This Means for Vintage Bridge Style in the Future
Well, it means I'm going from fun occasional hobby to earnest part-time job. How I get I paid for that, I don't know -- just yet. I'm developing a Pinterest board on tips for blogging as a job. I've signed up for some great newsletters on the topic of making money in an entrepreneurial way, from Think Creative Collective, Forever Amber and Kate Northrup. I'm slowly going back to the old blog posts that are thin in content and formatting them for search engine optimization while making all new posts heartier.
How I Plan to Format Vintage Bridge posts about Plus Size Pin Up OOTD (Outfit of the Day) and Accessories
Just today, I had a Eureka moment, as well. All that Pinterest pinning and reading up on tips seem to have seeped in and this afternoon, while listening to Tori Amos's "To Venus and Back" on repeat, the usual thing happened with that ambient album in the background and the luxury of loafing on my brain: I had a creative realization.
I thought up a great way to format each fashion post to make sure I get everything said that I want to say and also do so more efficiently. Hopefully having a standard format for the fashion posts, I can work on them more quickly and also make sure to address all the things I want to say in every post. I blog during my lunch hour. I try to have it only take up half the time so I can take a quick walk, too. That doesn't always happen. I need that walk though. Ha!
A Final Word about Vintage Bridge Style
Thank you to everyone who follows and visits the site. I appreciate your compliments and comments. If you're new to the site, or wondering how to keep up on the posts, the follow buttons for all my social media are on the right of the this page. Each entry is posted to Google Plus, Twitter
and Facebook, too.
Your support for my efforts as a style blogger is really appreciated. Love yah! See you at the next post. And look for more changes as I grow the site!