Photography by Amanda Rose Photography
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Pants {Zara clearance, similar here} // Top {On sale!!} // Bralette c/o // Blazer {old, similar here} // Heels {old, similar here} // Purse // Sunglasses // Watch // Lipstick c/o
These hot pink pants were one of my favorite clearance rack finds this year! I found them in Montreal this summer at Zara, which is one of my favorite stores (and becoming one of my favorite ones to shop internationally!). They're such a bright and fun color, and have a unique style to them, so I knew I needed to add them to my closet. Fashion blogging doesn't always mean #basic! When I put together this outfit, all that I could think was the term "Girl Boss." Quite honestly this is a term that I think is a bit overused these days and I don't use much myself, but nothing else came to mind to describe this outfit! 😉
If I had a business casual job, this is the type of outfit that I would try to wear most days! When I interned for my broadcasting school last year, I had to wear business casual clothes to work, and I loved putting together fun and chic outfits like this. I hope that I might have a future radio job in a city where I can go to more blogging events and meetings, and have a chance to wear more cute dressier outfits for things that aren't my day job- haha!
Now to talk blogging! As some of y'all know, last week was my 5th blogiversary (!!). This year's blogiversary post was mostly focused on facts about me and general facts about the blog, not about blogging itself. Five years is a long time to consistently stick with doing something, and an especially long time to see a hobby go from being just a creative outlet to a second job! Anyways, while I would never claim to be an expert on blogging (I am still learning new things about the industry and running my blog every day!), there are a few things about blogging, branding, and personal image that I have picked up in the last five years, and I wanted to share those with you today! I know some of these things y'all might agree or disagree with me on, I'd love to hear your thoughts either way in the comments!
1. Your blog is a sacred space - be very selective and careful about accepting guest posters. I receive inquiries for paid (and even more unpaid) guest posters and contributors for this blog all the time. Truth be told, probably on a daily basis! While I used to accept some of the paid ones back in the early days of SBIT, that is long over. With blogging for so long now, my blog is my sacred space. This is my creative venture that is all mine and I have built it to what it is! I wanted the voice on here to be uniquely mine. There is plenty of room on the world wide web for other voices and perspectives. People visit Southern Belle in Training because they want to hear my perspective on fashion, faith, travel and life, and that's a huge honor that I don't take lightly!! I would occasionally consider having a wonderful blogging friend guest post for me if a situation arose in my life that prevented me from blogging for a week or two... but other then that, my blog is my space for my writing and will remain that. (I actually am in the works right now of writing a very special blog post with a college friend of mine, but I think this is the first time in years someone else other than me has helped write a post!)
2. Make friends with other bloggers! Can't stress this one enough! When I first started blogging during my freshman year of college, I remember thinking it would be so cool to make a good friend through the internet from blogging. I have certainly outdone my freshman year self's expectations by a lot! I have met some of the most hard-working, determined, beautiful inside and out women from the blogging community, and I'm blessed to call so many friends! Most cities across the country have blogging communities of some sort- if you live near any other bloggers, I encourage you to meet them and network! One of the things that I miss the most in Vermont are all the fun blogging events and my favorite ladies from Charlotte. I know though that many more blogging friendships will be in store in the future, and I'm trying to keep fostering the relationships that I have now!
3. Prioritize photography. When I first received a DSLR camera from Christmas from my parents in 2014, I started taking blogging much more seriously that I had been. My new camera motivated me to post more regularly each week, do more fashion content, learn about photography, and through all of that, I was growing my social media following slowly but steadily and starting to get monthly sponsored opportunities! When I began working regularly with photographers on my blog, all of these things only increased. I follow some blogs that do use stock photography or iPhone photography exclusively, and great writing can be great writing, so photography isn't necessarily a do-all, end-all. However, blogs are a very visual medium, and most of my favorite blogs have stunning, original photography. Photography is a way that you can get very creative and tailored to the visions that you have for your brand, and I love having fun with it. I've been very lucky to work with some great photographers, and I also have fun still shooting some of my own non-fashion posts and iPhone pics for Instagram!
4. Respond to emails and DMs in a timely manner. I'll be the first to say that I'm not always the best at doing this (especially since beginning working full time, and since up until recently I did work both Saturdays and Sundays at my day job), BUT it's something that I do strive to do and have since beginning my blog. If a brand or a reader takes that time to contact you, the least that you can do is take the time to send them a personal response (especially if it's a reader reaching out!). Sometimes I physically don't have the time in my workday to respond to a blog email, so I will send a quick one or two line response letting the person know that I did receive their message, am excited to respond, and will do so as soon as I have the time in my schedule later that week. I also try and respond quickly to Instagram DMs! I'm not as big of a fan of having long chats with readers via DM, so I often encourage them to email me if the conversation is getting longer, but I will still always respond.
5. Don't be afraid to get personal... (but not TOO personal.) If you've been reading my blog or even following me on Instagram or Twitter for any length of time, you know that I'm not afraid to get personal with y'all! I love talking about fashion, beauty, and other more frivolous topics, but when it comes down it it, none of those things make me "me." If y'all are reading my blog, I also want y'all to get to know the real me, and make this a space where I can share my unique perspective and stories. I've written in the past about topics like how my faith impacts my views on dating apps, a painful falling out with a former high school best friend, and when my study abroad experience in college went wrong and how I felt unprepared for that- just to name a few! And these have often been the posts where I've gotten the highest page views and engagement. Of course- some topics in a person's life are not meant for the internet and to be shared on a fashion blog. Situations that deeply involve other people, situations of confidential nature, etc etc. But if there is a personal story in your life that you can share- do it!! You never know who it might touch.
I'd love to know your thoughts on what you think makes a Girl Boss outfit, and also on my five blogging truths! Share away in the comments. Wishing y'all a happy and productive Monday!
God Bless,
xoxo Annaliese (or Charlotte XO on air!)
