If had a rupee for every single time someone commented on how easy it is to be a blogger and how it hardly takes any time or effort, I’d be a billionaire by now. The concept still being new, and the industry hardly a decade old, blogging is not something that people ‘get’ easily. There was an instance a while back when I was interviewing for a stylist position at a top fashion magazine, and I got a similar comment about how blogging is just about shopping, posing for photos and posting them online (in the most condescending tone), and that I could easily manage my blog on the side while working for them (7 days a week, 9 hours a day). I think that’s when I decided that I am better off building my own empire rather than doing it for someone else.
As a matter of fact the things that people associate most with blogging a.k.a – shopping, posing for photos, getting freebies, attending events etc. are the things that I do the least. There is a lot that goes into running a website (or a business) on a full-time basis. Yes, you get to see the outcome, that is pretty outfits and pictures, but that’s just on the surface. The number of hours that go into replying to emails, perfecting your sales pitch, planning and scheduling shoots and meetings, the technical aspects of maintaining a website, the boring yet important stuff like maintenance, SEO, backups and dealing with all sorts of technical issues, social media marketing, PR are what take up most of my time.
No two days are ever identical for me. One day I might be in my pj’s working from my desk at home all day, and the next day I might be doing three outfit changes in just a few hours as I go from shoot to meeting to event. Being a one-woman army (with a few happy helpers) it’s important that I slip into different roles throughout the day with ease. And doing that day in and day out, has made me get used to donning different hats throughout the the course of the day both literally and figuratively! Sometimes you need to dress the role to live it to its full potential. But of course there are perks to blogging as well! One of the biggest being that you get to associate with brands that you really love and wear all the time. When Topshop was launched on Jabong, I was ecstatic along with a lot of others. It’s been one of my favorite brands for basics since a long time now. Although the collection on Jabong is not exactly the same as the stores abroad, they do have some interesting pieces for the winter – chunky knits in pale colors, cozy jackets, denims in all colors and basic boots. And when I was asked to create a winter look with their products, I didn’t waste any time in getting my hands on the pieces! I chose a pair of acid wash black denims, a pale pink sweater and black booties, and then went ahead and styled the same pieces in three different ways by simply adding and removing a few accessories. Check it out and let me know what your favorite winter pieces are from the latest Topshop collection!
Top and denims: Topshop via Jabong.com | Booties: Centro | Cardigan and Fedora: H&M | Bag: MaxFashion
Photography: Arpita Patel
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