This is Really What Bloggers Talk About

This week I had the privilege of working with fellow blogger Abbie of Fashion Loves You My Dahling to do an interview swap.

If there's one thing blogging can do for you, it's expand your horizons. Every experience writing out my thoughts and reading those of others serves as quite a wonderful tool for education in this particular area. This interview was no exception, and I know that every chance I get in the future to interview, I should most definitely take. Abbie's views on practical shopping and visionary outlook inspired me, let her inspire you, too.

So, Abbie is a 15 year-old student in Oxford, England. She's lucky enough to be getting the opportunity to work as a retail assistant in the fall (I'm jealous!). Check out what she had to say

Do you think is the important to have style (your unchanging aesthetic for dressing), first, and then be influenced by fashion (what is happening in the industry now)?

Of course. I don't think there's any other way. To be fashionable you have to have your own take on things, a spin, a twist. Without an injection of individuality and personality an outfit is not complete. I have my personal preferences, I can buy a 'stylish' tee from an old vintage store because I love it, and then dress it up and down depending on the 'trends'.

What's your favorite thing in your closet right now?

A knitted waistcoat, courtesy of River Island. I bought a couple of months ago, it was £35.99, as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have it. Dress it up with pearls, or down with a scarf. Either way it is beautiful and not something I will be giving to the local charity shop in a hurry.

If you could buy any one piece of clothing right now (from any designer), what would it be?

I'm not that in to designers. I perfer hightstreet stores and vintage shops. I'm not too keen on paying hundreds for something when you can get exactly the same on the highstreet. Labels cause savage obsessions and lots of debt. If I can afford it, then I will look in to buying a designer item, but this close after Christmas, my pockets are still in shock. I prefer to potter around shops like Urban Outfitters, Topshop and River Island, and purchase something I know I can afford. Fashion shouldn't have to break the bank. Everyone is capable of 'making' dresses for themselves. Besides, if you have enough confidence and personality, then you will be able to make a bin bag look good. Labels don't matter to me.

Do you feel it's important to invest in timeless pieces when you shop or buy for the seasons?

Both. A cashmere jumper, bought for a winter dinner somewhere, can turn in to an heirloom. Passed down from generation to generation. If it feels special, and makes you feel special wearing it, then you will hold on to it for as long as is possible. That's what I think anyway.

What or who is your biggest influence in your fashion/style decisions?

My biggest influence. Probably the 80's. Wayfarers, blazers, shoulder pads - to a limit and leggings. Come on! Not to mention the big hair. I simply love the 80's and I am so glad of the sudden revival. I dread to think what my life would be like if I had not discovered my obsession for blazers!

In 15 words or less, how would you describe your blog?

It's what I love, what I hate and my thought processes. I love fashion.

What do you think should or needs to change in the fashion industry?

Judgementalism. Opinions, I love, criticism I love too - if it's constructive. But judging is not acceptable. Nobody has the right to judge. If I knew that nobody could judge me, then I would go out, not a care in the world. Wear my hair how I want, look how I want and be who I wanted, and no care who thought what. But fashion is full of judges. Who has the right to judge anyway, if fashion is expression, and expression is a form of art - who has the right to judge art?

What do you aspire to do with your blog someday/what do you hope it becomes?

I want to get an award. It's pretty lame. I would love it if somebody sent me a 'hey, you're blog is really cool' award. It would show me that my blog means something to someone. That's it's not just another pin point of words on the world wide web. I would also love a feature in a magazine or a website, like Teen Vogue or Cosmopolitan, for example. That would make me very happy and very proud of my work. I am an aspiring journalist and I blog for experience. I would love it if that experience payed off one day.

Where would you like to travel if you could go anywhere in the world?

Italy. New York and some kind of enchanting rainforest. I have like these images in my head, where I'm standing in a pebbled courtyard in Rome. Sunset. Beauty everywhere. Standing in front of a huge sky scraper in New York, eating a giant pretzel. Standing in the middle of a rainforest, light streaming down in beams through the canopy of the trees above. They have been in my head for as long as I can remember, and one day I hope to make those pictures a reality.

How do you think fashion/style can affect a person and their life? How does it affect you?

It gives me the confidence to walk down the street, and have a glimmer of hope that maybe somebody's watching. Preferably a gorgeous young man. Hey, we can all dream! For example, at school I feel like nobody really knows me, because I'm trapped in a uniform. I feel like I'm just another blob in the school. But when it's non-uniform days I feel like I can walk around, not say anything yet people feel like they know a little something about me. They can sort of read me, by the clothes I'm wearing. I like that. I like to flaunt my personality with closed lips. Using the outfit I'm wearing, and that alone.

What made you interested in fashion in the first place?

I have no idea. I've always loved it. When I was 5 I used to change outfits 10 times a day because I couldn't decide what to wear. As I grew up, I stuck out as an individual. My friends were wearing their hoodies and jeans and basic trainers, and I'm wearing brown leather biker boots and a rolling stones tee, lots of accessories and messy hair. My friends have always described me as 'fashionable'. I'm just different I guess, being a 5"10 fifteen year old also changes the way you look. I like to dress a little more grown up I guess. I think I'm a bit ahead of my time. But hey, I'm not complaining.

What are your dreams for the future? What is your dream job?

To be a journalist. Whether in travel or fashion is yet to be decided. Anything really. A freelance travel journalist sounds good to me, but so does writing for a well known fashion magazine like Vogue or something. That's the dream.

How do you educate yourself about style, fashion and design?

I read other people's blogs. I read countless magazines. Films, programmes like Gossip Girl for example. Any which way I guess. I also like to people watch. I love to see people experimenting with their styles. I think that's because I'm a little afraid to strike out and experiment fully with my own.

What motivates you to keep blogging? Do you think you'll ever stop?

It's still early days. I only started 2ish months ago. Not even that. I love getting comments, and receiving emails from followers asking to do interviews and to join groups. I don't think I'll ever stop. My Mum would never let me, embaressingly she boasts my blog to everybody, work friends, the entire family. Everybody knows about it pretty much. I like to make my family proud, and my blog does that. Why would I want to stop?

Do you ever feel any of the pressure to be thin from the fashion industry?

Absolutely, 100 % yes. I see these beautifully stunningly gorgeous models in the magazines, and I think. 'Wow. Look at the impact they have on the world. Just for being gorgeous. They shock people with their beauty. I would love to be like that.' But, that doesn't mean I am going to starve and be miserable to be like that. I would rather be happy how I am, than unhappy being stick thin.

How do you think fashion is influenced by what is happening in the world today?

I think that if it's cold, we'll layer it up a little bit, that's all the influence there is. There's the weight debate I guess, that 'real women' should model in branded stores. But, then again, I don't think I am influenced by that. Again, weight, weight, weight. That's what annoys me. People feel so intimidated by models and whatever and whoever, that they feel less a person. I do too. I feel less a person compared to the bill boards. It's so sad.

Lastly, Who is your ultimate style icon? Why?

I have many, Fearne Cotton, Agyness Deyn, Blake Lively. I love how effortlessly cool they are. I hope one day that will rub off on me slightly.

Such a sweet girl and a pleasure to work with! Check out her blog at dahling0909.blogspot.com

:)