I received an invitation to join a group of fashion bloggers around Perth (or WA… can’t remember) in Facebook. I laughed . Am I still one of those? Fashion bloggers came and went. And I thought I was one of those latter. That went. Back in the days when I first started this website (six years ago), the so called ‘Selfie’ was done by some bloggers (for the record I was never really good at it and never looked all that good in them) and, besides, selfies were never as popular as they are today. Back then, I was one of a very few who were invited by PFF to the media pit. Now, if you look at the media guest list there might be a lot of bloggers (and there would be a lot more who would love to be invited) than actual press media.
I’ve never been really sitting alongside (or in the front-row with) those bloggers. From the very beginning, I’ve been in the photographers’ pit. Perhaps that’s why I ended up with my photography business. Anyway, still getting listed as a fashion blogger makes me chuckle. At my age (born in the mid 70’s), dressing up and taking photos of myself feels totally naff. Beyond that, my priorities have shifted so much that fashion hasn’t really been on my radar for a long time. I guess that’s because I found my style that I can be comfy in – the usual black, work trousers, a shirt and combat boots. Besides that, what I wear has not been a topic of conversation with anyone around me (I’ve mostly been working with men). At some point it became more about who is doing what, conversations on aesthetics, the reality of the fashion industry and simply me having fun taking catwalk photos. People stopped reading (my blurbs) but they started spotting me in local fashions shows.
That’s been the arc of this website’s (my) journey. Fast forward a little…
Just this week, I collaborated with Ni Store and got introduced to their drapey stylish work by Nikki and Issy. Guess what I’m wearing today? I’m wearing Ni Store’s signature black J11 pants and I’m LOVING them. After years of working in the digital/web industry, I’ve been slowly losing my fashion ‘mojo’. It seems like I might have gotten my mojo back after the work I did with Ni and getting dressed by them. However, I’m quite sure that the brand of ‘mojo’ I got back isn’t going to make me start doing selfies again.
What I might have gotten back recently could be enjoyment in life – not from big things but from little things such as:
- J11 pants’ soft cotton
- the smell of Burt’s Bee Hand Cream’s
- the colour of the new GAP perfume bottle
- pastel coloured nail polishes
Giving up a well paying job seemed like a risky business after I finally left in January this year. What I realised, after being out of that environment for a month, was that I had been slowly losing my enjoyment of life without knowing that was happening. What kind of price could one put on life? And that’s LIFE not as something tangible but more as a continuation of being. If I had been going along like some sort of programmed equipment, then that was a sad life indeed.
I’m living a little (not with much) but with greater enjoyment. I’m wearing my favourite attire – Ni’s tank top and J11 trews. I’m looking forward to the promise of tomorrow because I get to meet and work with people from all walks of life day in and day out. Life is pretty good.