[…] Gabrielle Banner that’s banged on about staying true to yourself when you’re having a blogger identity crisis and owning the fact that you live on a council estate) have times where the dreaded green-eyed […]
If you’re a blogger, whether that be fashion, beauty, food, lifestyle, gaming – whatever your niche may be, I’m sure that at some point in your blogging journey (or career if you’ve managed to make that happen – very well done friend!) you’ve questioned who you are as a blogger. Questions such as; is my layout as good as blah blah’s? Should I do that style of post because it went really well for so and so? Will I ever make it a career if I continue doing what I’m doing? Are my posts reflective of who I am as a person?
The thing I’m coming to realise is that jealousy/comparison is going to be the beginning of the end for your blog if you continue to let it dictate what you’re doing. I’ve purposefully stayed away from the pastel colours, white building backgrounds of my outfit of the day shots, I don’t go out with the intention of doing a photo shoot of an outfit – because I’m not your conventional fashion blogger. I don’t enjoy doing all of that stuff and feel that if I morphed into that kind of girl, then I would have lost what the Fashion Faux Pas of Gabrielle is – a funny view of fashion failures. This blog falls into the fashion category, but doesn’t fit in with the crowd because I don’t want to succumb to the “proper ways” of doing things. There are definitely elements of this site I’d like to improve, but I’m holding off until the anniversary of my WordPress plan (I decided to upgrade to premium in May last year *eye roll*) before I go self-hosted – but I don’t stress about it, because that’s the journey I’m on right now and I was the moron that didn’t research going self-hosted before shelling out the cash on a plan that didn’t allow me to do everything I wanted to do.
I don’t strive for people to want to wear what I am, but if people like what I’m wearing and want the same for themselves – that’s great! It’s not the be all and end all of why I’m doing what I’m doing. I want people to read this blog and laugh as they think to themselves “I totally get what you mean – I remember this one time I bought something on eBay that I was assured was 110% genuine, but it turned out to be fake as fuck, I then spent 2 months trying to get my money back from the robbing bastard when one day the money just appeared in my PayPal account” because I like to relate to my readers. I want to grow a network of people that share funny stories about their own trials and tribulations with not just fashion, but hair, beauty and life in general – because not everyone is a perfectly polished fashion/lifestyle/beauty/food blogger without a care in the world and I’m very aware of that, because I sure as hell am not.
Despite all of the above, I’ve still had moments where I’ve questioned myself and wondered whether I was continuing to be true to myself and what I set out to do with this blog when I created it two years ago. I’ve wondered whether I should be spending my weekends taking endless photos (most of which I wouldn’t use anyway), for blog posts where the photos weren’t really relevant to what I was talking about, or if I should re-think the colour scheme I’ve gone for, debating whether my fonts were fitting enough and if I should have written something in a funnier way, amongst various other crazy thoughts.
As a result of this thought process/”revelation”, I’ve re-thought about what I won’t be doing any more of;
- Wishlists
- How to Style…
- Top Trends (not that I’ve ever done this before lol)
- How I Wore…
- Any other stereotypical fashion blogger posts
Instead, I’ll be doing the reverse of everything above, in an anti-fashion blogger style. I like to be different, I don’t want to follow the crowd and will be damned if I spend my free time on weekends dressing up for a photo shoot when I could be binge-watching my latest Netflix obsession (just finished season 4 of Grace & Frankie and have started on the Good Place- definitely recommend both), whilst I come up with some new post ideas for the coming week.
I’ll still be writing my usual discount fashion review series posts – I’m waiting on another order at the moment so should have something up shortly, provided it turns up soon. I’ll also be covering some unspoken, potentially taboo fashion topics – because I like to ruffle some feathers once in a while 😉
If you’re a blogger (no matter your niche!) I’d love to hear your thoughts on having an identity crisis – is this something you’ve struggled with, how have you overcome it and what do you think about following the crowd?
If you’re not a blogger – do you see a lot of the same thing when you read certain blogs and what makes something stand out to you?
bloggerblogger identity crisisclothesfashionfashion blogfashion bloggerfashion inspirationfashion reviewfbloggeridentity crisismoney saving fashionreviewtrendswho am I as a blogger
Love this! I mostly write about my clothes and fashion, but could never in any way class myself as a ‘fashion blogger’. The clothes I feature are almost always old or eBay bargains and my OOTD shots are usually awkward poses in my garden. I went through months of worrying about how ‘amateur’ my pics looked or that the content wasn’t ‘relevant’ enough, but to try and be more polished just wouldn’t be me – I’m just not one of those pretty, stylish Insta girls who can look natural while floating through a cornfield and I never will be. Once I got over that, the posts came so much easier. Fashion has always been about having fun for me, so I’m just chuffed that anyone reads anything I write at all! I’m just too apologetic about my own existence to ever reach the heights of ‘proper’ style blogging basically 😂
This is one of my favourite comments 😂😂 and love that there’s someone else out there that gets what I mean! I’m beyond caring if I look amateur and know that if I had a garden (living in a flat is v. Depressing lol) I’d be all over it shooting pictures 😂 I think we’re starting to create our own niche of fashion blogging 🙌🏻🙌🏻
It’s exhausting and a waste of precious time trying to be something you’re not. And by being YOU, you will by default be different from everyone else and that’s what will make you stand out 😉 My own blog is based in humour, hopefully with some heart but definitely with a quirky slant so I know it’s very subjective and not everyone will get it or like it. But I enjoy it so much, it’s filling a void and giving me some purpose and that’s all that really matters. Others liking it is a bonus. Love what you do and do what you love! 🙂
Ahh love this!! And thank you – you’re right, not everyone is going to get your humour, but it’s great when you find people that do and can laugh along with you 😉
I’m constantly comparing my work to others and always wondering what’s wrong with me and why I’m not growing as fast as other people, but that’s just silly. It got to the point where I wasn’t enjoying blogging anymore so I stopped for a while, which was a shame. I’ve obviously come back to it now and I’m loving it and I don’t care as much about the growth and the followers (obviously I appreciate all of the lovely comments and support daily) and I’m focusing more on producing content that I love to create and I’m writing about the things that I want to write about -it feels soo good xo
Char | http://www.charslittleblog.co.uk
I think once you get to the point of not caring about what everyone else is doing, you definitely feel a lot better about your own work! It’s great to get inspo, but so easy to get wrapped up in it all! Xx
I love this!! I’ve been feeling like this recently as I want to expand my horizons a bit but wondering whether my readers will like it but fuck it, if I want to write about it then that’s what matters! I’ve never done a wishlist or a gift guide and to be honest I don’t think I ever will because it’s just not me and it isn’t what I want to write about. I love your posts and I don’t think you should change at all 🙂
Alice Xx
http://www.blacktulipbeauty.co.uk
Thanks lovely!! I think it’s something a lot of people go through, but I never hear anyone talk about it! I’ll keep being my witty self and you do whatever you want – it’s your blog after all ❤️❤️
This is such a true struggle. I find this to be something that a lot of people go through but they dont do anything about it. I wish you the best with your new journey with blogging
Thank you lovely and it’s so true!
I completely agree, pretty much every couple of months i have those exact thoughts, but as part of my new years resolutions I want to focus only on me and not compare myself to other bloggers journeys.
Great post Gaby xxxx
Thanks Meg, so easy to get wrapped up in it all so it’s good to take a step back once in a while to remember why you started in the first place xxx
I absolutely love this post. I’m having a crisis at the moment and I feel like the content I’m putting out doesn’t reflect who I am. If someone was to look through my posts, they’d know nothing about me as a person. It’s so easy to get caught up in generic blogging stereotypes and I admire that you’re staying true to who you are and what you want from your blog!
Aww thanks Jazzie!! And I was starting to get wrapped up in it all – I was reading through some older posts, looking at what went down well and what didn’t when I realised the stuff that did the best was when I’d just been me! ❤️
I used to write about beauty because I thought that was what I wanted to do, and I kept at it for ages because it seemed like that’s what others liked me to do as well. Since changing my niche it’s felt amazing, I write about what I want to write about, and enjoy it for once! x
Yes!! I find it so much more rewarding writing content that comes naturally! Glad you’re keeping it you 🙌🏻❤️
I love that you’re sticking to your own niche and it’s a fabulous one! I love your content and I’m so excited for all of your future content as well. I think blogs are so much better to read when people are sticking to their own vibe rather than trying to copy everyone else. You can definitely tell in someone’s writing whether they truly enjoy what they’re talking about. Keep doing you! x
Alice http://www.accordingtoalicex.com
Thank you lovely – it’s nice to know that it’s coming across how I want it to! And you can 100% tell when someone isn’t enjoying what they’re writing about! Xx