An unconventional fashion blogger trying to find her place on the internet

The Fashion Faux Pas of Gabrielle is THREE YEARS OLD. I know right? Where has the time gone? How do I look three years younger than when I started? I got asked for ID when Aaron and I were out doing our food shopping and picked up a bottle of Advocatt which was hilarious and it’s how I’ve come to the conclusion I must be a vampire that doesn’t age – please tell me if you disagree.

Anyway, we’re here to do a little bit of a comparison from day one to now – I’ve been feeling a bit lost with my blog during the festive season, so I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to see how far I’ve come with it all and say “hey we’ve been here for three years now!” so I’m sorry if it’s not too informative, but I’m hoping it’ll give some insight to others hoping to get into this blogging shindig.

So what did my blog look like in the beginning?

First off, the domain was a free WordPress address and it also had my maiden name in the title, big old mouthful; thefashionfauxpasofgabriellebanner.wordpress.com – I know it’s still long now, but I’ve dropped a lot off. I’ve recently moved over to self-hosting meaning I can get a bit more creative with my themes on here and don’t have to rely on the free ones which can be a bit naff. When I first started out I didn’t have a clue about how to set up pages for particular topics, create a homepage with snippets from each post or simply add my social links.

The photography and editing was beyond terrible, the lighting was shit and I didn’t edit anything before dropping it into a post. I’ve gotten a bit better with posing and don’t stand awkwardly whilst Aaron takes a quick snap of me as I’m trying to

The quality of my writing has improved drastically and I don’t just drop in to give you 200 words of nothing – you get laughs and information too 😉 I try not to keep my posts too long or too short as I don’t want people getting bored, but I also want people to know that I’ve got something important to say (whether or not that’s on a questionable topic).

2018 has been a fantastic year for my blog and I need to remember some of the great things that have happened to me as I’ve had moments where I haven’t believed in what I’ve been doing.

•  Wrote my first fashion collaboration post with TOBI
•  Worked with four companies on sponsored posts (I know, people actually PAID me money to write for them! Albeit not a lot, but still)
• Collaborated with not just TOBI, but Boohoo (twice), CaseApp, Blogerize and Femme Luxe
• Finally moved my blog over to self-hosted and have created a beautiful space that’s a lot more user friendly
• I’ve grown my audience to a greater size than I ever thought possible (especially with that bastard Instagram algorithm!)

I may not be jetting off across the world for press trips, I might not be sacking off my job in favour of pyjamas and a laptop; but I’ve done my best to create a space I love and need to remember that everybody’s journey is different. I will not be flashing my non-existent boobs on Instagram for a huge following, I won’t buy followers or likes, I’m not going to be anything but Gaby.

Basically, all I’m trying to say is, thank you to everyone for your continued support, that you can really make things happen if you put your mind to it and if you want to start blogging; don’t wait for something to happen – do it today!

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