Bonjour, Blogger! : Sarah

Name: Sarah Harradine
Age: 27
Location: Manchester, UK
Blog URL: fashiondotty.com

What is your blog about? It’s essentially about my own fashion and personal style, though I like to include lifestyle in there too; gigs, galleries, gardens, and anything I find interesting going on in Manchester.

Is this your first blog? Yes, strictly it’s my first blog blog, though I have a Tumblr which predates my blog, and did have a LiveJournal, a Scribble.nu journal, and was known to overshare using MySpace bulletins (surveys about yourself, anyone?).

When did you start your current blog? August 2011.

What made you do it? I moved to Manchester in June 2011 and struggled to make friends and contacts in the city. It definitely helped me meet new people in the Real World and got me out to all sorts of events.

What was your first blog post about? I’d just gotten a new work uniform so I featured that.

What do you think is the most useful tool to you as a blogger? Definitely Twitter, though I recently got Instagram (I know, late in the game) and find that reaches a wider audience, more quickly.

Do people in your “real life” know about your blog? Yes! Most people love it and say they wish they had their own.

If yes, has your blog helped you career wise? It’s given me a higher profile in the Manchester fashion industry than I would struggled to achieve without it. I also try to apply the marketing models I’m learning in university to my blog so I know better how to use them.

What has been the one thing (blog post, project, etc) you’ve been really proud of? I worked with Stylist to produce a street style spread in their magazine – I worked with professionals in the industry which I had never done before, and they didn’t baby me just because I was “the blogger”. It was baptism by fire but it sure taught me the ropes!

Where do you see your blog in a year? I don’t have a development plan at all for my blog; I will carry on posting outfits for as long as I enjoy doing so.

What do you wish you knew when starting your blog? That the best way to get your blog known (and to make new friends) is to actively seek out and comment on new blogs. Now, that’s my very favourite part of blogging.

What do you wish you know about now? I’m just about to start classes about corporate strategy, so I’d love to be able to apply that to my blog so I have examples to present to potential employers in the future.

How do you keep motivated to post? I get really excited about some of the outfits I wear, so the urge to share them for discussion keeps me motivated!

Anything else you’d like to add? I love my blog but I don’t take it too seriously. They’re meant to be fun, after all!