From high-style on a budget to European minimalism to poetic edge, here are three Vancouver fashion bloggers worth following, for inspiration and eye candy, before the year ends.
ALICIA QUAN
She describes herself as an average-sized girl with a regular clothing budget, and that’s precisely what draws you into Alicia Quan’s blog.
Quan, the digital darling behind Alicia Fashionista, isn’t interested in dropping a lot of cash on clothes she can’t afford, yet she’s proof that you can look like a million bucks on a budget.
“That’s No. 1 for me, because I can’t imagine spending thousands of dollars on a bag,” she says. “I just don’t have that kind of money, and I like to shop.”
Where does she spend her hard-earned cash? Joe Fresh, Plenty, Forever 21, Le Chateau, Vancouver jewelry brand Olive + Piper, Zara, and Topshop, among others.
Quan has been chronicling her take on fashion since 2008. She started blogging as a lark, borrowing the idea from a friend who was doing it.
“Five people read it. I never told anyone about it,” she says about the early days. “It was never something I thought would be a business… even now I think it’s weird, but back then it was really weird.”
Clearly Quan has found her footing with a blog that highlights her mercurial fashion moods – fun, light-hearted outfits one day, sophisticated the next, and always expertly put together.
JILL LANSKY
She wore the same grey sweat suit to school every day until seventh grade when she discovered clothes the old-fashioned way – through print magazines.
Now Jill Lansky is creating her own editorial landscape through her blog, The August Diaries, where she highlights her personal style – Parisian chic with a west coast sensibility.
Lansky launched her fashion blog four years ago as a creative outlet.
“When I first started out, it was pretty low-key. I think I used my iPhone and then you slowly realize just how important photography is in setting you apart in the massive blog world,” she says.
There is pressure to keep up with the expectations that she present an entirely new outfit with every post.
“Especially since people, and our society in general, they want new all of the time. [They] don’t want to see the same jacket for the entire winter.”
But she isn’t a slave to the demand, in part because she wants her blog to be accessible.
“I don’t want people to always be seeing me in a brand-new jacket because that’s just not how my life works,” says Lansky, who is a marketing coordinator at Terra Breads.
Her favourite shopping stops are Aritzia, Zara, Forever 21, H&M, and the “beautifully” curated vintage pop-up Hey Jude.
Lansky’s perfect outfit: “Jeans, a T-shirt, maybe a leather jacket and a pair of heels if I’m going out, or a pair of boots for the day,” she says. “I think simple is always better; it makes the look seem very effortless.”
LILYANNE NGUYEN
Lilyanne Nguyen puts it all on the page with her blog, Bleed for Fashion, which is peppered with confessional posts along with pictures of her edgy style.
“If you read my blog, I hardly ever talk about my clothes, except to say what I’m wearing,” she says. “I’ve never been interested in fashion writing; it’s all about my life.”
Nguyen wants readers to see someone who is more than just pixels on a screen.
“It’s one thing to inspire people with my style,” she says, “but it means so much more when I can inspire them with words.”
Nguyen has no regrets about posting about her money woes, work struggles, and insecurities, saying the feedback from readers around the globe who can relate to her struggles confirms why she does it.
“You can be anybody you want on the Internet. You can be going through the shittiest times and have everyone think everything is great,” she says. “I don't want people thinking that. I don’t want them to perceive [that] everything is perfect.”
Nguyen was at Aritzia’s head office for three years, but quit last summer. Today, she works part-time for a pet magazine and has partnered with a designer friend to launch an online store in the new year.
As for Nguyen’s favourite things to throw on: Roomy boyfriend jeans, a baggy sweater, with minimal accessories and a little attitude.
Email Vancouver fashion news and story ideas to [email protected]. Follow me on Twitter at @nikimhope.
