First Date

IFB Evolving Influence : Fashion Blog Conference

The past few days have been beyond crazy! I don't think I've ever been that non stop in my life. I somehow convinced Merl to come to NYC for the conference on Thursday and the following blogger meet ups. The only snag was that she had to be the girl on the couch for the duration of the trip. She flew in Wednesday night and we kicked it off by intermittently trying on outfits, playing with her Ipad, and checking the pot of pasta. I also chatted a bit about how nervous I was and gave Merl the run down of the girls I thought were going and the girls I couldn't wait to meet. 

I had butterflies the whole morning getting ready. Really it was just an extension of the butterflies I'd had for weeks. These butterflies probably accounted for the cold I woke up with the morning before. The cold had really settled in by Thursday and I was waking up every few hours to blow my nose, cough or from the pounding of my headache. I took some medicine in the morning and hoped for the best. Regardless of the medicine and collection of cough drops in my bag, I was still the girl sniffling through the speakers and holding my head in my hands by the end of the very long day.

So, I had to meet a slew of my girl crushes with bags under my eyes and tissues in my pockets. I was lucky enough to meet a lot of the bloggers I already follow, which was beyond exciting. Most were as nice, pretty, genuine as expected, others with cliquey and not interested in spending time talking to a girl as unknown as me. I think that's to be expected though. Girls will be girls. There was also the completely new to me, and gorgeous Sarah from Raving Fashionista. Merl and I were standing next to her on the corner as we walked towards the Hudson Hotel and I leaned over and whispered, "Do you think she's a blogger?". Turns out she is! The midtown area was just teeming with bloggers that morning. Do you think we're easy to spot? We're usually the ones posing on the side of the street taking outfit shots. 

 

This is a link to Merl's recap post. I was sitting right next to her, we had most of the same thoughts of the peaks and valleys of the conference. She did a good job getting the points down. Bryan Boy was entertaining, Rumi's lack of preparation and incessant giggling came off as rude, and the venue was rather night club-esque. I didn't learn much new. The points they kept coming back to were take good pictures, contribute to the community, don't work for free, and create content that is representation of yourself. Ok IFB, I will try. 

Madewell Dress, JCrew Belt, Anthropologie Booties, Lacoste Bag
My Mom's Barbour Jacket, Custom Clyde's Rebirth Harness 
Photos by Merl

I am thrilled that my blogger first date went well! I was happy to meet so many people. After all that is one of the reasons I started blogging in the first place, to meet people who I can make connections with about the things I'm interested in. We certainly all had a love of style and blogging in common!

When I put this outfit together I actually thought that its something I would wear on a real first date. Maybe a walk through the park and stop at a cafe for some tea and chatting...? Oui, oui. 

Many more blogger meet-up recaps to come!