Pauline Kay has been interested in fashion for a long time - her whole life, actually. When she decided to share her style with the world, The Style Concession was born. The busy Columbus-based blogger, style consultant and all-around fashionista was kind enough to answer a few questions for us - see what she had to say:
You've been blogging for a couple of years now. What made you decide to start blogging?
I have always loved to dress up and look nice since I was a little kid. I was the girl who always got asked why I was dressed up and where I was going. The thing is, I dress up for myself. When I look good, I feel and do good. As I grew older I would experiment with lots of styles and people would stop me, compliment my outfits and ask me where I bought them. They would ask me if I was a model or blogger or something. That made me look into it.
I did my research and decided this was something that I would enjoy! My main goal was to share my style with the world, but it seems blogging has opened so many doors of opportunities for me. It has pushed me to release my potential in so many different ways, and I am excited to announce that I will be launching my own clothing line/store soon.
What advice would you give to someone just starting a lifestyle or fashion blog?
Do lots of research, stick to what you are good at, what you enjoy most. Be inspired but don't copy what others are doing, because you don't know their vision. Hold on to your vision (the reason you started, your passion) and be true to yourself. I also advise not to compare your first chapter with someone else's tenth chapter. Everyone's timeline is different. Respect your process and work hard in your own lane.
Where do you find inspiration for your posts?
Inspiration for me is everywhere: TV, magazines, social media. But the most inspiration I get is on the streets. I make style contact before eye contact. I look at random people and the first thing that comes to my mind is their style, how I can improve it or how I can do something different with it. I don’t really like to follow trends that much because they switch up so quickly. I just love to have fun with my outfits, basically breaking most fashion rules!
Do you have a favorite post - or one you're particularly proud of?
Oh yes. My favorite post would be my very first blog post. I am so proud of it because it was first, the first to make me break out of my procrastination. If you read it, you will see I talked about procrastination, that was something that was holding me back (God is still working on me lol). I had the talent, the resources, but I kept pushing it back. So this post gives me so much pride because I pushed myself and finally just did it!
In addition to blogging, you offer styling services. Can you tell us a little about the services you offer, and what a client can expect when she/he works with you?
Yes, I love this part of my work so much (It’s like giving someone a makeover with clothes they already have!) I know it gets overwhelming for most people when it comes to clothing, wardrobe change for a career, after weight loss or just needing a fresh change in general. So we have a few steps that we follow:
- Phone consultation (video/audio/face to face) - We gather all the information on the wardrobe change.
- Closet Review - We review your closet and suggest what to keep or donate.
- Organization - Color-coding or organization in general
- Shopping - For any hot items that will add/compliment with what you already have.
- Try on (mixing and fixing) - Clients try on the outfits we put together. We document what you like and change up what you don’t like for future reference.
If it’s for a special event, say a birthday, wedding, bridal shower etc., we just do a phone/video/face-to-face consultation and determine what you want to look like for the event and then proceed with shopping.
My clients should expect great service and attention to detail. Our goal is to make sure clients are happy with the final results!
How would you describe your personal style?
To be honest, I can’t say I have one particular style. I do like to experiment with different styles, depending on the occasion and how I’m feeling that day, but for the most part I would say classy and sophisticated.
What is the best piece of style advice you've ever received?
Making a list. You would think that I knew that already, right? Yes I did; I am a list person, but for some reason when it came to shopping for clothes, I would just go in there and come back with a bunch of stuff, always!! So when I started to really follow this piece of advice, it made my life easier - not only did I keep my focus on the items I actually needed, but I cut down the amount of time I spend shopping and it prevented me from making impulse purchases. Yes, this is the best advice I ever received!
To follow Pauline, visit thestyleconcession.com
