2017 was a weird but wonderful and I’m here to send it off. For those of you who have perhaps only recently discovered my blog or just want a quick refresher, I’m here to highlight some of my favourite posts from the past year, as well as get to know what your favourite blog posts were too! As always, thank you so much for sticking with me, following me and leaving thoughtful and considered comments. Here’s to another… 🥂
One of the biggest changes on my blog this year was starting to publish solely ethically focused fashion posts. This change hasn’t been easy so I compiled a list of things to expect if you decide to make a similar transition. The list covers a change in income, attracting the right audience and realising you can’t do everything!
This post received an interesting and thought-provoking response. It took a bit of work and research to compile but I’m glad I discussed this way of looking at things. Although of course, I highly recommend taking a proper read of it, in conclusion, I decided your wardrobe can only really be sustainable if you value what you put into it as much as what you take out.
This post has to be one of my best outfit and fashion shoots, yet! There’s not much to say about this one but if you want to know the sorts of styles I was wearing and channelling this year, then this is a great example. I can’t wait to bring this outfit back out in the spring.
Want to know what I honestly buy ethically? This post explains all, including the reasons as to why shoes and underwear are so low down on my list. I’d love to know what your ethical priorities are, no matter where you are on your ethical journey. Why not leave a comment whilst you’re there?
Parents seemed to enjoy this post as their children are always growing out and in need of new clothes, causing a great dilemma when it comes to ethical and sustainable morals. As someone who has first-hand experience in this, I shared some advice and tips on how to do it all as sustainably as you can, including shopping for your future self and sizing-up.
Published not too long ago, I answered some queries my readers had in my ethical fashion survey. The format of this post and almost agony-aunt style of answering was useful to some of you and if there is a demand for more just like this, then I’ll be sure to provide for you in 2018! Just make sure to get those questions sent in.
What was your favourite blog post this year? What would you like to see more of?
As I have done for the past two years on my blog, I’m going to be sharing with you some of my favourite blog posts of the year to round things off for 2016. This is a chance for you to catch up on what you missed, as well as time for me to reflect on what I’m most proud of myself. You can even go a step further by taking a read about my round-ups for both 2015 and 2014, too!
At the beginning of the year I was asked a question about overcoming the idea of being judged and being self-conscious, and what I had to say seemed to go down positively. I still stick to these ideas and hope that some of you are still using my advice to become a more confident and carefree person! There’s even a to-do list so you can try and change your perspective on things, a little bit at a time.
I’ve always been interested in photography but 2016 was definitely a year for figuring out my style. I’m much more carefree with how I shoot things now. I don’t mind using a blurry picture or one which really captures a moment or a laugh, because that’s what makes a moment real. However, I also like more stylised shoots and this was one of the first where I played with both of those elements. Big hats off to Papa Posh (my dad) for kicking things up a notch this year!
I’ve thrown this post into the list mainly for memory’s sake because it’s funny to think that you have no idea how a year is going to pan out, especially from a milestone’s point of view or from something memorable like a birthday. Turning sixteen means different things to different people, and I think reflecting on this post has made me realise it was about becoming stronger as a person, for me. My fifteen-year-old self would laugh at what my sixteen-year-old self has now been through!
Although travelling in Italy has had its ups and downs, some of the places I’ve visited have been spectacular and I loved writing up my recap on Florence (Firenze). I’m sure I’ll return one day but for now, I have this summary to look back on and for you to read and take travel inspiration from.
As well as being a year of growth and building strength, 2016 has also been a year of defining who I am at this point in my life, so I shared with you why I think it’s so important to embrace that and how you’re going to change as you grow. It had a lovely response and some of the photographs are my favourites I’ve ever taken and put together. They were shot in an area badly affected by the earthquakes, so I’ll treasure them dearly.
Over the past year or so, I’ve been making a purposeful change to make my content more impactful and inspiring in certain areas, more specifically in terms of ethical fashion. It’s my aim to change the way things work in an industry I so badly want to break into, but it’s also my dream to continue writing a successful blog, and with that comes some responsibility to try and inspire others too. I wrote about why I think bloggers and online influencers should be using their voices to make a change. If you’re a blogger, I hope you read this and it makes you think about what kind of content you’re publishing.
Another travel post, but this time focusing on one of the greatest heroes which we sadly lost at the very start of the year. I was able to experience the magic of the David Bowie Is exhibition in Bologna at the start of August and it is still inspiring me now. I’ll never forget what an incredible artist Bowie was and is, and I hope that more and more young people start discovering his true talent for what it really is. Since then I’ve also attended his Lazarus musical in London and that too was mind-blowingly beautiful.
On the same vein as my post about turning sixteen, this year I took part in one of Take Part’s Big Issues. It focused on 16 young women turning sixteen in 2016, and was a truly empowering piece about the struggles and inspiring stories of myself and others of the same age. I still feel honoured that I was a part of such an exciting project!
This is what I would call my most ‘intellectual’ piece of the year. Some topics are hard to approach without seeming too in your face, or without pointing out what someone is personally doing wrong, so this was quite a challenge to write but hopefully it has opened some more eyes about what is happening behind the labels of our clothes. I hope to touch on more of these sorts of issues in 2017, and hope you will appreciate them as much as you did this time around.
I was really surprised by the response to this post. It was genuinely lovely to see how a lot of you could relate, no matter what your age. I also loved connecting with readers who have been following me since practically day one. Thank you for supporting me throughout this wild journey, and throughout all of the changes. I appreciate your support no matter how long you’ve been following and for no matter what reason.
What was your favourite blog post of the year? Share one of mine or from another blog!
To finish things off, here’s my letter to the past year…
Dear 2016,
You started off my year by making me cry because our world had lost a hero. You made me smile a few months in when I received a message that would turn into friendship which I’ve treasured in some of your harder moments. You made me excited and grateful for the people around me, and you made my family bigger in more ways than one. You gave memories and sunshine and jokes to last for many years more, and you gave me opportunities to inspire myself to push further.
You changed my life in a matter of seconds. You let me see my life flash before my eyes. You made me terrified of my surroundings and the ground I stood on. You made me learn the true meaning of the word emergency and escape; family, home and security. You pushed me and tore me down but you didn’t let me stop. You taught me to never stop. Some things seem too big to handle; some things feel typical and ‘just our luck’, but none of it was ever too much. You made me strong and you made the world strong, even if at times it’s all felt so incredibly weak.
You haven’t been the worst year in history, so perhaps I’ll give you a little more credit. Thank you for letting me see the end of this year and the start of the new one, when I know so many won’t.
This is just a quick little blog post to wish you all a Merry Christmas (if you celebrate it, of course)! I hope that you all have a lovely few days relaxing and chilling out with your family and friends and spoiling them rotten with love and kisses (and presents if you really wanted to go that far… 😉🎁). I thought I’d give a quick mini Polaroid photo shoot a go for today’s post… it’s quite tricky getting the lighting perfect in each one, but I hope you like the idea!
If you’re not with friends or family this Christmas, go out in to your communities and share the love and spirit because that’s what it’s all about… and if you don’t celebrate, I really hope you’re having a lovely holiday nonetheless and are getting excited for the New Year! I’m 16 next year… crazy times, people! Crazy times.
Oh and just so you know, I’m once again wearing my beautiful New Look jumper* (I styled it up over here last Christmas), with a few accessories from the awesome Claire’s*. I’ll definitely be taking a few more silly snaps tomorrow… who knows, maybe Father Christmas will pop some more gorgeous items under my tree? 😏🎅 Who knows… *sigh*
Merry Christmas! Let me know what you’re getting up to and how you’re ringing in 2016, in the comments below…
(This blog post contains PR samples but all opinions are my own! Read my full disclaimer here.)
It is officially 2015… scary! This can only mean one thing! It’s time to do a good ol’ bit of soppy reflection and share with you my New Year’s resolutions. I never really used to do them, but after last year (2014… it went way too quick), I have decided to carry on setting goals, however big or small. So, let’s get on with it…
~ REFLECTION ~
2014 was pretty darn good. At the start of the year I had some big dreams and ambitions, and I am so happy to say that I am pretty sure that I achieved every single one… we’ll exclude the personal ones for now… 😛
Firstly I decided to set myself a goal of working with brands on product collaborations and by golly gosh was that a big thing to write down. I was in a recent Twitter chat about New Year’s resolutions, and I think somebody was actually quite shocked that I managed to do it without a plan of action. But here I am now with a professional design contract with a brand (Mooi en Lief). Sometime soon I will have a collection of socks and tights with my name on them. Pretty darn cool. Read more about that here if you are interested!
Next up I really wanted to do some more fashion design work. I’m not going to say I have done that fully, but I would say it probably ties in with my previous goal. I have learnt quite a lot on what it takes to create a collection, and am pretty proud of that. I have a whole portfolio book full of designs, research and goodness know’s what that I didn’t even know you had to do! Stepping stones can be as big as you want them to be.
Create unique and interesting blog topicswas my final goal, and I think this is down to you guys to judge. I would say I have achieved it. I think my posts have generally got better as I have grown. For me, the second half of 2014 was probably full of some of my best ever content, and I am not sorry, at all for saying that. Plus, look at my blog now. All professional with a swanky new design and layout… 🙂 YAY! You can read some of my favourite posts of last year, here!
~ RESOLUTIONS ~
I’m still not certain what I want to achieve this year. I feel like it will be a proper crack down year where I’ll just be doing a lot of stuff. Who knows what that stuff maybe, but let’s just hope it’s good. I obviously want my Mooi en Lief by Tolly Dolly Posh collaboration to go down well, and for you guys to love it, but other than that I’m okay with everything now. If my blog carries on growing then that’s brilliant! If I keep learning new things then that’s fantastic!
But to make some of you happy and to write down a proper bloggy goal, I think I’d like to work with brands for a longer time than just the odd post. Because brands, PRs and designers have set campaigns and schedules to work alongside, it’s really hard to work with them on different projects all the time. I’d love to collaborate with some of my favourites in different ways whether it be on my blog or off. I want to really work with people and gain experience. So there, there’s a goal for you! Oh and I also want to get back on that thing called YouTube. Yeah… I’m working on it!
Farewell 2014. You were a good year, but let’s see if 2015 can be even better!
LET’S DO THIS.
Hello everyone! I know I said I wouldn’t be blogging until mid January, but I decided that I couldn’t just leave without saying Happy New Year could I?! So, Happy New Year! I’m not one for saying ‘New Year, New Me’ because I personally believe that it is just a time to look back and learn from your mistakes, and celebrate your achievements. I’ve already done that in thispost, so I thought I would talk about what I want from this year. I feel like 2013 was just the beginning, and that 2014 will be even better… *she hopes* Excuse the messy writing… I scanned it in 😉
I feel like this year will be the year for me to really push myself, so that is why these are my resolutions. I want to really challenge myself, and not just go for the easy options. I know that sounds weird, but I really want to do things for me, and things which will really help in the future. I also want to be more motivated, to do the things which are more challenging, as well as simple things because I always find myself sitting and back and ‘not being bothered’. I guess, I could use the ‘I’m a teenager’ excuse, but to be fair, I think it would be better if I were to just do things as and when, and my whole life would become a bit easier I guess. Then, the hardest one… to not spend as much time on the computer. It will be hard, but I think I can do it! I will be able to do it! That is when I delete my new Tumblr account… ow, I cannot do that… I just like it too much now…
These are a few of my goals. Last year (woah, seems weird saying that), my goals were to get featured in something or other (accomplished, yay!) but this year, they are more to just, learn. To just get better, and improve. 2013 was amazing, yes I would still love to be in magazines, but to be able to learn how to go through the whole design process, or learn how to print patterns, I really do not care what it is, I want to know how! I also want to stretch my thoughts and start creating new blog content. Maybe starting and finishing series. I’d LOVE to collaborate with a brand in a design way, it would be amazing. I know it’s possible, and I can almost feel it on the end of my finger tips. I accomplished 827,920 page views in 2013, and to be fair, I feel I have gained a great knowledge that those numbers don’t matter, and that is why my goals are so different. I am so so so grateful for all the views and followers I have, but I am starting to realise that my knowledge is stronger than the numbers. 827,920 is an amazing number for me though, I thank everyone who comes on here each day/week/month/year, SO much!
I hoped you liked this short little post and that you enjoyed your New Year. I’m now off for a while! I will be back on the 16th January, back in a full blogging swing! So, I shall see you soon! If you are in need of contacting me, then please click here. Thank You!
