Her tagline reads: Where the fashion nerd meets the pop culture obsessed. Who is she, she is Sarah Conley of the blog Style IT. A blog that features Sarah’s opinion, style, passion and enthusiasm. If she doesn’t like it she won’t write about it. She also has the distinct title of Community Relations Associate for the Coutorture Network. This week Sarah can be found writing about fashion week, On The Plus Side: A Fuller Figured Fashion Week.
Trish: How did you get your start in fashion, and what was your first job?
Sarah: Actually, my position with Coutorture is my first professional fashion job, but in college I worked retail for Lane Bryant, Bath and Body Works and Lancome.
Trish: When did you start your blog Style IT?
Sarah: I started Style IT in October 2006 while I was still living in Arkansas as a way to maintain my creativity and love for fashion.
Trish: When did you also become the Community Manager for Coutorture?
Sarah: I started with Coutorture in February 2007. I was initially hired to maintain the website during Fashion Week, and we worked so well together I was hired full time. The rest is history.
Trish: Tell us about what you are doing for Fashion Week?
Sarah: For Fashion Week, I’m putting together a web based mini documentary series about being a plus size woman at New York Fashion Week called On The Plus Side: A Fuller Figured Fashion Week Experience. Each day I’ll produce videos about what it’s like to be in the tents as a plus size woman and my outfits each day.
Trish: What is the one item in your wardrobe you can’t live without?
Sarah: That’s a really great question! It’s hard to say, but right now I’m working on getting a great fitting pair of boots for winter.
Trish: How would you describe your personal style? And who or what influences that style?
Sarah: Being a larger woman, a lot of the more fashion forward items aren’t produced in my size, so I’ve become quite adept at accessorizing. Also, living in NYC is a huge influence, not only from what others are wearing, but your outfit also has to rely heavily on utility.
Trish: What is your fashion obsession of the moment?
Sarah: After a recent trip to H&M I cannot stop obsessing over knit tams. I have 8 of them now!
Trish: What does your average day entail?
Sarah: My average day is crazy! My work for Coutorture allows me to wear many different hats. Since there are only three of us on the team, we each have to be incredibly great multitaskers. Some days I educate the community on how to be better bloggers, other days I’m doing makeup for one of our original photoshoots and another I’ll be attending press events. You never know what the day is going to hold.
Trish: If you knew then (before you entered the industry) what you know now, what would you do differently?
Sarah: Honestly, I wouldn’t have spent so much time in traditional education. When it comes to new media, it’s all about what you know and what you can learn. The internet evolves so rapidly that it’s hard to keep up, so the rate at which you evolve really says a lot about your skills. It’s amazing how the “random skills” you’ve acquired over the course of your life can finally be successful in this realm.
Trish: Can you give indie designers on Smashing Darling advice about how to pitch their product to bloggers to get themselves or their product featured?
Sarah: The best piece of advice I can offer is to be authentic. We receive a lot of insincere pitches from brands looking for publicity. It’s difficult to receive some blanket pitch from an established brand – writing about them feels forced, you give them all this publicity and you receive nothing. The reward in writing about independent designers is that you get to help them grown, and that is truly a joy. There’s no benefit for the blogger in making money for larger brands.
