THAT SQUAT BOT

Keen-eyed readers may have noticed that this blog has not been updated since January.. and the more astute among you will have picked up it was not updated with any passion for long before that (I'm still getting emails from dodgy SEO companies saying how much they "love" my updates, so they're clearly not that keen-eyed. But I digress).

If you have an interest in health and fitness, please visit and follow my new fitness blog, That Squat Bot. If not, no worries! I'll see you around.

LIFE UPDATE

Daydreaming has become my new form of procrastination which is obviously even more useless than my usual technique; blogging. So I'm easing myself back in with a few little updates about the Dotty life...

The wonderful Maria from Miss Drifted Snow White has given my blog a beautiful redesign. Considering she asked me to send links of blogs, colours and fonts I liked, and I sent the Wildfox Sirene lookbook and a picture of a rainbow cake, I think she did pretty well. It makes me feel like I'm on a quiet beach with the sea lapping the sand - a good job well done, thank you Maria.

While we're on the subject of blogging, don't forget that Google Reader is soon to close down. You can follow me on Bloglovin' here.


At long last I have Instagram! Boyfriend got a snazzy new phone (it really is snazzy, it senses your eyes reading and scrolls up and down.. bit too tech for me that) and donated his old Android phone to the charitable cause that is me. I've been on Instagram for three days and I've already realised that having a cat in the photo is worth a hundred times more than a picture of a Starbucks, but I'm still figuring out the hashtags that will get you way too many spam likes. It's like a whole new world! Find me @fashiondotty.


Finally, my trip to Madrid has been cancelled due to a holiday mix-up at Chris's work, so I've given myself something new to look forward to in the form of The Color Run. If you haven't heard of it before, it's a 5K race... sounds easy enough, right? But along the route you're pelted with brightly coloured paint powder. It's supposed to be just a bit of fun but I'm actually going to go for it and aim for a time; I'm a bit of a fairweather runner but I used to do half marathons back in my day - the last being in 2008 - and it's something I'd like to get back into. So this is just the start!

I'm also running The Color Run in aid of Macmillan Cancer, so please click the JustGiving link below to donate. How about £2, instead of today's Starbucks, or £6, rather than one item from Primark?

SMALL LEEK, BIG SHIP

When hearing of a North West bloggers' meet I excitedly agreed to attend despite not knowing exactly (read: vaguely) where it was being held, naïvely thinking that Manchester is half an hour tops away from everywhere in the North West. I even set off driving on Sunday, still completely unaware where I was going, blindly following road signs to take me to my destination. An hour and a quarter later I was in Leek; slightly bewildered at how far I'd come, but pleasantly surprised to find that bloggers had travelled from all over the North of England to make A Girl I Know's blogger meet.

The meet-up was held at cute cafe Spout, whose delicious (and bountiful) afternoon tea went down a storm for all bloggers. Cue furious photographing of cakes and Instagramming of fingers sandwichers.. bloggers gon' blog. I got to see blogger pal Hello, Terri Lowe, meet long time favourite reads Sara Waiste and Vicky of #GOLLYGOSH, plus added a new fave to my list in Charl from Ginger Girl Says. I loved seeing designer Jessica Shaw's new riot-grrl-esque collection, who I heard is due to start selling her pieces on ASOS Marketplace soon. Put me down for a glittery pom-pom crop top, please!

Sara and I left a few minutes early with the intention of hitting Dougal's Den to buy cat presents.. it was sadly closed but offered the opportunity of photographing an impressive window display: a labour of love if I ever did see one. Or should that be a labour of woof?

I wore:

Beyond Retro elephant knit

H&M sample dungarees

Topshop jacket

Vans x Hello Kitty trainers

Wildfox bag (serious Selfridges sale bargain) & sunglasses via Self Service
Betty Jackson.Black necklace c/o Jon Richard

No present sorry but still woof you, Hen... where does the cat end and jacket begin?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHEREE!

Today is the birthday of one of the internet's greatest, Sheree of Glitz & Grime!

Sheree is one of my favourite bloggers - no-nonsense outfits, worn for living in, not posing; full of vintage, Topshop, and designer. There's usually a sequin or two involved, plus a statement jacket and a somewhat ridiculous heel. Sheree was Grazia's blogger of the year in 2012, was nominated for a Cosmo blog award (she woz robbed in the Established Blogger category) and my mum is a big fan of hers, which has to be the best accolade of all. Her life has also progressed in leaps and bounds this year... so I wish her another amazing year of cracking outfits.

Here's a few of my favourite Sheree looks. I hope you find them as inspirational as I do!


Who are your favourite bloggers? And why do you love them so much?

A Blog About Blogging

Right guys, please don't be shocked, but I am going to use the naughty "b" word now.. Hold onto your hats!:


BLOGGING.
Blogging is the swear word of fashion media. To some, it is everything; others abhor it. Me? I started Fashion Dotty as a means to an end, but now it is more like an unpaid, all-consuming job, although when people ask what I do I still pull a face and put on a silly voice to say "I'm a blogger".

(NB: at London Fashion Week, if you are not a stylist, buyer, journalist or such, it is de rigueur to answer "I'm a blogger" when asked what your occupation is) 

I'm ever-interested in the whole blogosphere - what drives it, where it is going - so was curious to attend The Fashion Network's evening with Navaz Batliwalla - aka blogger DisneyRollerGirl - last night, chaired by Manchester's premier fashion blogger, Jordan McDowell. 

First up was a question about naming your blog. It was pleasing to hear that Navaz struggled to name her blog, too; she has a fascination with 1970s roller girl imagery, but unfortunately "RollerGirl" was taken: so another interest, Disney, was tacked onto the front. I think we can all relate to this - you struggle to find a name that isn't taken, and find yourself stuck with something, anything. Darned Internet. 

A gorgeous image from Navaz's Shoots tab

Navaz studied fashion promotion & illustration, and, like so many others, didn't get her dream job as soon as she left university. After years of work experience, working as a fashion assistant, then going freelance, she got the call we are all waiting for - come work as fashion director of CosmoGIRL! During her time at the magazine, Navaz started her blog - which was anonymous for the first three years - which began as a way to showcase her work and interests which did not fit the CosmoGIRL! demographic. PRs started sending emails to the anon blog's address and opportunities arose, so Navaz decided it was time to go public - as well as realising she was providing an honest opinion, which readers trusted her for, but "why should they trust you if they can't see your face?" 

There are not that many pictures of Navaz's face on the internet, but rest assured she is petite and unintentionally super-cute, with the most adorable lisp. Her way of speaking made me warm to her, and she spoke a lot of truths regarding blog views (namely, don't worry about them), brand-blog relationships, and self-promotion. Most bloggers have it in the bag, with their multi-channel approach; Tweeting, Tumbling, and Pinning, to supplement their blog posts, which should come "whenever YOU want". Navaz stated that you have to stand out to take your business forward. You can take that statement as a retailer, designer, or blogger; concepts like in-store galleries and social media stunts (such as Jonathan Saunders' #ShowUsYourSaunders hashtag, which Navaz thought was "quite sweet") are things that have stood out recently. 

The Starworks babes #ShowingTheirSaunders

All great points well made, I thought. DisneyRollerGirl believes the best blogs are those with varied content from day-to-day, posting about stuff you love; love that shows through in your writing and photographs. I think you can take this further by exploring subjects you are genuinely passionate about with your blog; treat it as a giant sketchbook, exploring ideas and sharing them with like-minded individuals. I don't think this is easily done with sponsored blogs, or those who are sent items for free. As @Fashion156 tweeted today, "sponsored blogging is going to kill the credibility online media has established. #ReadersAreNotIdiots". 

So where am I going with this blog post about blogging? I'm not entirely sure. What I do know is that I need to start being proud to be a blogger. Bloggers are both guinea pigs and power-houses, pushing the fashion industry forward with their style and opinions, however well formed. Blogging should no longer be an embarrassing word, but a word to be encouraged and celebrated.

Images fashionwelike.com, disneyrollergirl.net, Starworks