Today, I am sitting on a [peach-hued] happy cloud. We at the office had the honor and pleasure of the loveliest of visits from Garance Doré, one of the foremost fashion bloggers in the world. I emerged from this talk inspired and empowered, the latter being a sensation I rarely report encountering. She had a host of wonderful things to say (YouTube video posted here).

Starting any sort of blog is, from my standpoint, incredibly vulnerable, daunting business. The fashion blogging world in particular seems to me a densely crowded frenzy, rife with passionate people adept at staying on top of the fast-paced fashion world–bigwigs, “ones to watch,” ever-changing ‘it’ girls, S/S, F/W, pre-fall, resort, haute couture, front rows and all. It makes me dizzy. It, in fact, took me three years to give myself a chance to attempt this, as I do get overwhelmed by the idea of staying “on top” of it all and the fear of judgment is ever-looming overhead. This blog sphere felt to me like it possessed a great tidal wave to entry. And when I did start this, I would habitually proof-read past entries, worrying that what I produced was “too personal,” that no one would be interested in reading such things.

And then Garance swept in, all charming and French and decidedly unpretentious. Here she was, a woman who was at the forefront of this massive movement when it first emerged–excitedly musing on fashion and technology, and amusingly befuddled by the mysteries of mom jeans and mom haircuts. It was refreshing to hear how her sweet, unfiltered, irreverent and self-described “goofy” voice in person echoes the voice of her blog. Her advice for novice bloggers was to “go slow” and be open to trial and error, to be open to your blog evolving into something you hadn’t planned. She told us all to make it personal and allow our voices to shine through. She admitted that she herself just sometimes doesn’t feel like staying abreast of it all, and expressed that not everyone needs to be in the thick of this insanity, reporting on the latest and greatest in the industry. She emphasized the importance of writing about things that you love, the things that inspire you, for pure joy.

Garance’s talk reminded me of the reason I gave this a go in the first place. I love sartorialism as an art form and as a reflection of a person’s history and passions. I love what inspires designers to create and how a wearer chooses to represent him or herself to the world. I love how this art/medium/however you choose to describe it connects people. (Sidebar: my now-husband might not have approached me that day had I not been wearing the polka-dot dress he complimented me on–true story. Connect, it does). I even love being a voyeur to the ridiculousness (the silliness!) of this ginormous realm. This stuff lights a fire in me and this place gives me a venue to direct these energies.

So, merci beaucoup, Garance.

And thank you, dear reader, for permitting me a look-see. I deeply, truly appreciate it.