Feature
Fashion Influencers
Megan Collins
TEXT BY KAT SMITH
PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMES NORD
Do you blog full-time?
Yes, full-time since April 2013
What were you doing before you began?
I was in advertising and miserably unhappy. I got into PR originally and pivoted to advertising. I love writing and wasn’t doing
very much of it in that role. [I] thought that advertising was more
tangible. [I] worked in digital advertising which was really helpful. It still helps me today to have that background. Most of us are
raised to think that we need that career with health insurance
and benefits. I knew what I wanted to do was write but didn’t
know how to take the leap.
After some time, I decided to work with a career coach. I
started freelance writing while still working in advertising. A
good friend of mine started a custom suiting business and he
wanted more content for his website. He asked me if I wanted to
write for his site. ‘Write about what girls can see guys wearing.”
It was a total lightbulb moment. There is a presumed knowledge
for men’s fashion but not all men know what they need and want.
If you could tell your pre-blog self one thing, what would
it be?
Do it all sooner. I wasted so much time. At 25 I was saying, “I
guess it’s too late for me now.” If I had made the transition
sooner, maybe I would be farther along by now. I just want to
come up behind [my preblog self ] and shove her off that cliff.
It’s easy to be someone else’s cheerleader but it’s really hard to
be your own.
Who are your biggest influencers?
I love reading. I love to tell a story. My biggest desire was to communicate and get involved with a community. In advertising, I
wasn’t being heard. I wasn’t connecting with anyone. Having
fallen into Style Girlfriend, I found my community in a really
unexpected way.
When you look good, you feel good. I am changing guys’ lives
in a small way and I don’t take that lightly. Many men are looking
to Style Girlfriend to help them improve their own lives.
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If your audience could take only one thing from your blog,
what do you hope it would be?
To feel good about themselves. Girls have so many opportunities to define their style. At prom, they get the pretty dresses
and shoes. When guys put on their suit from Men’s Warehouse,
they feel like an asshole. They don’t know anything about style
or fit. They don’t feel good. They start to feel like suits are the
enemy. This is when they pigeonhole themselves into the ‘not
stylish’ category and that can hang over them for their entire
lives. Just put forth a little bit of effort. Find that suit and bother
to have it tailored. I want to encourage guys to make those small
changes. It matters.
Would you ever want to break into women’s fashion
blogging?
No! The thought makes me want to break into hives. God bless
those girls who have figured it out. SG isn’t a personal style blog.
The space is covered better. I get more inspiration from women’s magazines than men’s. Women’s magazines break it down
where men’s magazines think that there is a baseline knowledge
that doesn’t exist.
What do you hope to accomplish in the future?
We are about to go through a soft launch for a consultation service! We’re about to go into BETA. Right now it will be a virtual
consultation with email and tech support. I’m really excited
about it because guys do need some more one-on-one attention.
So many of the styling services for guys out there are great but
they are expensive and also not as personalized. I am excited to
be able to work with guys and get a feel for what their budget is
and what brands they like.
What is your favorite blogging memory?
One of my readers told me he won best dressed at his office
thanks to Style Girlfriend. His life had changed and he was getting confirmation from the outside world that he was doing
better, looking better, feeling better. I have such a great readership and it makes me cry sometimes.