Lesley Scott - Editor in Chief of www.fashiontribes.com

As fashion blogging & making a living out of running a business online is starting to really take hold here in Australia, we thought it would be inspiring to chat to an International Success on the Fashion Blogging scene, Lesley Scott, Editor in Chief of www.fashiontribes.com

Reading through your bio on the FashionTribes website, you sound like quite the Carrie Bradshaw! For us here in Australia, living in New York and living a life full of fashion seems like the dream situation, can you explain a typical day in your world?

Carrie Bradshaw…I wish, especially her shoe collection and gig at Vogue paying $4 a word!  Unless it’s Fashion Week, my typical day starts with dealing with the usual tidal wave of emails, any Skype or phone meetings I’ve scheduled, followed by a pretty heavy-duty posting schedule (unfortunately, posts don’t write themselves and unlike Perez Hilton, I don’t have a team of ghost-bloggers).

Your writing style is really enjoyable and easy to read, did you always want to be a writer or was it something you gradually fell into and found you had a talent for? I also think young people have so much pressure put on them to decide what they want to do with their life at such an early age. I am 35 and have really only discovered what I wanted to do in the past 5 years. Did you always know what you wanted to do? Are there other things you’d still like to do in other areas or are you happy to keep doing what you are now?

For years I slaved away as a stylist assistant, fashion stylist, and on-set tailor (most of which felt to me like being a glorified clothing waiter) to support my writing habit…which never pays in the beginning as you’re building up your body of clips.  I’ve always felt that you don’t choose writing – it chooses you.  My goal was always to be able to support myself writing, and when my blog finally became successful enough for me to do it full time, it was a major personal milestone for me.  I’m thrilled to be able to publish daily as a fashion writer and have a global audience that enjoys it enough to come back for more the next day.

I’ve always felt the best way to get good as a writer is the same way you get to Carnegie Hall: practice, practice, practice.  However, in an ongoing effort to pick up tips on writing well, I’ve read pretty much every style manual worth reading, and whoever said that the best way to improve your writing is by reading good writers is how I justify my being a hugely nerdy bookworm that reads constantly.

There is a lot of pressure for people to “find themselves” before they even know who they are – I’m not surprised you mention you didn’t get really focused until your 30s – but the beauty

The beauty of being able to blog – and have it supported by advertising dollars – is that the traditional barriers to publishing have disappeared.  Most popular blogs have readerships that rival decent-sized magazines, while magazines would love for the circulation enjoyed by the really big blogs.  However, it’s so cheap to publish a blog, that if you’ve got the drive to publish frequently – and you’re persistant (according to Woody Allen, 80% of success is just showing up for work every day) you’ll build a readership, which you can then parlay into a paying job thanks to advertising, Affiliate relationships with e-commerce sites like Amazon and Zappos, and, increasingly, advertorials.

Blogging as a business is only just taking off here in Australia with only a handful that could actually say they are earning a decent income from it. It seems to be becoming a common way for people to make an income in the USA now though, any tips you can pass on to Aussie Fashion Bloggers?

While there do seem to be a gazillion US bloggers, I think you’d be surprised at the small number actually making enough off it to support themselves. The blogs that make money tend to update every day – usually a few times daily - with a decent amount of content that their readers want to see; ie. when bloggers post simply to post, readers know it and it tends to piss them off which isn’t really good for business (ie. traffic). Other than the giant celeb sites which tend to be quite illiterate but have traffic in the millions of monthly page views, niche sites are held to a different standard by readers who respond to quality content, as do other blogs when they link to your various posts.

Were I to be starting a new blog today, I would probably have chosen a much more specific niche, such as shoes or jewelry or fashion history…I absolutely love fashion history.  The more specific your niche, the easier it is to build up a decent-sized readership.  After all, as they say, one size fits…no one. Also, a good way to introduce yourself to more established bloggers is by leaving comments on their blogs. That way when you ask them to link back to you, it won’t seem rude (yes, like honor among thieves, there is etiquette in the blog world).

How would you describe your own personal style?

I’m a bit of a magpie when it comes to my own shopping, however over the last few years, I’ve been favoring a “uniform” of knee-length wrap dresses with cute shoes and fun jewelry.  Most of the timeless style icons tended to find a silhouette that worked for them…and they worked it.  I have to say, it does make getting dressed a hell of a lot easier, and you save money because you automatically know what trends to shop for and which to give a miss.


What are you own favourite labels from budget to luxurious?

I adore Lanvin, Balmain, Balenciaga, Donna Karan and Junya Watanbe.
Couldn’t live without Zara, and have found that on the not-cheap-but-affordable scale, both J.Crew and Banana Republic have been coming out with some seriously cute dresses and accessories in the past few seasons.  When I’m feeling flush, I tend to stock up on DVF dresses on eBay, where I do most of my shopping.

Who are your celebrity style icons?

Jackie O always looked so effortlessly fabulous, while Bianca Jagger during her Mick years was glam and stunning; ditto Catherine Deneuve and Marisa Berenson in the 1960s. For classic bombshell appeal, I’ve always admired Dorothy Dandridge, while Tilda Swinton and her fabulously offbeat choices on the Red Carpet has become my most recent Fashion Crush.

This month you featured the 80’s fashion revival happening right now, what is your favourite & least favourite 80’s trend/look?

I do love the exuberance of the 80s – all that hair, crazy rainbow makeup and accessories took time & effort to pull together. I salute anyone who makes that much effort (see exhibit A: Anna Piaggi).  It’s fun to see people putting some fun back into fashion. However, neon-hued Wayfarer glasses and plastic jewelry seem kind of silly and childish.  

When observing people on the street (rather than the magazines) are there any key trends that are big in New York right now?

Rolled cuff skinny pants, especially with a shrunken boy blazer.  I also love the preppy look many hipsters have adopted – it has such a clean, timeless appeal.  There are also a lot of print sundresses and pristine all-white looks.

Are there any current trends you really dislike? Why?

Probably Hammer pants and really-ripped acid wash jeans.  Does anyone really want to look at pix of themselves 10 years from now in dropped-crotch pants (even the name is terrible) or wearing weird, shredded experiments in denim?

Finally, what are your top 5 Fashion sites?

The Manolo’s Shoe Blog – I just love the way he writes
My Fashion Life – The Fashion Blogger I want to be when I grow up
The Fashioniste - An interesting, erudite smartypants
Net-a-Porter.com For all my fashion lusts and musts
EBay If you know what you’re doing, the steals and deals are amazing