Blogging Tips: How To Work With Fashion Brands, Designers, Boutiques Etc…

To all my fashionistas out there, good morning! It’s been a minute since I have shared some blogging tips. I was donating a lot of old clothing to the Goodwill yesterday when I started to think, hey I need to give some tips on how to work with fashion brands, designers, boutiques, marketing/ pr companies. Also, tips and tricks on how to start a fashion blog. If you have a fashion blog or thinking of starting one, this post is for you. So come inside to learn more!

I knew early on that I wanted to incorporate fashion on my blog when I launched my site Talking With Tami. I have always had a love for fashion and I knew a little bit about it because of my mom. She’s more into luxury brands and my god-mom loves thrifting and vintage shopping. So I learned a lot about both as a young girl. So all of these passions are things I have included in my blog posts. These various posts are what I have use to send out to potential brands, designers, pr & marketing companies over the years. This all helps because if you are new to blogging and the company is not familiar with your site, you will want to send them links to some of your posts. This will determine if they want to work with you or not.

Seeing your style and what you blog about really helps your chances with them. If you think that you have great style or very knowledgable about the fashion industry, you’re almost there but then the questions is…how do I get their attention? With so many fashion blogs out there now, it’s almost impossible to say yes to everyone but I have some great tips that I use that should help you.

Fashion Blogging Tips:

Before you even get started, are you really fashionable? Do people look to you for fashion advice? Do you get compliments on your outfits when you’re out? These are the questions you should ask yourself.

Are you creative and innovative? I once took a plain dress and turned it completely around and styled it up! The fashion designer didn’t even think about that and was very pleased with me! Have fun with clothing, its fashion!

Are you sociable online? Do you have social media accounts set up so people can see what you’re wearing? Do you do OOTD(Outfit of the Day)posts? Do you have a nice following on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest etc?

Is your blog site up-to-par? Does your site stand out? Make sure before you contact any company, boutique, brand or pr/mktg agency, that your site looks extremely professional. Not like some that looks like it just popped up from nowhere with no updates.

What does your personal style look like? Are you wearing great pieces and accessories? Showing how to get looks for less, where to buy or possibly mixing high and low clothing together? You have to show range and flexibility and appeal to all readers.

What does your photos look like? Are you shooting with a great camera? Bad lighting, low budget, blurry looking images? This is all key because brands like to share your style posts on their Facebooks, Instagrams and Twitter accounts. So you HAVE to have great shots, lovely scenery etc people! You want to represent the brand well and look your best! That way when you reach out to them again, they say yes without a doubt! If you guys have noticed, I’ve been working with a lot of brands for YEARS!

In a fashion post, it’s best to have at least 4 to 7 images. I’ve seen bloggers put up two pictures without showing different angles, back, side. That’s not good at all. You want to show off the outfit, right? Then I have seen some fashion bloggers that put up way too many photos, get over yourself lol.

Dress the part! From outfit, makeup and hair, you have to be all the way together! If you want to be known for being a fashion blogger, you have to look the part! I am guilty though of running around town in sweats and a pulled-back ponytail! But when I go out to events, I always try to look my best! You get my point lol.

Make friends with bloggers that have similar style as you. Swap or do fashion posts with related items, like style trends and incorporate looks on each others blogs. Its a great way to gain more readership too!

Host local fashion events in your city at boutiques or clothing stores to get your name out there. Once you do one, its becomes easier over time.

Tips On Working With Fashion Brands/Designers etc …

Most fashion brands have a contact form at the end of their site. Use that contact form to take the time out to introduce yourself and tell them all about your blog and what you do but keep it short and sweet! Adding a media kit helps.

Network your butt off! When you see a fashion show in your area, go to those type of events and hand out your business card and introduce yourself to the manager, designers, pr person or someone else in the room that may can help you. If you dont know who to approach, its usually the best-dressed people in the room lol. Make sure when you are approaching them, you look fabulous.

I ALWAYS follow up and send out thank you notes to the brands that I work with. Show your appreciation from them sending you all the fancy outfits. Send an email with all your blog links/posts as well. They really appreciate that because some bloggers never do that. How does the company know you wore the outfit? So make sure to follow up, that’s very important.

I get tons of packages sent to me daily. Some brands just send me items to wear randomly once they think they know my style and sizes. Although I send sample requests of things that I want to try, I often get items in that are in need of major tailoring(that can be too expensive) or just not my style, or perhaps it looked better in the picture. So, I kindly send them a regrets letter and ship back immediately and explain the situation. They appreciate my honesty and sending the items back. Never keep something you don’t like and never write a blog post, bad business!

If you are borrowing something from a designer or fashion brand, please make sure to take extremely good care of the garment they are loaning you to wear. I have had dresses borrowed to wear that cost in the $1,000’s. If I am headed to an event, I try to wear just a regular outfit there and change when I arrive to the event. Then change back into my other outfit. This way, I don’t wrinkle or harm the garment in anyway possible. Things do happen though and if an accident does occur, I get the item dry cleaned and then return promptly.

I try to stay away from doing too many fashion posts with clothing that has to be returned or only on loan. It’s too much of a hassle for me. I try to negotiate all of that up front before even working with the brand or designer. My time is valuable and blogging and taking pics etc is very time consuming and a lot of work. I try to keep all items that I wear unless it’s “extremely” expensive.

I say at least try once to head to New York Fashion Week just to get the experience! It will change your whole life! You get to personally meet designers, fashion editors and so much more! That really opened a lot of doors up for me by going each season!

 

I hope that some of these tips helped you on your journey into the world of fashion blogging and working with fashion brands! Look your best, learn the craft and happy blogging! xoxo

 

 

 

 

 

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