Today we’d like to introduce you to Claire Ryan.
Claire, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I can confidently say today that fashion and writing were an accidental collision in my life. I knew from an early age (middle school, maybe?) that I wanted to write and I’m glad I quickly realized that math and science were not my destiny. Somewhere in the transition between middle to high school and in the height of my shyness, I found the muse of fashion as a form of expression, which is ironic considering fashion can be obnoxiously flamboyant and very in-your-face.
I discovered that I felt most confident and powerful when I could be in control of not only what I was wearing, but in expressing myself through writing. I liked the idea of accessing a different reality of my own when it came to styling. For example, any outfit Rihanna wears is so far beyond my personal style limits it makes it thrilling to deconstruct on a subjective front.
Also, while I personally believe that Instagram is one of the best inventions to date, it creates an obsessive culture of mindless scrolling. We lose such a huge aspect of the story through solely a picture. Hence, I started a fashion blog called Something in the Style. I knew I wanted to bring the gratification back into reading articles and exploring topics on a more sincere level.
Overall, though, I really don’t think I would be where I am today without the endless support and encouragement of my family and close friends. They’ve all pushed me to my limits (in the best ways) and convinced me that stepping out of my comfort zone sometimes is the best way to grow.
Has it been a smooth road?
One of the best things that have made the past couple of years smooth is that the actual process of writing has never felt like a chore. Finding something I loved to write about made the task that much more enjoyable, and diving into the realm of fashion gave me access to stories and topics that are constantly changing and developing. It’s really never a boring day in the fashion industry.
What I did encounter that proved to be more of a challenge was building up the confidence to put myself out there and share a more personal side of my life. Being the only one of my friends, and really my age group, who had ventured into this sort of side hustle, it was intimidating to present myself in this new light and have people appreciate it. In addition to that, it was a learning experience to build an authentic audience and attract subscribers who were genuinely interested in reading about what I was writing.
Spam followers on media platforms are so easy to attain now that it takes the value out of the number of followers. What’s so great about having 10,000 followers if you only have 75 that are interested? I’d rather have 500 followers and have 300 of them interested in what I’m doing. It’s a process that takes time and having patience is one of the hardest, yet most crucial benefits that is getting me through it. The start of Something in the Style also fell right around the time of college application prep and the expectation of hunkering down and focusing only on school and grades.
Finding a fair and attainable balance between the pressures of high school as a senior, the newfound freedom of being eighteen, and maintaining a fashion blog that secretly held my highest priority was a transition I had to adapt to quickly. And in August when I pack my bags for college in New York City, I’ll have to adopt again in a city where fashion journalism is one of the most saturated fields.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Something in the Style story. Tell us more about the business.
In a time when blogging is becoming such a competitive market, Something in the Style serves a needed niche as a platform to bridge the gap between fashion and the interests of the everyday person. Fashion can be an intimidating and dense topic from the surface but my aim is to make it more relatable and reachable to a broader audience.
Something in the Style is set apart from other fashion blogs because it does more than just review products. It tells the story behind the clothes and events which creates a different platform on which readers can experience fashion. Something in the Style also presents itself as a space that accentuates the value of body confidence in fashion, which is sprung from my own experience finding my personal style by being both petite and curvy.
When it comes to milestones I’m proud of Something in the Style; even the littlest of accomplishments I cherish. In one of my more recent blog posts, I had the chance to interview well-known contemporary artist and influencer Beau Dunn, which for me was a great honor. My blogs have taken me from Miami, Hawaii, New York, and even Mexico to experience incredible events.
From covering the role of drones in a Dolce & Gabbana fashion show to a weekend in Miami for Art Basel, I’ve been able to expand my content and provide a broader view on fashion and all it encompasses which is something I love to have available for my readers. There is nothing to take for granted when it comes to Something in the Style and with it still being a relatively young blog, I’m appreciative of every small achievement.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I think because fashion is a constantly-changing environment, it’s hard to predict things so far down the road. One shift, though, that I really do see becoming more and more prevalent is an increase in diversity on the runway during Fashion Week. Of the Fall 2018 season’s shows, about 63% of models were white and 37% were black. While this is a huge improvement from previous years, I don’t think it will stop there.
I also see plus-size models becoming more in demand as high-end brands expand their lines to satisfy men and women of all sizes. Something that felt prevailing the past couple Fashion Weeks is seeing brands getting more involved with the support of social movements.
Gucci donated $500,000 to the March for Our Lives campaign and kick-started other brands to follow close behind: Giuseppe Zanotti, Prabal Gurung, and Tory Burch all highlighted their support through different means of assisting. The fashion industry usually gets rolled up into the stereotype of being cold and unconcerned, but I truly think the industry will take its influential platform and transform it into something of an inspiration.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.SomethingintheStyle.com
- Email: info@somethinginthestyle.com
- Instagram: @SomethingintheStyle
Image Credit:
Jordan Howard
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