WHY I AM TAKING A BREAK

Hi lovelies!

A year ago, I started Six Foot Style and recently took some time to reflect on the last year, how I’m feeling and where I see SFS going in the year ahead.  After a lot of thought and consideration, I have decided to take the month of February off from the blog.

I’ll be honest here, and completely candid with you guys … on both sides of the spectrum. This is a longer post, so stick with me.  I've added some funny candid photos mixed in from my last year of blogging for entertainment value! 

THE FUN STUFF

Meeting Candice and the entire Long Tall Sally team has been such a lovely experience for me.

It’s been a great year.  I’ve met some wonderful people, connected with other fabulous bloggers, had the opportunity to discover and work with so many amazing companies.  And perhaps most important, I have been able to share my sense of style with a unique community of supportive and receptive people.

​I can’t tell you how much each comment, like, repost, direct message, everything means to me.  That’s what has made this year, and the blogging experience in general, worth it for me.  Making meaningful connections with truly inspiring and incredible people.

THE SHITTY STUFF (AND A HEAVY DOSE OF TRUTH)

Blogging is a lot of work with often little reward.  I don’t have a paid team behind me taking photos, editing, updating my website, creating and sending weekly emails, posting daily updates on social media pages, etc. … my team is me and my husband.

It’s a huge time commitment.  If you’re familiar with my blog, you know that I have a full-time job and lots of obligations that keep me busy during the week.  So, Six Foot Style is a weekend activity that I squeeze in between a seemingly endless list of to-do’s.  This leaves little room for error, and has led to some tense moments between my husband and me over the last year.  When photo shoots don’t work out as planned, or something comes up and I’m frantically trying to meet commitments I’ve arranged with a company, I become a stressed out maniac.  Not fun for anyone.

Husband: "What's happening with your face, try to look natural" ... this isn't natural?

There’s also a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes.  When I partner with a company for a blog post or review, there are usually dozens of emails back and forth with product requests, shipment information, returns for alternate sizing, and so forth.  And I’ll be real here … I don’t have a flood of emails sitting in my inbox from designers and companies that are dying for me to wear their clothing.  Most of my partnerships over the last year have come-to-be as a result of my outreach to a particular company.  Which takes work to successfully pitch and convince a brand that I am worthy of wearing their clothing and writing about their brand.

You’ve all probably seen Instagram fashionistas with tens of thousands of followers, but please know that there’s usually a team of people behind these women serving as the face of their brand.  And a lot of women have been able to successfully make blogging their full-time job, spending 40+ hours a week.  That just isn’t the case for me.

Lauren: 1 Goose: 0

Musing on that same theme, here’s a news flash … I’m not a model.  I wish that I woke up looking like Gigi Hadid, but the reality is that it takes time for me to do my hair and makeup before each photo shoot.  And my prep before a photo shoot is not as extensive as some other bloggers I know.  I am not putting in hair extensions, applying fake eyelashes, or anything like that.  How you see me in my photos is actually what I look like in real life.  Anyway, since I haven’t ever modeled before, when the camera starts flashing, it takes me quite a while to hit a comfortable niche and actually strike a moderately reasonable pose.  Sensing a trend here … more time.

I make zero money from blogging. Here’s a little nugget of truth about blogging … brands want to partner with influencers who have lots of followers.  And LOTS of bloggers pay to play this game.  There are tons of companies that, for a minimal investment will like, comment, basically be a robot for your Instagram page in order to grow your following.  I personally know bloggers who have paid for followers.  I refuse to do this, it feels weird to me.  It doesn’t bother me that others are, but it’s just not for me.  So every single one of my followers is earned and that takes consistent posting of relevant material and lots of prayers that everyone keeps coming back week after week and showing love on my pages.

No glam squad here ... just a girl and the closest glass building facade that can be used as a mirror between shots.

I’ve thought about joining Reward Style which you all know (or should get to know).  You’ve probably clicked on links to products from blog posts and watched your web browser quickly go to rstyle.com then seamlessly forward to a product page.  That blogger gets paid if you purchase that product.  And rightfully so, they’ve influenced your purchase, and should be rewarded for that.  However for me, I just never set out to make money off of my blog.  I wanted to create a place for women to find inspiration and ideas for upping their workwear game.  It’s my hope that Six Foot Style has become this place.

Don’t get me wrong, there are times when I wish that I was making some money … just enough to pay for someone to do my hair and makeup before each photo shoot.  To pay a photographer so my husband isn’t forced outside in the dead of winter to snap photos during his precious weekend time.  But maybe in 2017 right?

This is how cold I was on a recent shoot ... I can't imagine how my husband tolerates my insanity.

There are a ton of fashion bloggers out there.  Lately I’ve been feeling defeated + deflated and find myself thinking I can’t provide something that a million other women aren’t already doing on Instagram.  There’s lots of tall bloggers, loads of work wear bloggers, and a seemingly endless number of fashion bloggers.  While I know that none of them are me, and my aesthetic and style is unique to truly only me, it feels overwhelming at times.  And competitive.  I see myself comparing my blog to others, and I become disappointed when I’m not as successful as others (I’m a former college athlete so competitiveness courses my veins).  I can’t figure out how to not feel like that.

So, with all of that being said, I have decided to take a month off from blogging.  I am a bit burned out, and need to step away from Six Foot Style for a hot minute.  I am not sure what the future holds for the blog … but I’ll be sure to keep y’all updated.  During the month, I'll also be doing a digital detox which I've posted about on the Tall Guides website. 

Thanks for reading this post (I didn’t mean for it to be so sad), I just wanted everyone to know where I’m really at.  One of my New Year’s resolutions was to be more honest and open up more … lift the “perfection” mask and image that I find myself always putting on.  So this is real.  This is me.