Four years ago, a style star was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina and continues to grow here at UNC. Freshman Grace Lee runs Gracefulleemade, a fashion blog in which she flawlessly poses amidst Chapel Hill’s campus in très chic ensembles. She collaborates with fellow fashion bloggers, is gifted clothes and accessories by sponsors for features, has been featured on the one and only Lauren Conrad’s website, and photographs for The Daily Tar Heel. I met her through twitter and we instantly became best friends, I’ve even been in a blog shoot or two! You heard it here first, Grace will definitely gracing the pages of Vogue and Glamour in the future.
HC: Why did you start fashion blogging?
GL: I started blogging my sophomore year in high school. My friends and classmates would always comment on what I was wearing and having a blog was an easy access to share how I styled my outfits on a daily basis.
HC: What’s your favorite thing about blogging and an interesting fact about the process our readers wouldn’t expect?
GL: There are many perks but one of my favorites would be all the wonderful free items that companies and boutiques send my way. Mail days are the best and I couldn’t be more blessed with so many different and wonderful sponsors.
As for an interesting fact, most people who don’t read fashion blogs may think that most fashion bloggers just post outfits of themselves and jot down what they’re wearing, but there’s so much more than that. I attend blogger conferences, store openings, and meet up with other bloggers that I befriend over social media.
HC: Are you hoping to make a career out of blogging?
GL: I have asked myself this more times than I can care to remember, and it’s an I-do-but-I-don’t-know-how-far-I-could-go type of situation. But I definitely want to go into the fashion industry. My dream job would be a stylist working for an elite fashion magazine in New York City. Hopefully in whatever I end up doing I can still manage blogging on the side!
HC: How would you describe your style? Do you have a signature style piece?
GL: My style tends to vary a lot; I enjoy a pinch of everything. Some days I’ll throw on a ton of bright colors and I’ll basically be the girl who looks like a walking Kate Spade ad! I like to stand out, so I’ll use popular items that many people are also attracted to and style it in a way that most wouldn’t style it. My signature style piece is the layered monogram necklace with a chunky pearl necklace on top. I am a sucker for layering necklaces!
HC: Do you have any advice for aspiring fashion bloggers?
GL: It’s funny because when I was first starting, I was completely lost. I was constantly emailing graphic designers and asking other bloggers for help. But now, I’m getting emails and comments from other newbies and I couldn’t be more thrilled to help. As for tips:• Always be yourself. Don’t try to use a different voice for when writing your posts or even dressing for your posts because in the long run, you won’t enjoy blogging as much if you’re always trying to be someone you’re not. And when you are yourself, people enjoy it more!• Patience is key. Don’t expect your blog to explode overnight. It’s going to take time for people to find you, companies to find you, and to gain blog readers. I simply remind myself constantly to keep doing what I love and everything will work out in the end.• Just because you’re a fashion blogger doesn’t mean you have to own a DSLR camera. As long as you have an eye for what kind of shot would capture most readers, then you are on the right track. (though, a DSLR camera would be better recommended because it can capture those detail shots perfectly).• Get your head in the social networking game. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook… get your blog out there to the public. The more tweets of your blog with your link included, the more chances your blog has of being seen. Also, tag those companies! You never know if a company will ask to repost your picture! It’s always worth a shot.