We Were On A Break!

Hello world, it’s been a while!

You might have noticed (or maybe you didn’t at all!) that it’s been a minute since I last wrote a blog post. Over the last few months I took a step away from blogging and didn’t write any new content. In some ways, this wasn’t a conscious decision…life gets busy, other priorities take over, you know the way. Myself and Darragh spent a well overdue 2 weeks travelling in Spain and I just generally enjoyed the long Summer days not worrying about creating content. During my unplanned break from blogging, a surprising thing happened though – the longer I was away from blogging, the less I found myself missing it.

Earlier this year the tide began to turn against bloggers in Ireland and accounts like Bloggers Unveiled cropped up with the sole purpose of calling out all the so-called deception and BS from top tier Irish bloggers and influencers. And while I wholeheartedly disagree with how nasty and negative Bloggers Unveiled eventually became, I do think the industry needed more transparency. It had gotten to a point where calling yourself a blogger (or worse still, an “influencer” ~shudder~) was almost something to be ashamed of. But that’s not why I stopped blogging…

Everyone’s a blogger

If I’m honest, I sort of lost my passion for blogging for a while. It just didn’t seem like it was worth the effort and time required to research and create engaging posts that followers wanted to see. Lots of people on Instagram call themselves “bloggers” every day without having ever written a single post. Posting insta-pics of their morning coffee and daily changing room selfies seemed to be helping them build an engaged Instagram following so why would I bother spending hours creating content?! Did people even ready blogs anymore anyway?!

A numbers game

Aside from stepping away from my blog, I also found myself growing tired of Instagram too. Instagram can sometimes feel like one big popularity contest with everyone fixated on growing their following.  Obviously, we all put significant time and effort into creating our content so naturally we want to see our audience grow. For me though the constant hustle to continue growing my following became a tiresome game. Spending hours scrolling every evening, going about my daily likeathon as if my life depended on it, making sure I didn’t miss any of my favourites while replying to comments on my posts became overwhelming. Don’t get me wrong, there are lots of accounts with whom interacting is not a chore but I was spending far too much time doing it and not focusing on my real life. The inherit ridiculousness of me posting a photo then waiting intently for the likes and comments to roll in was also not lost on my 34 year old self.

I’ve also lost count of the number of times I’ve been DM’d by people asking for a “shout-out” to help them reach a specific follower number. Our fixation with our follower numbers has brought out a crazy side in us all. Perspective people…the number of people who live in an app in your phone is not a priority in the wider scheme of real life! Things will be exactly the same after you reach that magic number (whatever that magic number is for you) as they were before.

And finally on the topic of followers…my biggest pet peeve: the follow – unfollow brigade. Yes I see you, yes I know your account exists but no, following and unfollowing me every day for a week doesn’t make me want to follow you! Don’t even get me started on the algorithm!!

Same same but different

Instagram is in danger of becoming a catalogue of identikit accounts made up of changing room selfies wearing clothes they are never going to buy or identical stories showing the exact same stock from the high street. Of course, I don’t think there is anything wrong with buying into the latest viral look but at times the lack of individuality on Instagram is becoming incredibly boring and it is becoming harder to tell accounts apart, my own included. I do realise that many of us share the same taste in fashion and it is those shared tastes and passions that have led us to finding our tribe online. BUT the hysteria to have the latest jumpsuit or dress or shoes is not cool and has led to a whole lot of us looking exactly the same and wasting our money on things we genuinely neither need nor like. Nowadays, there is nothing more guaranteed to turn me off a piece than the description “insta-famous”.

With the speed at which fashion is moving on Instagram, I was starting to feel pressure to constantly have new clothes to shoot to stay relevant and ahead of the curve. Of course, when I stood back and assessed the situation, I realised that was utterly ridiculous. I am a regular person, with a regular income and cannot afford to constantly have the latest from the new-in sections at Zara and Mango just so I have new material for the grid. I will always love the power of the new and how it makes me feel but I also love re-wearing and finding new ways to re-style much loved pieces in my wardrobe. It is in this re-styling what we already own that real creativity happens.

Getting my groove back

However, that was the past and this is now. As the old saying goes “absence makes the heart grow fonder” and after a lengthy break from blogging I am ready to get back in the saddle. The step back from blogging and spending less time on Instagram was definitely needed. I needed it for my own sanity. I needed it so that I could remember why I started all this in the first place. I began my blogging and Instagram journey to share the things I am passionate about; a creative outlet I guess. It was never about the numbers and having the latest trending item. I needed the break to remind me of that.

If you’ve stuck around to read this far, thank you and apologies…It was a long one!! Sometimes you just need to reassess and have a good rant then move forward. I am coming back to the blogging game with a renewed purpose and lots of ideas for content that I hope you will enjoy.

I would love your feedback on what you would like to see more of so let me know here or over on Instagram if there is anything you would like me to cover!

‘Til next time (when I promise it will be shorter and sweeter)!

Stylishly yours,

Trish xx

Outfit Details

Zebra print cami: Topshop; Straight leg jeans: Topshop; Leather biker jacket: Zara (similar); Bag: Zara