The importance of being earnest

Anyone who knows me half as well as my readers, knows that my largest inspiration in life comes from books, movies and music. So much, so that I'm always thinking in book titles, music covers and possibly film adaptations. When it comes to fashion, I'm no different. More often than not, you will see me borrowing titles from books and poems for my pieces because I find it a lot of fun to lend an absolutely new and different meaning to an iconic literary work. Incidentally, I also acted in a production of the same. But that really is not the point on the table today. Finally talking about something that I have been thinking about for a while.

How important is it for a fashion blogger to talk about, shoot in and share outfit ideas from one's own closet? To lend a little sanity to this haphazard thought: Think back to your favourite fashion blogger and their blog or instagram feed. Of course, expensive one-of-its-kind couture pieces lend their feed the much required aspirational value which millions of girls across the world are always vying to achieve. How important is it then, to intersperse that with clothing that a blogger genuinely buys with their own money and wears more than just once for a shoot? Why is it important for a blogger to talk about a product that they were not paid to review or sing praises of?

From the inception of FTLOFAOT, my core ideology has remained to mix business with pleasure. The one rule that they ask you not to break. Jokes apart, the idea is to create a mix of what is commercially viable with what appeases your sensibilities the most. Strangely, most artists across the board will agree with that sentiment. Is there anything wrong with promoting a brand? Hell no. That's what fosters our business. But there is an inherent relatibility and value to be gained out of talking about and shooting real buys that you make. That remains the sole reason I continue to do unsponsored content with a mix of the sponsored. From personal travelogues to personal luxury buys and other personal shopping that finds itself on the blog and instagram because I earnestly believe in and work towards helping my readers make informed choices. What are your thoughts? Do you believe it is completely alright to only post sponsored content? Where does the realness and authenticity of opinions come in, in that scenario?

Wearing:

Shirt: Zara

Powder blue tiered dress: Mango

Champagne pink metallic pants: Topshop

Blue clutch: Armani Exchange

Sunglasses: Chloe

Shoes with metallic toecaps: c/o Adidas Originals

Socks: Monki

Photography by: Aditya Saxena

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