sf/bay area blogger meetup recap

I would deeply appreciate if the world forgave me for taking so long to post an actual recap (as opposed to this sorry excuse for one) because I have a bad habit of not updating until I've emptied out my camera's guts, which doesn't happen often enough, and always feeling compelled to post everything in chronological order.

On Sunday (11/22) I attended the SF Bay Area Blogger Meetup organized by Jennie from Going West, with the other lovely (supernaturally attractive, smart, funny, well-heeled) lady bloggers Erin of calivintage, Christina of profreshstyle, Xtina of candybox, her friend Vai who is studying fashion design at UC Davis, Liz of Late Afternoon, Diane of Darling Darling, Brittany of Work It, Berk, Helen of Chictopia, Katie who writes for AOL's stylelist, and Ami from Song of Style.

I was, unsurprisingly, underdressed, as I was headed to a review session immediately after (and let’s be honest here, I wouldn’t risk not being taken seriously in a classroom setting even if it meant feeling extra out of my comfort zone in a group of intimidatingly put-together people I’ve never met). My attempt to reconcile a blogger meetup with a weekend at home’s worth of stuff and a review session and colder-than-school weather and carrying costumes for my scene with Lee and commute by BART manifested as this:

Above, check my model pose, guys.

Above, no, yeah, this is what I normally look like. Thanks for photos, Kim.

Above, black jacket: gift. Teal fake pashmina: New York street vendor. Satin shorts: Nordstrom Rack. Black tights: generic. Sparkly purple leopard print socks: grandmother’s (damn straight). Shoes: Fafi for Adidas, garage sale.

Above, I was so nervous, I even put on makeup. You can't tell. Just revel in my incomparable beauty.

So, yes, underdressed. A little cleaner-looking than I would have liked, but I liked my Sparkly Purple Leopard Print Socks®, thanks.

We met at Yerba Buena (I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to find them but soon realized all I had to do was walk behind the girls wearing the highest shoes in the park) then made our way to the SFMoMA café, where heads turned as our group walked in. You can see photos of everyone else here, here, here, here, and here.

As the youngest blogger in attendance (in terms of life years and in terms of how seriously I blog, I think), I did a lot more listening than talking, but it was enlightening and a lot of fun to be able to sound off on stuff that nobody else talks about in person. Blogging and fashion and running a blog and returning comments, the merits of Chictopia vs. Weardrobe vs. Lookbook, blogging as a hobby vs. blogging as a job, how people felt about ads and sponsorship, selling out, how people who don’t blog don’t understand bloggers, Korean spas (that would be Liz enthusing for like ten minutes… she is a riot), how people don’t take you seriously if you have an interest in fashion, or if you show any consideration for what you wear... They were all very, very nice, and very funny, and smart, dammit. And so well-dressed it was kind of gross in a dying-of-jealousy way.

Anyway, I encourage everyone to go to every blogger meetup you possibly can, regardless of how nervous you are or how unsure you are or how unlegit and amateur you think you may be, because it is so worth it to meet new (um, really talented, really articulate) people with common interests and to learn from other people’s experiences.

TAKEAWAY POINTS:

1. Fuck your fear. It's probably worth it. You gain nothing from sitting back and watching life go by without you.
   
2. Smart + articulate + fierce = the most intimidating combination you will ever find in a person. Be that person.
3. If you're doing it well, people will judge you. Let them, and then prove them wrong.
4. Life will throw things your way. Recognize them. Catch them. Milk them for all they're worth.
   
5. Wear what you want.