Blogger Hilda Smith spoke to thecity.ie about her fashion blogging success. Hilda created her blog, Over the Hilda, three years ago and now has over 3,000 followers on Instagram.
On her reasons for starting a fashion blog, she says: “I realised that there were no bloggers catering to women of my age. It was as if only young people were interested in fashion. Also, I was tired of being sold skin creams and makeup that were not right for an older woman’s skin.
“In a moment of madness, I said I was going to start a blog myself. I am a technophobe, who even found it difficult to get into Netflix, so my family did not hold out much hope of success.
“I had plenty of life experiences to share … menopause, my interest in staying healthy and fit into midlife and older … so having laughed in my face at first, they finally got behind me.”
Hilda’s blog details her fashion tastes as well as elements of her personal life // Instagram @overthehilda
She said she has always been an over-sharer. She writes her posts as if she is chatting to friends and telling them what she is doing. “It could be about how I am worried about my memory, how to survive 35 years of marriage and not kill him, or about the wonderful new lipstick I have found or the cream I consider is not worth the money.”
Before she got into blogging, Hilda was a secondary school English teacher at The King’s Hospital for 34 years. She has been retired for six years. She graduated from Trinity in 1974 and was involved in drama and hockey coaching.
Hilda gets her fashion inspiration from magazines, other bloggers, and her daughter Courtney, who is regarded as one of Ireland’s top fashion stylists.
She says the main aim of her blog is to start a conversation with similar like-minded women of a certain age, “to discuss issues such as being ignored by the media because we are considered irrelevant”.
She said: “I suppose I really want to showcase that when we reach 50, 60 or 70, it does not mean that we have to go and hide away. I was always interested in fashion and I still am. I will not be told how to dress.
“I feel that women over 50 have been undervalued, overlooked and ignored by brands. It is as if when we turn 50 we are expected to start wearing granny clothes or elasticated trousers. Many of us are interested in fashion and looking good and we are not invisible.
“I love seeing older women rocking their leathers and ripped jeans. And I also admire those who wear beautiful elegant dresses and timeless pieces.”
Though Hilda is not your stereotypical blogger, she believes her fashion sense is just as valuable as any 18-year-old influencer // Instagram @overthehilda
Hilda says that there have been so many articles recently stating that women should not wear jeans, bikinis or short skirts after a certain age, and they certainly should not show off their cleavage after 50. She believes women should ignore these rules about dressing for your age and just wear what they want.
Hilda says she usually shops in Zara, Warehouse and H&M and has found items in Penneys and Topshop too.
“I like LK Bennett for something special and find Arnotts wonderful if I want to spend a bit more. I will shop anywhere and love browsing in boutiques too. I have only recently bought into the online trend, generally, I prefer to feel the material, but if I know a brand suits me I can shop online.”
Speaking about her style, Hilda says: “I am classic with a twist, I guess. I love boho but it doesn’t really suit me; however, I love it on others. My style has changed and developed hugely. I am less afraid of trying something different. I have worn many of the trends before and love seeing them re-interpreted.”
Hilda says in order to create a successful fashion blog you either need lots of clothes, money or contacts in fashion or an amazing photographer who knows how to make you look good.
She says: “It takes time to build up a following and I have done really no self-promotion. But my name is getting out there now and brands are approaching me, although I want my blog to be about more than fashion.”
Influencer. It seems to be the term of the moment.
This single word is usually always followed by the same question; what the hell is an influencer?
To put it simply, an influencer is a social media user who has an influence over a large number of followers.
There are fashion influencers, beauty influencers, fitness influencers, and so on. You name it, someone is trying to influence it.
These influencers are often sponsored by large companies to promote their products to followers. Some of Ireland’s most successful influencers include Suzanne Jackson (So Sue Me), Pippa O’Connor Ormond, and Rob Lipsett.
Emma Doyle is a 21 year old fashion design student from Dublin who is trying to make her mark as a social media influencer in a saturated market.
Emma Doyle, a rising star in social influencers
“I started my blog the summer after I finished school in 2014,” says Emma. “I was looking at doing fashion design in college so I started it as a fashion blog and I wanted to put up different outfit pictures.
“I didn’t expect it to become anything,” she explains. “I just wanted to do it for myself to see if I liked it.
“I found out that I really liked makeup and beauty, which I didn’t realise. I started incorporating that in as well and doing reviews when I bought new makeup and products.”
It has been a challenge for Emma to establish a following. She started her blog from nothing and it has taken a lot of time and effort to build her profile. She now has 12,000 Instagram followers and 1,500 people who log on to Snapchat to watch her everyday routine.
“It’s weird because [my following] kind of goes up and down,” she says. “You get out what you put into it. If I have a busy few months when I’m in college and I’m scraping by trying to put up a post a day, I won’t get many new followers.”
Often, followers come when you least expect them. Emma explains: “Say when I’m away on holidays and I’m putting up a load of pictures when I’m away, I’ll end up getting way more followers that week.
Emma Doyle finds posts on holiday outfits attracts followers
“It might not even be blog related. It could be my outfit on holidays and that would be it. It’s weird.”
When Emma started blogging in 2014, it was the fashionable thing to do. Snapchat was in its infancy and Instagram videos or stories had not yet been introduced on the picture sharing app.
However, as technology has changed, so have Emma’s tactics.
“I feel like people don’t really read that much anymore so I rarely write on my blog,” Emma explains. “I think it’s moved to watching things. You need to Snapchat and make videos to get your point across.”
Emma believes that coming on camera and speaking to her followers creates a level of intimacy and this is why people continue to follow her.
“I have a small audience but they’re all interactive,” she smiles. “They all do really care.”
Despite her growing success, there are times the fashion design student wonders why she continues to blog.
“Sometimes I do question ‘should I keep going with this?’ and think about the things I shouldn’t do anymore,” Emma says.
Are there ever days where she’s just not bothered?
“Definitely,” Emma says with a firm nod of her head. “There are days that I feel like I’m in a rut and like you feel that you’re not improving. You’re wondering what’s the point in me doing this if it’s not going to be really successful?
“I think it’s hard because no matter how far you go, you think this. When I first started, I never thought I’d get to where I am now. Now I’m here, I feel like it’s the same and I haven’t gotten anywhere.”
It’s the small things, however, that motivate Emma to keep going.
“I get press stuff sent to me now,” she smiles. “I get sent new products and I didn’t get that at the start. So I have to think about that too and think of that as success.
“Sometimes a bigger company will reach out to you and it’s like wow. In your head you’re thinking ‘I can’t believe that this is happening’ and you’re shocked by it. You can’t even imagine it happening a month before.
“Things happen that you don’t expect and it gives you a bit of motivation.”
Talking to Emma across a small table in a Dublin coffee shop, she radiates confidence. There is an air of self-assurance that streams from her voice as she speaks passionately about what she does.
She explains, however, this was not always the case.
“Anyone who knows me knows I have never been overly confident,” Emma says. “Speaking on Snapchat and Youtube has made me a different person. I feel like I can talk to people.
“Even in college I can talk to my lecturers much easier. Before, I wouldn’t even ask a question.”
What changed?
“I just don’t care,” Emma smirks. “You grow a thick skin and now I actually just don’t care. Sometimes I’m thinking ‘should I post this? It’s a bit risky or a bit weird’. I wonder ‘should I say this?’
“Then I realise that I just don’t care and I post it.
“If I cared, I wouldn’t be where I am. At the start if I had cared when I got my first nasty message, that would have been it and I would have finished.”
Social media influencers have come under fire in recent months about the authenticity of their posts and whether they are talking about a product because they actually like it or because they are being paid to talk about it.
The Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) launched a new code of conduct for bloggers and influencers in January 2016. This states that influencers must say when they have been paid by a company to promote a product by writing either #ad or #sp (sponsored) on their photos and videos.
Despite these rules, influencers have gotten into hot water recently for not posting the relevant hashtags. In recent months, at least two influencers have been issued warnings by the ASAI for not disclosing ads.
Should we be questioning the authenticity of influencers?
“I question it myself,” Emma says. “Sometimes you see a post and you just know it’s sponsored. You know when you look at it. You can tell by the picture and the way it’s posed.
“I can almost predict it and then I scroll down to the caption and I see #ad I know I’m right.
“I do think that’s it fair that they’re paid,” Emma says. “I don’t think it’s bad being paid. Why wouldn’t they get paid for doing it? It is a full time job.”
She is forced to stop when I start laughing. I question whether it is a full time job.
“I think it is,” she says. “I understand how much time and work goes into it.
“For every sponsored Instagram post, they have to do their makeup and get a photographer. Say for example #IWorkWithPrimark, they have to go and shoot those looks. They get a voucher, go into Penneys, buy the stuff. Obviously you wouldn’t complain about that. That’s not a chore.
“Then you have to go hire a photographer and get them to take the photos. They have to do their makeup and style their outfits. They have to edit the photos, put them up and write a caption as well. It does take time. That’s a couple of hours out of your day. If they’re paying that photographer, that’s money out of their own pocket. It is fair they get paid.”
Is it a sustainable full time job that Emma would consider when she leaves college?
“I don’t think it’s going to be going anywhere,” she says. “I think it’s only going to get bigger. More people want to work with influencers. It’s hard to know what it will be in the future.
“I don’t know what I want to do when I finish college,” she reveals. “Last year, I was thinking about not going back to college and just seeing where it would take me. I wasn’t sure if I definitely wanted to do my course. So I was going to try and see what I could do by blogging full time.
“I decided to go back to college and finish it off because it’s only one more year. I’m happy I did go back. My course is beneficial and I need something to back me up. It’s not safe for me to do it full time yet and I need a steady income and routine.”
So what does the future hold for Emma Doyle?
“I’m not thinking about what I’m going to do when I leave college just yet,” Emma says.
“I’d love to try fashion buying or styling. I’d love to design or have my own online fashion shop.”
A classic outfit post influencers would be expected to post
It’s clear Emma will have a lot of options and opportunity when she leaves college next May. Whether she will continue to blog and “influence” remains to be seen.
What’s also clear however, is that influencers are here to stay. In fact, the influencer industry is only going to grow as we become more and more dependent on that rectangular piece of glass we carry around in our pockets.
Images by Dalene and Peter Heck via hecktictravels.com
In 2009, having overcome personal tragedies, Canadian couple Dalene and Peter Heck did what many dream of doing – they quit their jobs, sold their house and set out to explore the world.
Since then, the couple have traveled to over 40 countries: Morocco, Peru, Croatia, Malta, Finland, Guatemala, Jordan and Turkey, to name but a few, and have no intentions of stopping.
So how do they afford it? The pair have been house-sitting their way around the world for four years. This has allowed them to greatly reduce their costs. Aside from this, Dalene and Peter run a blog called “hecktictravels.com”. They have also published a book about house-sitting entitled “How to Become a House-Sitter and See the World”.
In an interview with Dalene Heck she spoke of one of their most recent escapades: “Our venture to Greenland was our most adventurous and “off the beaten path” destination to date. We completed an eight day kayaking/camping excursion up the east coast, covering over 96 kilometers. It was one of the most rewarding travel experiences we’ve ever had,” said Dalene.
The two self-proclaimed nomads recently stopped off in Ireland: “We were just in Ireland for a conference on travel blogging, and also to spend some more time in a country that we love. We last visited for the summer of 2010, taking care of a house for a friend in County Meath. We saw a lot of the country during those two months, and we knew we had to come back.”
“Just a few hours in the country reminded us exactly why we wanted to return – because of the incredibly friendly people. We always feel well taken care of and this visit was no different. We loved every minute of it,” said Dalene.
Don’t be fooled, this lifestyle is not easy. “Most of us nomadic-types work very hard at a number of different things in order to make this lifestyle sustainable.”
Between them, the couple share a host of skills that they utilize to “put food on the table”. Dalene is a writer, event planner, social media consultant, teacher and videographer. Peter is a professional photographer and teacher.
“This has all been a long time in the works, and anyone who thinks they can start a blog and simply travel the world for free is sadly mistaken,” they write on their blog.
Like everything in life travelling has its ups and downs, fatigue and frustration can creep in at times says Dalene. However, those moments “are few in comparison to how much we absolutely love our lifestyle”.
Whether you’ve got wanderlust in your blood or you simply wish to get away from it all, there has never been a better time.
“I do think that people should just travel more. There is so much to be learned by visiting a new corner of the world – not just about how others live, but to learn more about ourselves.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.