As the weather grows colder, many students are left scrambling for warm and stylish ensembles. Texas State’s sum of fashion bloggers are here to help students get through this fall with their blogs and fashion advice in tow.
Texas State is home to a myriad of online personalities and identities, but one fashion blogger says she created her blog out of personal necessity.
Akosua Asare, public relations sophomore, said she created her blog, “Fat Vogue,” due to the fact she never knew if clothes were good quality or if they fit true-to-size when shopping online.
“I decided I would do store reviews, hauls and provide resources to plus-size fashion influencers,” Asare said. “That’s what I would want from a blog and that’s what other people have told me they want from a blog.”
Even though it started as a school project for her Fundamentals of Digital and Online Media class, Asare has been using the blog to normalize and debunk what it means to be “plus sized” in society.
“I don’t know why stores like Target, for example, think all plus-size people want to wear these floral dresses that are the ugliest pieces of clothing,” Asare said. “Why not create things that look like the rest of your store? I just don’t understand.”
Campus offers more than just fashion bloggers; make-up blogs have proven useful as well.
Dana Hiser, fashion merchandising senior, said she decided to write her blog, “The FMA Daily,” on makeup instead of clothing because she felt more knowledgeable on the subject. She picked up on the craft her freshman year of college and started watching tutorials on YouTube.
“(Makeup) is an art form,” Hiser said. “It definitely enhances my confidence and relaxes me in the morning. It does, let’s be honest, make me look a little better. Throughout the day, with makeup, I feel more powerful. I think it’s a good thing to have, that confidence, and I want that to be known to my readers.”
Hiser said she finds makeup tutorials on YouTube useful, but thinks they can get a bit boring and repetitive.
“I think blogging adds an additional aspect to (YouTube videos) because you can explain what’s happening in more detail and in written word why you did what you did and why you chose the products you chose and things like that,” Hiser said.
Similarly, Nahara Franklin, psychology senior, has taken to vlogging as her creative outlet. After posting her first video six years ago on YouTube and launching her instagram, @bellezacurlz, she sought to show that confidence does not have one look or definition.
Franklin said she tried to move away from Euro-centric beauty when she started her pages.
“Being a girl with a darker complexion and being a bit thicker, I’m not ‘typical beauty,’” Franklin said. “Embracing my big nose and lips, my kinky curly hair, embracing big pores and having oily skin and that kind of thing is something I wanted to inspire black girls to do. All they see in the media is the opposite of that.”
Texas State is home to creative minds in both beauty and fashion. Students have taken their creativity and skill to the internet to share their passion with others, with hopes to inspire.