SF Tech Fashion Week Blogger Event

Fashion Tech Week 2015

Shetalks Forum & Fashion Blogger Event

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a blogger event for San Francisco Fashion Tech Week. I was joined by my friend and fellow blogger, Cassie of Cassandra's Corner. It was an evening filled with knowledge, inspiration and of course, lots of networking!

One of my favorite things to do is to listen to inspirational women explain how they got to where they are now. Being at this forum was like being a little kid in a candy store, or in my case, a shoe store! I love to soak in any and every aspect of knowledge, and these panelists surely delivered.

The first forum focused on fashion blogging and how to successfully create and maintain your own personal brand. The ladies included Amy Roiland of A Fashion Nerd, Alisa Rajkitkul of XOXO Alyssa, and my personal favorite, Julia Framel of Technically Sweet. Amy, along with managing a successful blog, has created her own app aimed towards helping fashion bloggers produce revenue off their posts. She has created a photo-sharing app that allows you to tag your items and make commission off of the people who purchase that item through your tag. Personally, I thought this was a genius way of not only making a little bit of money, but also a great platform for networking with fellow bloggers. Along with being a super smart app creator, Amy was just your goofy and down-to earth girl next door.... just with a much better bag! Next, I related a lot to Alyssa, who spoke about growing up a painfully shy child and using her blog as a way to express her creative nature. Her background is a lot more exciting than mine, having grown up in Thailand and having a mother who is a well-known bridal designer. None the less, her unique accent mixed with a passion for creating made her an insightful person to listen to. Lastly, I instantly was drawn to Julia and her adorably feminine style. That white lace dress and those fringe golden bangs? I knew we needed to be besties. Julia explained how she has worked for NASA, Sony and Google. She showed that as a woman, you can have it all; incredible style, brilliance and grace. The main thing that was continually reiterated among the panelists was to never stop trying. I've heard that phrase a million times but there is something about hearing someone you admire say it that gives it a completely new context. 

The second panel was equally as inspirational, featuring a lady in a gorgeous red tulle gown that reminded me of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. I was just waiting for Richard Gere to walk out with a velvet blue jewelry box. That lady happened to be Leah Hunter, writer at Fast Company. A free spirit to the core, she revealed that her attire was chosen to her by her four year old daughter. Only a truly confident woman would go to school and then a panel discussion in her 1980's prom dress... I liked her already. She was also quite feisty, continually challenging the questions implying negative connotations about successful women. She was followed by Jill Fraser, CEO of Jill Milan LLC. I related to her in that she had successfully achieved a high position in an industry that I will be entering in the near future. It was especially empowering to hear that she was a CEO, because even in the female dominated fashion industry, most CEO's in fashion are still men.  Lastly, Meghan Cast was the VP of marketing at Threadflip. I enjoyed her perspective on blogging because it was completely against the norm. She encouraged us to quit our day jobs if it is not the thing that fuels our passion. The way to truly succeed is to pour your entire heart into something, which you can't do if you are trying to juggle everything else in life.

Each panelist brought something new and insightful to the table. I left with a whole new perspective on not only my blog and YouTube channel, but my career as a whole. I may never be on the cover of Forbes, (then again, who knows!) but if I can wake up everyday knowing that I'm doing what fills my heart, I will have succeeded in life. I will conclude with a wise thought I heard this weekend,
"If you want to achieve your goals, aim higher."