I had no idea how my last “blog talk” post would go over, but I certainly didn’t expect the response I did get. You guys bowled me over with your sweet comments and words of encouragement, and gave me a lot to think about – both in terms of what I want from blogging, and from this blog in particular. Above all, your comments gave me a renewed zest for writing. And for that, I thank you all again.
I’m a little reluctant to say definitively what this blog will or won’t be, now or in the future, other than … a work in progress. I’m going to try to incorporate some of your suggestions and, hopefully, we can continue to build a community here – together. I don’t want anyone to ever feel obligated to comment on posts, but at the same time, please know that your comments (and the perspective reflected in them) add immense value, and mean a lot to me. I can’t create a community by myself, as hard as I may try; and without it, there is really nothing that sets this blog apart from a million others out there, and then we might all as well go home. Along the same lines, I want you to know that you can always reach out to me (via comment or private email) if you have constructive criticism to share about what I’m writing or how I’m writing it. I may or may not always agree with you, but I promise that I will listen. And, of course, if you ever have a question that I can help with, I’ll be very happy to do so.
So, what does all that mean – for right now?
BCRL Lives On
You have not seen the end of me, yet. I hope that doesn’t sound like a threat.
Coming Attractions
Figuring out professional attire, remixing wardrobe elements, budget posts, thrifting and eBay how-tos, and make-up reviews were among the most popular topic suggestions you guys sent my way, so keep an eye out for them in the coming months. Other topics I’d like to write about are books (of course), consumer culture, and the fine balancing acts involved in being a working mother (because those are on my mind all the damn time). If you have other ideas or suggestions, please let me know.
New Features
Our discussions have also given me some ideas for retooling the blog a bit. You will notice a new page on the top menu bar, called “Work Capsules”. This is basically an amalgamation of all my monthly capsule posts, in one convenient location. In the future, and subject to your feedback, I may try to do something similar for casual outfits.
I am also working on a side bar featuring links to some of my most popular (substantive) posts, which will hopefully serve as an easy reference for anyone looking for specific topics from my archives.
My IT intern has not yet hit upon a novel solution for making blog interaction easier, but he’s working on it. (Where is that Facebook “like” button when you need it?) In the meantime, the commenting process will remain the same – please rest assured that I always approve every comment (provided you’re not a spambot), although it may take longer at certain times than others. Similarly, I will continue to make every effort to respond to each of your comments, if not immediately then certainly within a day or two.
Again, if you have any other suggestions for changes you’d like to see to the blog design, send them my way.
Same Old, Same Old
This will remain an affiliate link-free space. By the same token, I will most likely never link directly to any items I may be wearing. This is owing to sheer laziness on my part, not maliciousness. If you ever need help locating a piece you see on BCRL, give me a shout and I will do my best to point you in the right direction. (Brand names are always indicated in my photo captions, by the way.)
The photos are still going to be pretty crappy. Sorry. I don’t have the time or money to take professional photos on a regular basis, and I prefer to keep things authentic around here: the outfits you see are the outfits I wear, all day, every day. I will do my best to post the clearest photos an iPhone 6 is capable of taking – deal? Hey, look on the bright side: you will never have to scroll through a dozen nearly identical photos of my best over-the-shoulder, pensive-to-the-side blogger poses. You’re welcome.
Alright, your turn: tell me what’s on your mind.
I like your photos as they are – realistic! Just don’t start “wearing” your coat on your shoulders ok because I’m not above virtual bitch slaps 😉
Bwahahaha!! OK, deal.
Love you my dear! I’m so looking forward to the casual put togethers. I love the professional looks, they give me help if I should need to look good. But I work in a factory, not real dirty work, but sometimes the big brass wants to talk to you. And I’m a firm believer in the 1st impression. If you care about yourself, no matter what you do for a living, that care will probably spill over into your job.
I want to thank you for your hard work!
Thank YOU! Seriously, thank you so much for all your support. It means the world 🙂
And I agree about first impressions, and the psychological impacts of looking put together (on oneself, first and foremost). Clothes are not be a magical bullet if you’re unhappy with yourself or life, but they can give a boost of self-confidence that sometimes is all we need.
I’m glad you’re sticking around. I’d also like to know what you’re reading, even if you don’t have time for a substantive review. Just a worth it or not worth it. I’m always on the lookout for my next read!
Hey, that’s a great idea too! I struggle with writing book reviews – they take me forever! – because I’m naturally inclined to wordiness (say whaaaa?) and it’s always hard to stop myself from re-writing the whole novel in the synopsis. But maybe a regular feature on “what I’m reading now”? That could work!
I love your crappy pics 🙂 if I wanted glossy and photoshopped, I’d read a different blog. Keep keeping it real, lady. Your real style and real voice are what keep me interested. Glad you are sticking around.
Thanks, lady! I really appreciate your support – and the love of my crappy pics 😉
(and it’s good to see you around the comment section, missed ya there for a while)
So glad you are continuing to post! I enjoy reading your posts and love your style! Also glad to hear you may be posting book reviews and your thoughts about about consumer culture. Weirdly, I like reading about both of those things, ha.
I don’t think that’s weird at all, but maybe I’m biased because I enjoy reading about those things too. I’ve got a lot of ideas kicking about, so now it’s just a matter of finding time to write …
I don’t think your photos are crappy! Even inside, the lighting is good and the whole outfit is shown. I’ve seen soooo many bad mirror shots or awkward model poses on fashion blogs.
Looking forward to your thrifting/ebay tips. 😀 Also, I recently bought that jcrew beanstalk stripe blouse you’ve shown on here a few times because it looked really nice….even though I have a tons of black clothes and hardly anything navy haha.
That’s an awesome blouse! Have you received it? What do you think?
I think there is an eBay post coming up in the next week or so. I’m probably going to end up doing a 3-parter (in turns out, I have a lot of thoughts about eBay, LOL!), which reminds me … I really need to get going on Parts 2 and 3 😉
I don’t think your photos are bad, either. On the contrary, I quite like them! I also am looking forward to your posts on ebay. I bought an item on ebay for the first time just the other day, but it was just a lego set for my daughter. I would love to hear about clothes shopping on there.
I’ve been a reader for a couple of months now and I enjoy your writing and your sense of humor. I’ll try to comment more often now, even though I don’t have a blog. Does it matter if I don’t have a blog? Anyway, I love your blog. Thanks for sharing!
Oh my gosh, no. You definitely don’t need to have a blog to comment! Based on the comments I get, I would say that a lot of the people who read BCRL don’t have blogs – but perhaps other bloggers feel more comfortable commenting? In any case, I hope you will do so again – I love hearing from everyone 🙂
I do have an eBay post coming up, and I’m going to start digging through the archives because I know I’ve done a lot of shopping posts before, and it’s just a matter of putting them all in one easy-to-find place.
I didn’t comment on the other post because I saw you had 100+ comments and that was probably plenty, but I’m definitely going to comment here because I can finally give something back re: WordPress & your site! I work at WordPress.com so I’m slightly biased, but you should definitely check out the plugin we made for self-hosted sites (like yours) called Jetpack – you can install those sharing buttons with a single click!
I won’t drop URLs here because I don’t want it to look spammy, but please email me with any blog/WordPress questions, I’m happy to help. You help me with fashion 🙂
Thank you so much for the offer – I may have to take you up on it! I do have Jetpack, or some version of it, so I’m going to take a look – but if I run into any questions (which is very much probable, LOL!) I will definitely send an SOS 😉
I like your photos too! I guess I’m biased because most of my favorite blogs of all time were primarily mirror-selfie based personal style blogs, but I’ve never felt like magazine-looking photos were particularly important for me to enjoy a blog.
I’m definitely looking forward to your Ebay posts.
Thanks 🙂 Hopefully they’ll be helpful to people – I’m not sure I really have any ground-breaking “secrets” to share.
Not sure my last comment went through, so I’ll try again…
Yay! Glad to hear you’ll be continuing with your blog. I’ve only discovered your blog recently, so am glad that there will be more posts to enjoy.
I think your photos are nice for iphone photos! I like normal, down to earth photos you post on your blog vs the fashion blogger-wanna-be-model poses. You seem pretty down to earth to me 🙂
I do enjoy seeing your work outfits and your casual outfits. My clothes are either business casual (though a bit more casual than what you wear) or non-work clothes. I can’t be bothered dressing up to do errands around the house or out and about with a toddler, but I think I can step it up a notch. Even a tiny notch would look like I made a decent effort! While I see a lot of fashion bloggers post nice casual outfits in jeans and heels, I have to admit that’s not my thing. My feet prefer comfort. So I look forward to seeing how others dress for weekend wear.
I also look forward to reading your ebay posts. I’ve never shopped for clothes on ebay. Frankly, I’m a bit scared to do so! What do you think of sites like poshmark or thredup?
Nally, I’m so so sorry! Two of your comments got caught up in the spam filter for some reason, so I never saw them. Thank you so much for trying again – your comments are very important to me, and I really appreciate your taking the time to leave them.
I have never tried Poshmark and ThredUp because they don’t offer their services in Canada, unfortunately. I know that other people have used them with success; I would expect that it’s generally easier to buy something on there than sell, which involves more work. Perhaps some of the other readers from the US can share their insights/experiences. If you don’t get any responses on this post, I will invite comments on one of my eBay posts, and hopefully people will chime in then.