Today, I’m telling part 2 (part one here) of my story on why authenticity is so important to me, but first, I wanna talk about this Express cardigan from a couple seasons ago.
As I mentioned in this post, I’m trying to be a little more fiscally responsible and style pieces I already own. As a style blogger, that can be really hard. Rarely do people want to engage in content that they can no longer get their hands on. I’m the same way, so I totally get it! I hate when I click in to a post to grab the link to purchase and I see that dreaded word similar. I don’t want similar, I want exact!
Well, you’re in a little bit of luck. This cardigan is still available this season, but sadly, not in this color. The color options this season are red, pink, white, and black. They fit true to size and are fully stocked in sizes XXS-XL. Oh! And they’re 50% off right now, making it only $29.95! If it’s the color you’re after, this cardigan from Express is a true match, but not currently on sale. Its price is $59.90 and available in sizes XS-L.
Without further ado, we’ll move on to the second part of my struggle with authenticity and why it remains so important to me. On Wednesday, I left off with saying how hard it is to realize that a dream wasn’t really your dream at all. Maybe a better way to word it is that I realized quickly that my dream wasn’t all it was cracked up to be? I’ll explain further.
It wasn’t the days that it was slow and I binged Gossip Girl that got me down. It wasn’t the days that I was so busy I didn’t get a chance to pee that did me in. Breaking down and ordering crochet boot socks and printed leggings, and them selling out before they hit the sales floor is when I knew that I’d thrown away $50K on something I hated and I died inside a little upon that realization.
My goal was to bring something different to Gadsden. I wanted to create a SOCA meets Revolve- type store and my faux leather leggings and leopard vests hung on a rack and collected dust. As a sort of experiment, I ordered those heinous printed fleece lined leggings and the crocheted lace boot socks. I posted a “sneak peak: Arriving Thursday” to Instagram and Facebook and managed to sell them all on preorder before they even arrived on the doorstep.
A good business woman would have realized that these type items are what people want and placed a reorder for those and similar, but I was too heartbroken that instead, a few weeks later, I had a 75% off sale, donated what didn’t sell to charity, and locked the doors.
I’d tried really hard to create what I felt was an extension of my own closet, to bring an edgier style to my hometown, and the fact that I had to order clothing and accessories that felt completely inauthentic and off brand from what I was trying to build was incredibly upsetting.
I had started my blog the prior year, and had started to gain a little bit of a following, and looking back, I wish I’d have invested $50K in myself, rather than left it in the hands of my community. That sounds bad, but it is what it is.
So there it is. If I wasn’t able to swallow my pride and let go of my authenticity to make a buck, then I figure it’s just the way I’m built. And I’m OK with that! While sticking to my guns hasn’t gotten me very far yet, I know that it’ll pay off one day!