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mountholyokephotoblog-blog · 10 years

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Sam Doolittle ’14 at Willits-Hallowell bridge.

Oxford: Old Navy / Pencil Skirt: J.Crew Factory / Belt: Vintage / Necklace: Gift, Mother / Giraffe Bracelet: Banana Republic / Watch: Urban Outfitters / Wrap Bracelet: Pandora / Gold Flower Bracelet: Elephant’s Trunk Flea Market, Connecticut / Earrings: Vintage

FEMME FASHION Fashion blogging has been up and coming in the recent years. This past December, English and Theater major Sam Doolittle ’14 launched one of her own called Style Queery, a site that draws attention to both fashion and the queer femme identity. Every Friday, Doolittle features other Mount Holyoke students who identify themselves with the femme community to showcase their interpretations of the word “femme” as well as their personal style. In this Q&A, Doolittle describes her journey as a fashion blogger thus far and offers advice for aspiring bloggers and femme fashionistas. See more of Sam’s blog at: www.stylequeery.com.

What brought the idea for your blog Style Queery?

S: I’ve been blogging intermittently since high school, actually! Mostly poetry, creative non-fiction, things like that. It wasn’t until I came to college that I started toying with the idea of creating a style blog. Over the past year, though, I received a lot of encouragement from friends and family to take the risk, so I finally jumped the gun this past December. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to use my blog as an opportunity to draw attention to femme identity and to help fight femme invisibility by planting a metaphorical flag in the blogosphere, so to speak. My identity as a femme is something that developed over a considerable period of time—I identified as queer long before I embraced “femme” as an identifier. But my time at Mount Holyoke has helped me become more comfortable with who I am. I’m now so proud to be femme! I chose the title “Style Queery” with the hope that it would reflect both my individual identity and the greater purpose of my blog. What are some aspects of fashion blogging that you enjoy?

S: Definitely taking photos in 0° weather without a coat! Just kidding. Collaboration is probably my favorite part. The style blogging community is impressively huge. Since fashion is such a common interest, it allows you to interact with individuals all over the world. It’s inspiring to see how different people use clothing to express themselves. Some style blogs stick with more classic aesthetics, some style blogs are crazy weird, but they’re all fabulous because they’re these character portraits, these visualizations of personality. I love that.

Describe your style.

S: I suppose that first and foremost my style is defined by COLOR—lots of it. I have always loved color. I was sporting obscene color-blocking combinations as soon as I was old enough to dress myself (think: red and magenta, or yellow and orange…pretty horrific). I mean, I spend a good part of the winter bundled up in a bright-pink pea coat! It’s funny, because I’ve never really thought twice about it, but then I studied abroad in Scotland, where everyone generally sticks to a palette of dark neutrals (black, grey, brown). I, of course, packed the rainbow! I stood out like such a sore thumb. Ah well. For me, color allows me to communicate joy and optimism; I like to think it’s a reflection of my personality. Cheerful, but admittedly (obnoxiously) loud at times. Beyond color, I generally prefer clean silhouettes and classic pieces—oxfords, blazers, crewneck sweaters, high-waisted skirts. But I also like to experiment with patterns, textures, layers. I try to push myself beyond my comfort zone every now and then.

Please explain “Femme Fridays.”

S: Femme Fridays is actually my favorite part of Style Queery! I knew when I first launched my blog that I wanted to feature other individuals who identify as (queer) femmes. The best way to fight femme invisibility—as well as the gross number of misconceptions about femmes that persist within both queer and straight communities—is to increase visibility. What better way to do that than to highlight as many fabulous and fearless femmes as I can? Every person’s interpretation of “femme” is different, and my goal is to feature as many of these perspectives as possible. What has been really exciting is all of the dialogue and conversation that Femme Fridays has encouraged. I love speaking with other femmes about their identity. What does “femme” mean to them? When did they first begin identifying as a femme? The answers are as diverse as the individuals who provide them. It’s really, really wonderful. This blog has helped to increase femme visibility in places where it’s often lacking (and quite honestly, it’s lacking in a heck of a lot of places!)—and when it comes down to it, that’s really what I want most.

Describe what you do to maintain a blog. Any tips you can give to aspiring bloggers?

S: It’s actually a lot more work than I thought it would be! It took a while to build the website and get it to look the way I wanted it to. I had to teach myself CSS so that I could edit the website’s coding—and I’m very right-brain oriented, so you can imagine how much of a learning curve that was! Now that the blog has been up for a few months, I spend most of my time working on content. I try to post about 3 times a week, and I post Femme Fridays (FF) biweekly. I initially tried to do FF every week, but my senior thesis quickly made that an impossibility, especially since I have to edit video footage along with the photos. But despite the work, it’s a lot of fun! I like that it keeps me busy, and I find it to be a really nice distraction from my day-to-day responsibilities. If I were to offer any advice (and since I’m relatively new myself, I feel a bit silly doing so!), I suppose it would be to blog about what you love—your passion (or lack thereof) will definitely show, and blogging will quickly lose its appeal if you’re not writing about things you care about. Also, don’t be afraid to use your own voice! There’s absolutely no need to change your personal writing style to “appeal” to wider audiences. The people you want to reach will find you. It just takes time! And networking. Definitely a lot of networking.

Who is one trendsetter in the fashion industry that you admire?

S: Okay, so she isn’t actually in the fashion industry, but I love, love, love Lupita Nyong’o (who is currently best known for her performance in Twelve Years a Slave). She is just so incredibly radiant and beautiful. Practically every single ensemble she’s ever worn on the red carpet has left me drooling! She’s not afraid to experiment with color or architecture, and I love that. I mean, her red Ralph Lauren gown at the 2014 Golden Globes came complete with an attached cape. It sounds bizarre but it was beautiful and she just rocked it. The coolest part, I think, is that she’s actually a graduate of Hampshire College! As for someone within the fashion industry, I am really loving Christian Siriano’s designs lately. He won Project Runway a long time ago and he’s been producing consistently amazing collections pretty much ever since. He recently debuted his 2014 Autumn/Winter collection during New York Fashion Week, and it’s full of these incredible silhouettes evocative of My Fair Lady. Really, really great. Not to mention Christian Siriano himself is just so cute and sassy!

What do you do to prepare photo ops for Style Queery?

S: I wish I could say that I have a consistent schedule, but I totally don’t. It very often happens on a whim. I don’t plan my outfits ahead of time, so it really depends on how inspired I’m feeling when I get dressed in the morning. Sometimes I go all out, and other times I pull on a pair of jeans and a sweater and call it a day. I try to capture those days when I do feel inspired. And, of course, there’s the matter of finagling my friends into helping me take the photographs. One of these days I’m going to buy them all Chef Jeffs to thank them for risking pneumonia just to take detail shots of my jewelry! My Femme Friday shoots are more organized. Individuals sign up to be featured a specific week, and then I contact them to determine a date to meet, take photographs, and film the interview. The only thing I tell them is to wear something that makes them feel “femme-y.” I want them to have as much input in the shoot as they’d like. My goal is to make the process as relaxed—and fun!—as possible. If anyone is interested in collaborating with me for Femme Fridays, please contact me! I would love to meet you and add your voice to the queer femme community.

When you graduate this year, how will your blog change or develop?

S: You know, this is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, and I’m not yet sure that I have an answer. I know that I plan to keep running the blog, and since it usually takes about a year or two to really develop a strong internet presence, I have a lot of optimism about its future. Moving forward, I would love to expand my outreach within both the style blogging and queer communities, especially through collaborations with other individuals who share my interests but who can also bring different perspectives to the table with them. I think I am most excited (and, admittedly, nervous) to see how Style Queery will change once I leave the Mount Holyoke “bubble.” Our campus is, for the most part, a wonderfully inclusive, supportive, and safe space, as is the greater Pioneer Valley. The “real world,” so to speak, is very different, and not always in a good way. I think blogging will definitely become harder, especially when it comes to meeting individuals interested in collaborating for Femme Fridays. But it will also be exciting to be in a new environment with new people! Regardless, I welcome the challenge because I’m determined to continue spreading femme visibility wherever I end up.

Photo Credit: Kennedy Warner ‘16

See original post here via Mount Holyoke News.

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