Blogger spotlight: Styled by Stacy

Blogger spotlight: Styled by Stacy

With a bachelor's degree in Fashion Merchandising from Ursuline College - which also afforded her the opportunity to study in New York City at the Fashion Institute of Technology - Anastasia (Stacy) Wiley knows style. The Mentor resident channeled her passion for fashion into her blog, Styled by Stacy.

Before it was a full website, Styled by Stacy began as a page on Facebook, the social media channel with which she was most familiar. "It's what I grew up with," Wiley said. She shared her outfits and fashion tips on her Facebook page.

About a year later, she helped a friend shop for an outfit to wear to the friend's baby shower, a shopping trip that acted as a catalyst to writing blog posts. Wiley figured that if her friend wanted style advice, other people did, too - and she could cover more ground in a blog post than on Facebook.

Once her blog was up and running, she joined Instagram. "I felt like I was late to the party," she said. Joining Instagram was a huge step forward for her, and it helped her "learn about the blogging community and ways to make a living" from her blog.

Wiley also credits Style Collective's online community and e-courses with helping her get started; it was there she learned how to reach out for collaborations, meet other bloggers, and get her blog up and running.

"Being with [the Style Collective] has made me embrace my blog more," she said. Her biggest takeaway so far? Be authentic as a blog author.

For Wiley, this means keeping a local aspect to every one of her blog posts. "I'm on a mission to see what Cleveland has to offer [and share that with readers]," she said.

Finding inspiration can be a daunting task, but Wiley looks to social media and what she sees her peers wearing for insight.

Right now, she's seeing a lot of the athleisure trend, which won't be going away anytime soon. Even so, her biggest piece of style advice is to be yourself without being a slave to trends - but also never be afraid to try new things.
 

Tuesday, June 13, 2017