The Disney Fashion Blog is Back – Changes and New Ideas
Hello, hello 🙂 This is just a little post to tell you where I have been and where I want to head with this blog. You may have noticed that I wasn’t posting regularly last year and that I have taken a break from posting for the last 2 months completely. I have been thinking about what I want with this hobby and what I do not want and how I can achieve it next to my job and other hobbies. Some of you may know the reason I started this blog, it used to be something I did just for myself. I never thought that I would have so many clicks and people on here one day. Just want to say thank you and I hope, this blog will help even more in the future to decide wether you want to hunt down a specific dress or not 🙂 Since I started, I have gotten better at taking pictures, I know from your questions what information you are looking for and I know that many of my old articles do not cover everything you may want to know. Which is why I will update many of them.
My Goals
This was a hard one to get down. I am in between being as helpful as possible and doing what is fun. These four goals are the result:
- Helpful content: I would like my articles to be more informative and add all information I have -> Therefore I will update all my old articles that I can update with new photos and information. All new articles will already be in this format and hopefully give you lots of information
- I just wanna have fun: I want this to be fun for me as well, not a routine or job -> Posts may be less regular from now on. I will not work in advance like I used to, i will take pictures, videos and write articles when I truly want to.
- New ideas: Since I want this blog to be fun, I will incorporate new formats that challenge my creativity. I already tested a few like discussing all versions of a specific dress etc. I also think about building capsule wardrobes, create full outfits around a piece etc. I just want to be more creative and present something informative for you at the same time.
- Growth is not the goal: I will not chase actuality for clicks. I know my Shimamura articles brought me lots of new people because the brand is talked about at the moment. But I am at a point where I do not want to have an even bigger collection. I may buy an outfit in the future, because I like it, but I will not i. e. buy that Rapunzel or any other Shimamura costume just to review it for the clicks. I thought about it as an opportunity to grow and it really would be. But I realised that growth is not my goal. I just want to have fun 🙂 And appreciate the things that I own.
New Article Template and Updates
Since I want this blog to give you as much information as I can on all of the pieces I cover and already have covered, I decided to update my article template. The new template structures the articles better, making it easier and hopefully also more fun to read. I have boxes with facts like original prices, release dates, availability etc. I also started to implement all the videos I have been filming showcasing the dresses so you can have a look at them in movement. Along with that I also started taking pictures of the dresses on me, now that I can wear most of them again as well as adding more detail shots of the dresses to give you the maximum of information.
New Formats and Ideas
I was thinking about new article ideas, that would be fun for me to write and (hopefully) also fun to read while being informative. One format that I have tested last year was “Dress History” in which I talk about all the versions of a specific dress. Judging from the clicks, you seem to like the post about Casual Coronation Anna a lot. The idea of these posts is to give you an overview over all the versions that exist of a specific dress with as much info as possible to help you decide which version is the right one for you.
Another format I tested was “Wearing Disney Fashion for … Days Straight” in which I challenge myself to wear full Disney outfits for a set amount of days and see how I and also people around me react. You guys also seemed to like this format, I tested it in November in my holidays: Seven Days of Disney Fashion. I would like to do a Summer, Spring and Automn version of this format too, just to see, how the different seasons make me feel.
I also tested a capsule wardrobe format on my Instagram and TikTok. You guys seem to like that idea as well and I have ideas for Anna and Elsa Capsule wardrobes. But I will adapt my Rapunzel Capsule for the blog in spring first to see, if that is something that translates well into an article or if it is only interesting in video format.
More "How to Buy"s
I have tested many ways of buying Japanese Disney Fashion since 2014 and I would lik to add more tutorial like articles for you, for example on World shopping that you can use to get Shimamura from their website directly instead of going over mercari.jp where the pieces will be more expensive. I have one on buying from mercari.jp using Buyee already.
These are the questions that get to me the most, so I feel that these articles could help lot’s of people in their quest of getting their dream Disney closet.
I have Enough Disney Clothes
That realization was brewing for quite some time. Of course, I do still have my wishlist and would love to get those pieces. But honestly, I think, I do have more than enough. I still have more than a year worth of articles of dresses that I have not yet covered on my blog, especially costumes. So from that point of view, I do not need more.
Last year I have been mainly shopping for accessories to complete my favourite outfits. I also want to reduce shopping for bags, shoes etc. Because frankly, I have no space. And I would like to save that money for other things. Like holidays, or save it for buying an appartment in the future etc.
I started a Cosplay account and this opens a whole new barrel that I am unsure i want to open. Wigs, boots and shoes, jewellery, a better camera, green screen… Let’s face it, it is expensive. I can make some stuff myself, but other thinngs I would have to buy. I am just very unsure at the moment… So the cosplay account may lead nowhere.
Maybe I have finally become an adult. I simply want to save my money for my longterm goals. I am done with consuming and shopping so much. I would rather make beautiful memories on holiday with my boyfriend, wearing a Disney outfit I already have.
Reducing the Disney Collection
I still want to loose a bit more weight until I fit back into all of my dresses. When I have finally hit my goal, I decided that I will start to reduce my collection to the pieces and outfits I love most. Most of it will probably be from 2015, because that is my favourite release year of Secret Honey 🙂
There are pieces that are not comfy for me to wear, because of i. e. the armscye being far too small for me. There are things that do not sit right and that I do not like on me (like the Queen Anna bolero of the costume and also the little jacket of Olaf’s Frozen Adventure Anna). I did not realize until last year when I was so focused on how I looked because of loosing weight. So I will go through all of my pieces and sell the ones I do not feel comfy or beautiful in. There are also things I held on to because of my blog. But now that I am updating it anyway, I think I will be able to let these pieces go because I know I do not need them for that reason anymore.
So, i will put up some things in my shop in automn probably.
Montize this Hobby?
Also something I thought about. But I do not want to do it for two reasons:
- It is my hobby. In my definition, a hobby simply has to bring me joy. Monetizing it would add a layer of urgency, I would have to deliver. And I do not want that
- I hate all the ads on blogs. And I simply do not want to do this to you guys ^^’ I mean, I could place one or two somewhere where it does not disturb too much. But this blog is in such a niche, it would be random ads that add nothing. I don’t see the point.
I did set up a Ko-Fi so if you are happy with the blog and are willing to, there is the possibility to buy me a coffee 🙂 I have added a little box in my new template with the link that can easily be skipped for those who are not interested. But I expect no one to, because at the end of the day, I am not an artist or an expert that has a lot to offer 🙂 Simply someone who was far to invested in Secret Honey for over a decade and has a bit of information about it.
See Where the Road will Take me
I have worked a lot on myself behind the scenes last year, had many realizations and I have changed a bit. That is why I have put some thought into the future of this blog as well. I started it at a low point in my life to lift me up and keep me doing something. It did exactly that. But I have changed and this blog should change with me. I feel that now it is finally time that it has a different purpose: bring me joy. My thoughts are not all thought through till the end yet, things are still changing, so I do not know 100 % where this road is leading. I will just go with the flow and see.
Thank you very, very much to everyone that reads even a single article, likes a post on Instagram, TikTok or Facebook and Youtube. Your messages about your finds are what make me most happy 🙂
Love,
Ella
