I recently asked you to share your thoughts and help shape the future of my Confessions of a Refashionista by completing a short n’ simple survey and I was delighted by your fabulous responses!
Take a look at The Refashionista Survey Results Are In and get a bit more personal with yours truly:
The age range was awesomely varied from 24 – 68 years old proving that there’s no age limit when it comes to refashioning & creating your own unique thrifty style!
On an interesting side note according to the Confessions of a Refashionista behind the scenes age demographic stats my blog is most popular with 25 – 34 year olds…
Survey responses came from all over the world with most arriving from the U.S & U.K.
A whopping 95% pop over for my refashions followed closely by my free tutorials, thrifty style & this quirky refashionista herself!
From these stats I’m thinking more DIYs for gals, accessories & home decor shall be seen in the future!
Hooray! My past life as a teacher has come in handy once again!
Yay! 65% of you want to see me sharing DIYs & spreading the positive refashioned-thrifty-sustainable style message on TV!
Boo! 29% of you don’t…harumph!
I’m not exactly sure how to interpret those stats or if there’s any particular reason the bulk of the “no” responses were from those in their 50’s but I won’t let it detract from my ambition!
What is your favourite part of Confessions of a Refashionista?
I was completely overwhelmed & incredibly touched by the variety of awesome responses to this question and thrilled to find out that you not only visit for my “clever creative refashions & tutorials” but also for my “bubbly, humorous personality” and “great energy, making us feel like its easy and we should not be afraid to try everything!”
I would love to share all of the wonderful responses but as there are simply too many here are a few of my faves:
“You’re a quirky writer with out of the box thinking for refashions, and you interact with folks. It’s really nice to get a comment back! I love that you’re not just another “brand name” knock off fashion blogger!!”
“I really like the fact that your enthusiasm and personality come through in your posts.”
“Love your bubbly personality. Oh, yes, and the refashions! Seriously, you have so many unique and helpful ideas.“
“Inspirational and at the same time achievable. I love the variety of ideas you have, the fact that you update it frequently and the personality with which it is all delivered. “
“You crack me up! And I love your refashions.”
It may surprise you to know that my real life is incredibly unhappy, lonely and isolated. Not having any friends or family for support means that my blog is my happy place and refuge where I am free to be my cheery self while at the same time sharing my talents to brighten the days of those who may be going through a difficult time as well.
The kind-hearted comments of encouragement & gratitude I receive help me keep my positive attitude and inject some much needed sun into my troubled grey days.
Discovering that my creativity, hard work & dedication inspire others to create their own unique (life)style boosts my imagination, motivates me to continue and fills my heart to bursting!
What, if anything, would you (realistically) change about Confessions of a Refashionista?
Amazingly most of the responses to this question were variations on the word “nothing” however there were a couple that had me scratching my head a bit:
“Maybe some refashion ideas for those of us with a little more meat on their bones.”
I am very proud that I am able to come up with tutorials that use no measurements and are easily adaptable to any shape & size. As my DIYs utilize the clothing that fits you well as a guide to transform what you already have in your existing wardrobe, linen closet and items easily found in your local thrift & charity shops you should have very little difficulty modifying my tutorials to create a style and fit that works specifically for you.
“I would love to see DIY Refashions for women with a non-perfect-body size.”
Pfffft! Who in the universe has a perfect body? and what does that even mean nowadays? Beauty comes in all shapes, sizes and types of packaging. Having struggled with eating disorders and years of being ridiculously critical of myself I’m finally at a point where I can look in the mirror and appreciate & accept what I see (most of the time) perceived flaws and all!
Part of the reason I started refashioning was because absolutely NOTHING off-the-rack ever fit me properly – did that mean my body was a bizarre shape? Nope! It means that clothing manufacturers have still not grasped the fact that we are not all built the same and have an incredibly narrow view of how women should look. Don’t let your opinions about yourself and others be swayed by that ridiculous way of thinking.
Having confidence and a positive self-image regardless of how others see you is paramount to mental health and well-being.
It is my sincere hope that my easily adaptable tutorials and thrifty outfits can inspire everyone, regardless of age, size or finances to step outside of the dictates of fashion and create their own unique style that makes them feel absolutely fabulous inside & out!
“I would skip the strange refashions such as taking a slip or curtain and making a garment out of it. It reminds me of the Carol Burnett episode where she makes a dress out of a curtain in a take-off of Gone with the Wind.”
This comment totally cracked me up & had me snorting tea out of my nose! Hilariously this is not the first time I’ve been compared to Carol Burnett, I also get Lucille Ball quite often as well, both iconic comedians that I take great pleasure in being compared to! I love transforming thrifted vintage textiles into groovy gear & shan’t be stopping anytime soon.
If you don’t like it, don’t make it – it’s that simple.
Anything else you’d like to add?
“Love your blog, I’m new to refashioning and your ideas are really helping me get into it.”
“Every day I am looking forward for a new article from C.o.a.R.!!! I love your website!!! Stay the way you are!”
“Please keep the quirk coming… so tired of blogs that take themselves and their writing too seriously.”
“I just appreciate the work you do — keep it up.”
“You are amazing and an inspiration!”
“Please, please keep going with it. I really look forward to all your posts.”
A massive Canadian bear squeeze to all those who took the time to respond and share their thoughts!
Can I just say I love you? I have not been reading any blogs (or writing anything on my own blog) for several months 🙁 and I’ve just missed it so much.
You are one of my absolute favourites: Down to earth, funny, not TRYING too hard like some others out there. Someone in the comments mentioned that this is WAY better than viewing fashion blogs. It’s true. I never even go there. Refashioning and thrifting is a different mindset and it’s not for everyone but that’s OK. To each his own and honestly, I can’t believe you’re receiving mean comments. That’s awful. I say if you don’t like it, shut up, don’t write a comment and move on. Geez, why is that so hard for some people?
I wish you much happiness. I know not having support around you is extremely difficult and lonely and as you know, sometimes your virtual world can help. A great big hug and I just KNOW things will get better for you. Just keep doing what you’re doing!
Thank you so very much for taking the time to comment Vee.
It is incredibly bizarre that so many people think it is completely acceptable to take out their aggression(s) on strangers on the internet. The unnecessary & ridiculous messages I receive are not always cruel in nature but they are most definitely aggressive, occur on daily basis and have included everything from disbelief that I am as “old as 41” & demands of proof of my age to naked photos of male genitalia. Luckily I have a rather awesome sense of humour and most of time can easily have a laugh at the insanity. Such is life in the public eye of the internet – unsurprisingly a phenomenon that targets many more women bloggers than men! 🙁
I remember that horrible post the tumblr meanies wrote about Refashionista Jillian around the time I started refashioning, they seemed jealous of her figure but if clothes don’t fit why don’t they just buy fabric or why don’t they use the textiles or mix n match garments of smaller sizes from charity shops? And the way they don’t seem to care about environmental or humanitarian issues, a refashionista’s ultimate goals!
I haven’t received any criticism yet for refashioning but I do kind of ‘expect’ mean comments online, I still feel wary of blogging my photos but it’s impersonal just to whack a garment on a mannequin. Re: the textiles – refashion blogs are so much more fun to look at than generic fashion blogs, the prints and styles are more unusual. And of course, curtains take up a lot of space in small charity shops so it’s great to find ideas to put these to use instead of collecting dust.
I have my fair share of cruel comments, some days opening my e-mail is quite horrible…however all it really means is that I’m in the public eye and am becoming more well-known online which is not a bad thing at all as my message is getting seen & shared by enough people to start bringing the attention of those sad, lonely trolls who have nothing better to do but try to rip others apart with sh*tty anonymous comments to make themselves feel better about their own depressing lives. I simply don’t publish those hostile comments, answer the e-mails or respond to the messages left on my social media.
My blog is my home online and as I wouldn’t allow strangers to come into my house and shout hate at my face I most certainly won’t let them do it on my Confessions of a Refashionista.
Am sorry people are like this! I disabled anonymous comments maybe that’s why. But as the sayings go ‘do nothing say nothing be nothing’; ‘denial. anger. acceptance then change’; ‘those who say something is impossible are interrupted by those already doing it’… so I presume it is their insecurities lashing out on those who have found a footing and style / personality / charisma of their own!
I’m ashamed to say that yes, I was a little surprised when you said that your ‘real life’ is not quite as sunny as your blog. I should know better. Sometimes it’s easy to assume that someone can be happy and upbeat because their life is easier. Well, maybe sometimes, but mostly it’s because they make an effort to find happiness, and to spread it around a little, even if that takes some effort. It touched me that you shared that.
And just to let you know that it’s working! On those days where I need to maybe dig a little deeper, your blog is certainly somewhere I love to be. Please do keep going – you’re ace!
On a lighter note, I do love a good tablecloth, bedsheet garment! Please keep those in there!
Thanks so very much for letting me know that my blog is one of your “happy-places”. You have no idea how awesome it feels to know that my hard work is helping others and not going unnoticed.
It saddens me that more people don’t feel compelled to send a bit of happy my way by leaving a short comment or simply clicking that “like” button. Unfortunately in this internet-society it’s very easy to fall into the trap of taking everything seen online at face value and never spare a thought that behind every fun, “effortless-looking” blog there’s a load of hard work by an actual real person with a real life & their own daily struggles to get through. I’m currently working on a series dealing with that topic in the hope that I can shed some light on the behind-the-scenes of what actually goes into full-time blogging for those outside of the community.
Fear not! I’ll never quit creating my thrifty vintage curtain, table cloth & bedsheet transformations! I love ’em! 😀
Thumbs up girl, you keep doing you!
Cheers Emmy! I shall most definitely continue my wacky adventures in upcycling & sustainable style! Now that I finally have the confidence & self-belief to continue fighting through this crazy difficult time in my life I’ll surely discover the correct path I need to take to success! – hopefully sooner than later!