Already Pretty is moving on - YouLookFab Forum

Anonymous

I really like the reasons she cited. All are good reasons to step back and re-assess life.

Ledonna N.

Wow I grew fashion wise with Already Pretty. I think I was there day 2. I agree I love her writing style and the reasons given for hanging up her hat. Sally will.surly be missed.

9 years ago

Anonymous

comments removed- sorry.

9 years ago

El Cee

Veteran

I am not surprised. I am happy for Sally that she will have more time to focus on the things that give her the most joy. Reassessment and moving on can be a very good thing. I may be doing some of that myself this year.

9 years ago

Ledonna N.

Veteran

I think I've never commented on Already pretty or any other blog. Yep guilty. I'm a reader. And lurker. YLF has been the 1st online community I've taken a vested intrest in.

I was compelled to make my presence known on YLF when the transition to private happend and I could nolonger see the fits. The people here are what keeps me coming back. How we Angie and Greg and Inge cultivate YLF. I think I would be sad if Angie decided to stop YLF but I would understand.

I can understand the clique or group mentality. I also understand how some don't want to share because it it may be taken the wrong way.

I think that is why you can choose to comment or just move on to what may intrest you.

9 years ago

Sara L.

Veteran

Yes, I saw that too. I read her blog semi-regularly (I tend to read a bunch of articles at once and then not look at it for another month or so). I really enjoy her point of view and writing style and will miss her. However, I understand her need to move on and wish her the best.

9 years ago

April

Veteran

Good grief -- really sad to hear of this loss to the world of style blogging.

Not sure who would accuse Sally of making women feel negatively about themselves, but I would suggest that it must be someone not particularly perceptive.

9 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Terrific post about her reasons and very understandable.

9 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Sally and I have a good rapport, and we have talked about her stepping away for a while. She should be VERY proud of her body of work on already pretty, and that she touched many women's lives. I am sure that the next chapter of her life will be as rewarding, and I wish her every happiness and success. She is very bright, positive, a brilliant writer, and she cares about people. Love that.

Sally - more than any other blogger supported YLF wholeheartedly over the 9 years that she blogged. I will always be grateful for that. She continues to read every post I write, and has been extremely complementary of our work on YLF. That wows me, and I hope to meet her one day.

Ledonna, YLF isn't going anywhere!

Lisap, FWIW, I believe that YLF is quite unique. After 10 years, still lots of blog comments, few outfit posts about me, and lots of fresh, tangible advice on a daily basis. YLF is so much more than a blog - it's a social community with a forum and a Finds section. I believe we will be sticking around for a while. Also my heart is still in it - Sally's heart no longer was. And when the tortoise won the race - he had a lot of heart. (Read Sally's posts on positive body image in particular).

9 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Angie, what a beautiful, generous response.

I agree with everything you said about Sally, and with much of what Sally said about her reasons. Social media can be wonderful -- and it can also be pernicious. And when a person has outgrown a role in life, it is important to acknowledge that and move on. I wish her every success in her new career.

My own experiences with online life are on the whole positive, because I tend to get involved in real communities like this one. My first online experience was with a group for parents of adopted kids -- I ended up co-moderating that group for a while. This group was a vital support in the confusing years after our daughter came from China and help was difficult to find. And I felt so good that I was able to give back when we got on more solid footing.

My next community was the fitness community I went on to work for, for several years. It was equally great. I learned so much from the other women there, not just about fitness, but also about food sustainability and other related issues. The online check-ins helped keep me accountable when I was trying to lose weight and exercise more. Again, I volunteered for this community for a while. And heck, I ended up with a great job as well! I still work for the company on an occasional freelance basis, although I'm no longer active in the online space which has moved to FB.

Then I found YLF for fashion and I think I love it most of all.

I do have a FB account and have a sort of feast or famine presence (or absence) there -- I'll go for months being on there a lot and then months again not even looking at it. The truth is, I don't really care for FB -- for me, it is "jangly," unpredictable in a bad way (i.e. I can't necessarily keep up with those I want to and get inundated sometimes by stuff I don't want to bother with) and it doesn't allow me to do some of what I like online -- which is not so much share about myself (though that is fun at times as well) but more to engage in rich conversations and offer something to others.

I don't do Twitter, Insta, or any of the others. If I did, I'd never read any books, and reading books is still my most important hobby. So...from that point of view, I certainly understand Sally. A person needs to be offline sometimes!

That got a bit long and off-track; sorry!

9 years ago

Diana

Veteran

Best of luck to Sally in her new endeavors!

AP was one of the first fashion blogs I read regularly. I think I found YLF via AP actually. I have to admit that recently I've found AP less interesting and I think it's what Angie mentioned, that Sal's heart wasn't really into it. I wasn't really interested in the guest posts and there seemed to be more and more of those (nothing wrong with the guest posts, but I missed Sal's voice which is what I liked about her blog anyway).

I'm glad she's going to continue doing her link round ups though. I've always loved those and always find her links worthwhile and interesting. And her cat photos are always appreciated. =)

9 years ago

Anonymous

comments removed, with apologies

9 years ago

LaPed

Veteran

I stumbled into YLF through Sally's blog. I'm not surprised by her decision to move on; I feel she's already scaled back quite a bit over the past year or so. Sally's reasons for stepping back are so articulate and perceptive, and leave me with a lot to think about: digital citizenship and how to create a healthy internet culture, how to maintain privacy in an age of universal publicity, how to keep body image discussions truly positive instead of inversely negative (call-outs, shaming, etc). In any case, Already Pretty is still a formidable resource and worth a read!

9 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Lisap, rest assured you are very articulate, and I enjoy reading your musings (we all do). No need to apologize at all!I also think you'll enjoy Sally's musings. Her perspective is more feminist than mine, and she's a professional writer. She's much more eloquent and cerebral than me, and very literary too. She was a writer who wrote about fashion and style. I'm a fashion stylist who writes about fashion and style - and you get that right away as a reader I suspect.

Suz, thank you. You're dead right about choosing your social media. I have chosen YLF and FB (personal and professional FB). I barely tweet and don't do instagram or tumblr. I used to pin regularly but found that a time suck with little value and stopped. For me, pinning is like hoarding, and that annoyed me. I'm glad that you have on the whole had great experiences with online communities. You are an exemplary forum participant!

9 years ago

Carla

Veteran

Where one door closes, another opens. I hope Sally's door opens onto a sunny, happy place.

On a funny note, I almost had a heart attack when shortly after discovering YLF, Angie posted she was converting over to a foodie blog!

It was April 1st

9 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

HAH, Carla. That was SUCH a fun post!

9 years ago

unfrumped

Veteran

Great piece that she wrote.

The most important thing I take away is that she had the insight, and also the courage, to make a change.

Her reasons are interesting and I appreciate that she feels some responsibility to share something about it with her readers, and that working through these issues may have helped her to decide and/ or to be more st piece with the change.
But sometimes you know you need to change even if the reasons don't fit into an acceptable box.

9 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Angie, thank you. And I think the mindful choice is key. What works for one in social media won't for another and of course sometimes we need to try something out for a while before we learn it isn't for us. And, as Sally points out, the environment changes and we do also and sometimes we just need to move on.

I, for one, am really glad YLF is not going anywhere! And I also think Already Pretty is a fabulous resource. I read it rather like Sara L did -- in bursts -- and loved it for its feminist slant and Sally's insights.

9 years ago

Ledonna N.

Veteran

I also appreciated Already Pretty and how Sassy tried to stay truetp who she is.

FB can be a drain that is why i go on a 3 month hiatus. YLF is the only place i saty with. In my real life it is easy to become isolated with the type of work that i do and I am a hermit by nature. So popping in and out of virtual community actually connects me.

Angie I'm glad YLF is not going anywhere any time soon.

Suz you are a true soundimg board. Your mussings are greatly appreciated.

9 years ago

Jules

Veteran

ylf is definitely one of the places where us "texties" congregate - I know because I always find these places It's my own personal way to explain the places on the internet where people actually still write, read responses, dialogue, incorporate... and don't just dump a series of photos (of outfits, food, whatever).
The big value of ylf for me is in fact the text combined with the really good visuals, both in the blog posts and from all the users who post WIWs. The websites that have both good text and visuals, and a good balance of them, are few and far between. I'm not a visual person so I really need the concepts articulated.

9 years ago

Lisa

Veteran

That's a shame but understandable, it sounds like the passion just died out for Sally and I certainly understand that. My personal blog isn't very big and I am certainly not a professional blogger. I rarely get a comment and I don't even know how to track a view for posts, but I hope that people read because they enjoy the topic. Indeed blogging can be a lonely place at times. I wish Sally all the best. YLF is very unique in that the community has continued to grow, the information never gets old, and the people in the forum (and in person) are simply delightful. A kudo to Angie and Greg and all their hard work and I really appreciate and enjoy being a part of the community.

9 years ago

approprio

(website)

Veteran

Pity. I always appreciated Sally's wit and wisdom. I haven't been a regular reader for a few years now, but I followed her for a while and always found her smart, insightful and entertaining.

That said, I fully understand her desire to move on. All her reasoning makes perfect sense. I think she's absolutely right about the social media landscape changing for the worse, but this is why forums like YLF are so important right now.

Angie, Greg, the Internet needs you more than ever. I'm heartened to know you're still here for us.

9 years ago

Anonymous

That's really, really sad. I have her book and really appreciate what she has to say. I will miss her internet presence, and wish her all the best.

Angie and Greg, please stay here for us!

9 years ago

LaPed

Veteran

Jules -- I know exactly what you mean by texties. I love the old-school forum format and belong to several vibrant forum-based communities which I pop in and out of. I appreciate being able to post a long-form response within a long-form discussion. As a perfectionist introvert, hanging out on forums is the easiest, most comfortable mode of communication I can think of.

The quippy/clickbait bent of virtually every other online social medium leaves me cold. I'm 30, so I was an undergrad when FB appeared on the scene, but I really only use FB to communicate with a handful of people I know from real life -- family, former classmates and coworkers, etc -- who, annoyingly, prefer Messenger over text or email. I don't belong to any FB "groups" because the format just isn't conducive to deep, topical discussion. If my whole life could be a deep, topical discussion, I'd be a happy clam.

Also, Angie is right -- Already Pretty was a very writerly fashion project. As a writer and a feminist, Sally's voice and angle always resonated with me. What's great about reading YLF, on the other hand, is that Angie has basically taught me a new way of seeing (John Berger on my mind today) and given me a set of fashion goggles I never would have been able to develop on my own.

9 years ago

kerlyn

Veteran

I am another who found YLF through Already Pretty. AP was one of the first fashion blogs I followed, and I've really enjoyed Sally's smart, witty writing. I, too, wish her all the best.

9 years ago

SandyG

Veteran

I'll miss Already Pretty but appreciate Sally's clear, cogent explanation. Not being a regular reader, I'd browse AP from time to time and linger over the quality of her writing. Wishing her good luck in her new, private life.

9 years ago

Style Fan

Veteran

I am not a regular reader of Already Pretty but what I have read I really like. I can understand her reasons for wanting to move on. I only read YLF regularly. I occasionally read a few other fashion blogs. The only forum I participate on is YLF and I am not as regular as some.
I understand what she is saying about body image and some of the negative feedback she receives. I worked as a therapist with adolescents who had eating disorders and body image disorders. There are a lot of politics in that area.

9 years ago

Aziraphale

Veteran

Good for Sally. Sounds like she's moving on for all the right reasons. I enjoyed her blog, and I admired her writing skill and the feminist, body-positive message she promoted, but I stopped reading quite a while back because I felt that she was starting to repeat herself. Looks like she was well aware of that herself.

We often talk about how the English seem to know when to stop when it comes to television series, whereas the American producers seem to drag a show out until well past the point where it has jumped the shark. If blogs are anything like TV, it seems that Sally, despite being American, has more in common with the Brits. It is important to understand when a good thing has run its course.

9 years ago

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

It sounds like Sally has made a well thought out and wise decision for herself. I do especially like her links, which expose me to a wider arena of blogs than I usually see and am happy she plans to continue them.

Angie I am not a facebook person, not an active social media person, and this is the only place on the internet that I have ever felt like taking an active role. YLF is a rare island of positivity and civility in a raging ocean and I am so grateful for your continued engagement.

9 years ago

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