Student fashion bloggers create platform for style, inspiration

Tony White
Tue, 17 Apr 2018 02:38:49 +0000
Arts & Life, Fashion, blog, Collegestreetsylepb, Eyon Ertachew, fashion bloggers, featured, ohio state, Paige Bennett, Student fashion, WithEyon

Eyon Ertachew started his fashion blog after he began to receive positive feedback from people about his ideas and sense of style. Credit: Courtesy of Eyon Ertachew

In the past, students who were looking to share their creativity with others might have had difficulty reaching the masses. However, with the rise of social media, people are able to share their passions with the world within seconds.

For two Ohio State students, blogging has become an outlet for sharing their favorite fashion trends and a way to inspire their followers to embrace their own styles.

Eyon Ertachew, a second-year in strategic communication, took a huge step by starting a fashion blog after a year of hesitation. But when he began to receive positive feedback from people about his ideas, it just made sense.

“I was kind of holding myself back, maybe I was nervous about what people would think, but at the start of 2018 I decided I wouldn’t let anything hold me back,” Ertachew said.

Coming in freshman year, Ertachew was a biology major on the pre-med track. But by the end of the year, he knew his future wasn’t headed in that direction. At the start of his second year, he switched majors with the intention of getting into public relations in the fashion industry.

For fourth-year in nursing Paige Bennett, however, creating a fashion blog was a way to connect her love for fashion and style with her long-term goals. Last June, she started her blog “Collegestreetstylepb” on Instagram with her friend Briana Barnett after coming across other local fashion blogs.

After she graduates, Bennett hopes to move her blog more toward the nursing profession.

Fashion bloggers Paige Bennett (left) and Briana Barnett (right) share their favorite trends as a way to inspire their followers to embrace their own styles. Credit: Courtesy of Eyon Ertachew

“I want to start reaching more of a nursing population,” Bennett said. “When I am a nurse I want to post about how my day has been going and connect with other new grad nurses.”

Bennett said the pair focuses on including photos of their clothing and where to get the items they wear. Their posts are informal and unplanned with pictures of them going out, something she said is not really seen on on most fashion blogs.

“It’s spontaneous. If we like the outfit we are wearing we will just snap a picture of it and post,” Bennett said. “I feel like that’s more genuine.”

As for Ertachew’s blog, “WithEyon,” he focuses on including photos of himself in different outfits, where he purchased his items and talking about the quality of the clothing. Though he said many blogs he’s seen just tell readers what to wear, his blog includes content on his travels and more personal parts of his life.

“I enjoy putting my own personality into it,” Ertachew said. “I want to be able to offer just a place of inspiration or a resource to people.”

For these two, blogging is more than just a creative outlet to share the latest fashion trends, it’s a way to inspire others and interact with people they would never have reached. When it comes to creating the blog, Bennett said it’s an important stress reliever outside of her regular routine. ?

“It’s nice to be able to do something you are interested in and let that take you away from whatever is stressing you out,” she said. “It’s nice to share your interest in something else with other people.”

Similarly, Ertachew said blogging is becoming another reference and a trusted source of information because it’s run by everyday people, not celebrities trying to make you buy a product.

“I would never push anything on anyone that I don’t believe in, and I think it provides a great reference,” Ertachew said. “I am going to try to give true authentic advice, while s