For the past six weeks, I’ve been keeping a huge secret. No I am not pregnant (I know, my shocking recent weight gain may confuse most) and no I’m not leaving the country.  I haven’t left Daniel nor have I become vegan. I haven’t learned to drive (much to Dan’s dismay) nor have I taken up kick boxing again. In fact it’s so much more than all of that.
Recently in Las Vegas, I made the decision that upon my return I was going to give up my eight and a half years magazine media career and give my notice of resignation at GQ. It was not an easy decision to make especially given how solid the brand is, how lovely the team are and that Publisher Vanessa had just been awarded an MBE…family and friends thought I was crazy! The most common reaction were questions of “why?”, “how are you going to work now?” and “that’s a huge change?”. For others, it was “what’s a blogger?” or courtesy of my Granddad, “what are you going to do when your looks fade if that’s all you’re doing?”. Well, I like to think there’s more to it.
I’d been considering the option for a while and since seeing some bloggers do the same a year or two ago, I felt inspired to go for it. I’ve worked for some incredible brands in my time from Harpers Bazaar to Cosmopolitan, from Sunday Times Style to ELLE. I’ve always been one to dedicate my entire focus to work and my career but despite my best attempts at juggling, I just can’t have it all. I tried hard for a long to get a job at luxury Publishing giant Condé Nast so it’s with a mixture of sadness and excitement that I’ve decided to leave to pursue Sassy full time.
I’ve had so many wonderful experiences in my working life so far, from working in New York briefly meeting the Cosmopolitan team to meeting some very cool people like Anya Hindmarch and Vivienne Westwood. Despite what people say, magazine brands are absolutely thriving – for instance GQ magazine subscriptions were up and GQ.co.uk went from 1.2 million users to a whopping 3 million in around a year. There’s no denying that magazine brands are here to stay. For me however, it was a case of seeing the success of the blog in the year or so that it’s been going and seeing how well brands are performing when featured. I hate the word ‘influencer’ and when people now ask me what I do for a living, I tell them I write a blog about fashion and beauty. I still get a bit embarrassed about admitting what I do but here’s hoping that will change eventually.
Thank you to all of the followers and brands that have supported me in my time blogging so far and here’s to a brighter and more organised future for Sassy in the City.
ABOUT THE BLOG
Over eight and a half years ago after graduating, I packed up my collection of Kurt Geiger shoes and headed to the big smoke for my first media job at a national magazine. Care free with disposable income, I wouldn’t think twice about spending. Skip the morning lattes became my mantra. Now more mature with an established luxury media career (having worked at brands such as GQ, ELLE, Sunday Times Style, Harpers BAZAAR and Cosmopolitan), I understand my skin, hair, body and I’m way more sensible, buying only what I love.Â
I began writing my blog just over a year ago as a creative hobby, a platform to share my reviews, experiences and loves from the fashion and beauty world. SassyInTheCity.com is a platform to write creatively and considered by many brands as an influence to readers and social media followers. You won’t find any negative reviews about brands here, only featuring what I truly would buy or have bought myself.
6 Responses
I’m excited to see where the blogs goes! Exciting times ahead for you Ren and I know you’ll smash it.
Thank you so much Jules!! Extremely nervous but fingers crossed worth it in the long run. I already feel like so much has changed in the past month – watch this space!
Lots of love xx
Well done!
http://www.jessicatonge.co.uk
Thanks so much Jess, it’s been an emotional rollercoaster – but worth it.
Thank you for your kind comment xoxo
Congratulations and good luck with your blogging career!
🙂
Chichi
chichi-writes.blogspot.co.uk
Thank you! xx