Monochromatic.

Our friend and former SHEI-writer, Hillary Bankz, has finally launched her long-awaited website! (aptly named, The Bank.) We, here at SHEI, thought we’d share the news and spread the word.

Hillary is a recent University of Michigan graduate whose interests lie somewhere between prolific blogging and Irish dancing. She currently writes for such blogs as Celebrity Cafe, Cliche Magazine, Fashion Indie, HelloKitsch, Waffles+falafels, & Stylite. I first met her in an English class at the U (we’re both English majors), where I noticed her for her monochromatic fashion sense (she’s gotten better since then). Hoping to strike it big in the blogosphere, she has since moved on to the mighty NYC in search of riches and fame.

Colors!

Given her considerable experience blogging, Hillary has volunteered to share some of her acumen with future bloggers in a SHEI-exclusive interview — because, let’s face it, everyone has considered running their own blog.

SHEI: Let’s cut straight to the point. What do you think makes for a successful blog?

Hillary: Dedication. It seems silly, but if you aren’t willing to put in the time to research or sit down and write good content for your blog, it will show.  You also have to be passionate about whatever it is you’re writing about; for example I used to write for this local newspaper out of Beverly Hills and realized that I was a terrible news reporter because I really wasn’t interested in talking about car crashes and town events.  Oh and, being able to string together a sentence without misspelling a word or sounding like an idiot is definitely a good thing.

SHEI: What spawned your interest in blogging?

Hillary: I actually took English 420 “Multimedia Exploration” when I was a Sophomore and that is where I launched my first blog (xyzine.weebly.com). I could never really find anything I wanted to major in, and thought writing sounded like a good idea because I wasn’t that bad at it. From there I got my first internship with The Celebrity Cafe, and my blog addiction just spun out of control from there.

SHEI: There is an obvious focus on fashion throughout your various blogs. Where did your fashion-focus come from?

Hillary: I was, as they say, “born into fashion.” Okay that’s a joke, kind of. My grandparents owned a clothing store up north that was later taken over by my aunt and uncle who sold it a few years ago. I would spend a lot of time up there as a kid in the store, and my aunt would always bring me clothes from tradeshows. My mom also always tells me that as soon as I could talk I would complain if my socks didn’t perfectly fit my feet, and I could never wear jeans because I was too small so I had these super cheesy matching stretchpant outfits. My family has always been very fashion-conscious, even my dad is guilty of asking me “what are you going to wear?” as soon as an important event comes up. For me, the fashion part of my life was always there and I always knew I’d work in fashion, the writing didn’t come along until years and years later.

SHEI: You plan to move to NYC soon. What do you plan to do there, and how will this affect your blogging career?

Hillary: I’m moving back to NYC in a few weeks to intern with styleite.com while I continue to
look for a full time job.  I’ll still be blogging from The Bank, and will probably update it more frequently than I do now because my life will be more interesting (I don’t think people really want to hear about sitting in Espresso Royale every day). Hopefully I can continue to make the site bigger and better and explore other options within what I’ve already created, but those are all just rough dreams for now. Who knows, I’ve got a few things in the works that may not even keep me in NYC very long (West Coast?…you didn’t hear that from me…) It’s all just an unplanned adventure right now, but that isn’t necessarily bad.

SHEI: Do you have any advice for the (few) Michigan bloggers hoping to find a career in fashion blogging outside of this state?

Hillary: Work really hard, do a LOT of networking, apply for as many internships and do as much to build a portfolio as you can (don’t underestimate the power of craigslist. I’ve actually found most of my internships there), and never burn any bridges. You never know who (even in unfashionable Michigan) could be someone. I’ve had a lot of people step on me while I’ve been doing my own thing, and I think they’re starting to regret that now that I have freedom to write about whatever and whoever I want, and have a lot of influence considering I write for four well known in addition to my own. Just stick to who you are and what you believe in, because that’s really what’s supposed to be “behind” a blog anyways. Oh, and prepare for your social life to go out the window completely.

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Check out Hillary’s new website, The Bank, at http://hillarybankz.com/.