A Day in the Life of a Fashion Blogger

Imagine the pressure of knowing 30,000 people were looking in to see what
you looked like every single day. 21-year-old Rachel Parcell feels that
pressure – but you could say she rises to the challenge!

“I would have never dreamed in a million years that so many women and
young girls would be interested in what I am wearing,” Parcell said.

Rachel started her fashion blog “Pink Peonies” just six short months ago.
Now, it is one of the fastest growing style blogs in the country.

“It’s very flattering,” she admits. “Very humbling, too!”

The blog started as a way to document her family life. But her readers
quickly focused in on – not what Rachel was doing – but what she was
wearing. As a fan of other fashion blogs, Rachel finally decided to draft up a
logo, and start posting outfits of her own.

“It stuck and now it’s crazy!” Rachel said with a laugh.

Her style is classically chic. She strikes the perfect balance of timeless and
trendy, making her outfits appealing to all ages, old and young alike.

So is it a job, or a hobby? As a graphic design student at Utah Valley
University, Rachel has plenty of other responsibilities on her plate. But before
you think her fashion blog is just a big girl’s game of dress up, consider the
business sense.

In addition to advertising revenue, and free promotional outfits, Rachel often
makes commission off of the clothes she recommends to readers.

“It seriously is my dream job!” Rachel confirms.

Rachel gave us an exclusive look at her “office”: a closet that most women
could only dream of. Clothes are organized by type and by color, and hung
on matching velvet hangers…making getting dressed a whole lot easier, she
says, and a whole lot more fun!

“This is my favorite room in the house!” Rachel said.

And as she showed us, preparing for a blog photo shoot is a process.

I’ll kind of have one item in my mind that I want to start with,” Rachel
explains. “And from that one item I kind of build around that.”

Accessorizing is this fashionista’s favorite finishing touch. She is known for
her layered jewelry – piles and piles of multi-metal clusters that have
become a signature “Pink Peonies” look.

“I love to layer, I always have,” Rachel said. “I think jewelry is a process. You
don’t want to do too much, but you want enough. Sometimes I think it’s
never too much, though!

She says she really does wear the outfits she pots on her blog, in her
everyday life, and tries to dress according to her schedule that day.

Once the outfit is perfected, the photo fun takes over.

It’s usually her sister, mom or husband taking post behind the camera. And
often they will shoot multiple outfits, in one setting.

Rachel admits, at first, it was hard to not feel self-conscious.

“I was always shy, I still am shy,” she confesses. “But blogging has helped me
come out my shell more. I try to keep in mind this is my job, and it’s what I
love to do. So, yeah, I might feel a little stupid with my sunglasses on posing
in the streets of Provo or in the streets of Salt Lake, but I just have to suck it
up!”

It’s for that reason Rachel always tries to keep the focus on the fashion. Up
until recently, she always posed with sunglasses on (“sunnies,” as she calls
them), in hopes of keeping the attention on the clothes. Readers wrote in,
requesting to see the eyes behind the outfits. Rachel reluctantly complied,
but maintains the blog is about fashion – as an art form, and a form of self-
expression.

“Fashion, for me, has always been a way I express myself and I think so many
women can express themselves through fashion,” Rachel insists. “I hope I can
inspire women to look their best, and to feel good about themselves.”