Double Tap for Fashion

Allison Benson @preppyinkc 

Sophomore Allison Benson was sitting in her second hour geometry class, scrolling through Instagram when she saw a comment on a photo from her fashion account, @preppyinkc. Someone was congratulating her for getting her photo on Buzzfeed. Skeptically, she looked it up and was shocked to see the picture she had taken of her new clothes in the middle of a story about Target’s Lilly Pulitzer line.

“I literally almost peed my pants it was so exciting,” Benson said.

Lilly for Target sold out almost immediately last April. Benson was one of the lucky few who got the brand’s trending clothes, so she posted a picture of everything she bought on her account.

Now, six months later, @preppyinkc has over 600 followers. She started the account last winter to have fun and show off her style, which she describes as preppy and colorful. She posts pictures of her daily outfits, craft projects and the Lilly Pulitzer gear she constantly buys.

“I love Vineyard Vines, Anthropologie, Gap, Madewell and J. Crew,” Benson said.

Along with her outfits, she has different tricks that help make her photos look professional.

“Lighting is everything, and trying out lots of different shots and poses,” Benson said.

She keeps up with trends while staying on budget by searching the sales racks at her favorite stores. Learning things like this and operating her instagram for almost a year has proved to her that she has potential in the fashion world.

“I always pictured myself as a teacher, but now that I started this, I don’t know. I think it would be really fun to work for Teen Vogue,” Benson said.

Although Benson says that fashion isn’t an easy field to get into, she is confident that running her blog has taught her a what it takes to manage an account and stay up to date with fashion. Having her photo featured on Buzzfeed proved to her that other fashion lovers identify with her style.

Emma Vaughters and Andie Ogg @eandablog

Juniors, and best friends, Emma Vaughters and Andie Ogg run a trendy fashion Instagram and a blog together called “E and A Blog”. According to the duo, their styles are similar, but they each bring something different to the blog that diversifies it from other accounts, which only show one blogger’s point of view.

“We’re both really similar and our styles are,” Ogg said. “Since we’re best friends, it just made sense to collaborate on it.”

Ogg and Vaughters have always been interested in fashion, but they have very different goals for their futures. Vaughters isn’t sure if she wants to commit to a career in fashion, while Ogg is more confident with her future plans.

“I want to pursue a career in fashion,” Ogg said. “I’ve always wanted to, but I want to do merchandizing or something with marketing.”

Though they don’t agree on their future plans, collaborating on the blog has many benefits, like a lighter workload. With both of them running the blog, they can usually post about twice a week. Together they choose different locations in Kansas City to go to and take photos over the weekends.

“A variety of locations is important and a location that’s not too busy because you don’t want to distract from the focus, which is your outfit,” Vaughters said.

Ogg and Vaughters get excited about different parts of the blog. Andie loves everything behind the scenes, like taking photos and choosing locations. She gets excited when she looks at a photo on her computer and knows how great it’ll look on the blog. Emma likes to create the actual posts.

“[The blog] was a way for me to combine writing with fashion,” Vaughters said.

Another benefit of working together is the combination of their styles. Ogg’s style changes over time. She combines simple pieces like jeans with patterns and prints, while Vaughters’ style is a mix of traditional and funky pieces like hats and purses. She likes to put together things that are completely different, but create a cohesive look.

“My style is really classic but also trendy, which seem like opposites,” Vaughters said.

Their style is even demonstrated in their blog design. The soft colors show how classic their outfits are, and they mix urban and natural settings to give the blog variety.

Ogg and Vaughters use the differences in their styles and ideas to make their blog unique.

“We don’t really ever have opposing ideas or fight about certain things because we put our own stuff into each of our posts,” Ogg said.

Emily Kohring @style.kc

Junior Emily Kohring started a fashion Instagram account as a fun way to show off her style. When she was stopped at Starbucks by an agent who asked if she was a model, she began to seriously consider a career in fashion. Now, she runs an Instagram account, @stylekc, and is featured as a model for Threshing Bee, a local clothing store.

What sets Kohring apart from other fashion bloggers is that she models. She got the modeling job with Threshing Bee from a friend who helps run their social media accounts. Though this was her first job, she had been considering modeling before then. After the agent saw her at Starbucks, she talked to her mom about applying to Exposure Modeling.

“I just recently submitted the photos [to Exposure Modeling] so I haven’t heard back yet, but we’ll see if anything happens,” Kohring said.

Before she ever thought of modeling, she started her account to show off her style, which she considers casual. Many of her outfits include printed tops and jean shorts.

“I like simple pieces that are really versatile,” Kohring said. “I like when the outfit all just works together.”

Her favorite stores are Madewell, Free People and Urban Outfitters.

“I love TJ Maxx,” Kohring said. “TJ Maxx is so underrated, they have so many good brands that are so inexpensive.”

She also uses other fashion accounts to get inspiration for her outfits and photos. She always uses a nice camera to give her photos a professional look.

“Make sure that you’re on a good wall because a wall and a theme is a big part of it,” Kohring said.

Emily tries to post on her blog as much as possible and looks for new modeling opportunities, but no matter what happens, she still wants to work in fashion. She’s thinking about being a fashion merchandiser if modeling doesn’t work out.

“If I get any modeling careers down the road that would be pretty cool, but I don’t think I’d move to New York to model,” Kohring said. “I think I’d need to be taller. We’ll see.”