Sophomore Blogs about her Love for Fashion and Food

Stefano Byer | The Harbinger Online

Sophomore Gaby Azorsky scrolls up and down her bright green, blue and orange website that is La Mode du Jour. She scans the cursor over the different panels including an outfit log, food guide and make-up tutorials while still trying to brainstorm even more trends and ideas to fill the pages with. La Mode du Jour, Gaby’s blog, is where she expresses her love for fashion.

“[I first became interested in fashion when] I came out of the womb,” Gaby said. “It has always been with me.”

In the beginning, fashion was just a way to be unique and different than the other girls at dance and school. Fashion was Gaby’s way to achieve this even if it was as simple as a leotard.

“I think when I was little I would use it as a way to stand out because I didn’t want to be like everybody else,” Gaby said. “I remember when I was little everybody would have their pink leotards and I always wore a black one because I had to be different than everybody else.”

As she grew older her style and love for clothes grew with her. Gaby still wanted to be different than the other second graders but now she also wanted to express her growing creativity.

“I remember one outfit I was wearing was a baseball top, with black gauchos, knee high striped blue socks, orange high top Converse, a hat and knit fingerless gloves,” Gaby said. “That is not the most stylish outfit but I think I was in second grade and all of those pieces meant something to me and I just figured it out.”

Gaby continued to ‘figure it out’ and put together her own unique style. Eventually her bright orange Converse were replaced by her bright yellow Doc Martins and her gauchos were replaced by cut off denim shorts. As she grew older she would start to document her style by taking pictures of her outfits. This became Gaby’s new way of organizing and growing her style.

“I don’t really mind if I repeat outfits, but then I know what worked and what didn’t work for myself,” Gaby said. “For example, if I went to a party and got a ton of compliments on [an outfit] I know I should wear it again.”

All of this documenting eventually grew into her blog. Gaby started La Mode du Jour last fall as a way for her to share her outfits, food, make-up and trend tips with the world.

Posting on her blog didn’t come easy at first. It took Gaby time to figure out the process but after posting for the first few she got the hang of it. Gaby updates her blog very frequently and is always thinking of new ideas.

“If I am just sitting in class thinking about something, I will just write down my ideas and then when I get home I will take pictures of it and then I just post it,” Gaby said. “Its pretty simple. At first it was hard to get started because I didn’t know what to do and had so many ideas but once you get stared it is really easy and really fun.”

As Gaby became more experienced she wanted to expand her blog with new features. One of these new features is her outfit log.

“I basically just take a picture or have someone take a picture of me every morning before school while I’m waiting for my ride to pick me up,” Gaby said. “Then in the car on the way to school I will just write something short about my outfit. Sometimes it is a little bit lengthtier but usually it is just a head to toe break down. I will usually focus on one splurge item but usually my clothes are on the cheaper side.”

Gaby prefers to keep her spending to a minimum but will spend money on a piece she knows she will wear frequently. Most of the items in her closet come from Savers, Urban Outfitters, H&M and American Apparel.

She launched the website with the help of her father, Bryan, who is a web designer. He helped Gaby structure the site and is looking forward to seeing her interest and blogging evolve.

“We were looking through this one blog she likes, Cupcakes and Cashmere and it was really interesting to look through the archives and see how different the site was at the beginning,” Bryan said. “I look forward to seeing her blog do the same as she goes off to college and moves on.”

Gaby’s parents were very supportive and excited when she first told them about the idea of the blog. Her mother, Felice, is very proud of the progress since the first post.

“She is very diligent about posting on her blog and almost posts everyday,” Felice said. “That is also just part of her personality. She finds the time in between all her stuff with school and dance team.”

Felice and Bryan also help Gaby with her posting by helping her find ideas. Felice says she is always ready to give Gaby suggestions.

“I do give her suggestions for the blog,” Felice said. “The other day I saw an article about the Academy Awards and suggested she blog about it. Sometimes she does use the ideas and sometimes she doesn’t, but that’s ok.”

Gaby added a like button to her blog in order to get more viewers on her site. She hopes to use this as a way to become more professional.

“I added a like button on my blog which I think is helping,” Gaby said. “I mean I only have 65 likers on Facebook and I know my information is getting out there.”

Gaby has also gotten herself out there by becoming an intern at Birdies, a boutique located downtown. She had to ask the owner several times to hire until finally the persistence paid off.

“Even though I was persistent and I think I made a good case and I think they realized they needed me,” Gaby said.

At first she was just hired temporarily for the holiday season, but was offered the job shortly after. She spends her time at Birdies organizing, wrapping and stocking but the real excitement comes when gets the opportunity to style.

“I like styling because I can help put together outfits and I can also help other people,” Gaby said.

While working there she has had opportunities to give her opinion for styling and photo shoots. A big opportunity is coming up on June 9 when Gaby will be an intern for the 18th Street Fashion Show.

As Gaby’s career expands she wants her blog to expand as well. In the future she wants to add more features such as interviews and recipes. Even with an expanding career and website, fashion will always be number one in her world.

“[Fashion] is just in my veins,” Gaby said. “Its everywhere, it’s how people express themselves, it’s how people introduce themselves, it’s how you make first impressions. Even if you don’t care about it, you subconsciously care about it.”