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5 QUESTIONS WITH KEVIN VILLERT OF TAIS TOI SOIS BEAU |
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| posted by:Nicole on: October 13th 2009 07:03:16 PM |
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Our latest "5 Questions With" features Kevin Villert, the owner of the popular fashion blog Tais-toi, sois beau, which means, "Shut up, look pretty". Tais-toi, sois beau is an inspiration blog for fashion enthusiasts that quickly garnered a huge following and it is no surprise why! Kevin's reviews are detailed, engaging and diverse. If you're into fashion, you'll be sure to love his site:
www.taistoisoisbeau.com
410BC: When and why did you decide to start your magazine, Tais-toi, sois beau?
Kevin: Since I was young I've always been into reading fashion magazines and fascinated by style trends. I was reading my mother's Vogue, Elle or Madame Figaro instead of reading my school books. The editorials were always my thing; I had so much fascination for the supermodels in the 90's. Instead of leading me into the Fashion industry, life brought me into Business school and today I work in Advertising. This website was my little band-aid and when I started writing it was really just for the fun and experimentation. At least I felt I achieved what I've always been dreaming to do; I could never regret it again. At the beginning it was really tough, I'm not a native English writer so my writing is kind of sloppy and still today. When I started to find a good cruising speed by posting everyday I've really enjoyed it and then kind of lost the fun of keeping my website updated. I heard every blogger usually goes through this phase too. Until readers started to send me feedback and I saw the audience growing permanently from 10 visitors to thousands and thousands now, it just keeps me motivated and excited - almost under the pressure. My goal is to post very selective and valuable news about the industry and trends I want to share with my own voice. My other motivation is to help promote young and talented designers that need a medium to get known and reach buyers. I find it really eye-popping to meet these cool under-the-radar collections and thrilling to know I may be helping the next Alexander Wang to get known.
410BC: What is the most challenging aspect of having an online magazine?
Kevin: At the beginning, it was for the fun, bookmarking information, talking about what I had in mind. And as the website got more popular, there are more and more readers following my website, they now expect more from me, more news, more trends. My challenge is to make sure that the readers find very selective and eclectic information they like while keeping my editorial tone and my point of view.
In the meantime, I have a full-time job so it's hard to work on the blog on a regular schedule. But when I get back home, I completely prioritize my time to the website. Thinking about the next articles, collecting information about different trends, interesting magazine editorials, browsing designer's collection, etc. It almost feels like a second full-time job, so to speak.
410BC: What's your favorite thing about fashion?
Kevin: What I like in fashion is that there is not only one fashion, anyone can be very creative and personal by putting together their clothes and create their own fashion. Like I always believed, your style is your own way of telling everyone who you are and what you want to say. If everyone understood the original definition of the word as the synonym of glamour, beauty and style, our streets would be less boring. Sometimes fashion becomes like art when people define their own vision of beauty and goodness, you definitely can see amazing styles.
In the 80's and the 90's, it was the apogee of the mass-market fashion; therefore everybody was more or less wearing the same outfit. But the 80's have been such a sensational fashion decade, probably explaining why this year the 80's inspired shapes are back. But today with so many sub-cultures and the Internet, it's much easier for people to connect to different styles and with online shopping you can buy anything from anywhere - and at a much more affordable price. Street styles blog are also an infinite resource of fashion inspiration, there are so many and it just amazes me. I live in NYC and think people here offer more diversity and sense of style than anywhere else in the world - it's just like a wide open fashion magazine.
410BC: What is your personal style like? What are some of your favorite brands?
Kevin: I'm between Philip Sparks and Band of Outsiders. I like the typical English inspired style "a la Paul Smith" or a pair of jeans and a shirt. Special detailing, a modern shape, slim silhouette and making great statement with checks or bold colors is signature. I like Gucci this Fall men's wear, but I can barely afford it so I shop between a BR, Club Monaco, OAK, Opening Ceremony and Urban Outfitters. My closet is also full of clothes from little boutiques in Paris, whenever I go back I buy shirts, jackets and sweaters as I find these much more elegant in Europe than in the US. Also I have a problem with sizes here, so everything must be tailored and my tailor is rich now!
410BC: What advice would you give for someone wanting to start their own web based magazine or blog?
Kevin: What is great with the Internet is you can do whatever you want from a desk connected to it. So if you have the idea and the motivation, my only advice is "do it, be patient and keep on". It takes a lot of work to bring an idea to life and if you like what you do, there is no reason why you should not meet success. Whether it's a professional or personal blog, being yourself is very important when you post. Your voice and your style should be reflecting on your work, it differentiates you from thousands of other blogs.
Photos by Zack Sultan - zacksultan.com
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