At one point in 2008, the Garance Doré blog blocked me. It was a slow day at the office and I had been obsessively pinning streetstyle photographs from her blog (yeah, I had Pinterest before flatlays were cool, signs of premature Titadom). Suddenly, I couldn’t pin anymore. Furious, I trudged to our IT department and demanded that they unblock the site — but they had nothing to do with it. I was being blocked by some server all the way in France. If my little outburst is not a testament to the addictiveness of Miss Doré’s blog, I don’t know what is.
Garance was a freelance illustrator in France before she launched garancedore.fr, a blog that originally featured her illustrations. Eventually, she incorporated writing, and then photography, which has come to be known as “streetstyle,” featuring people in Paris. Since then, she has worked with Chloé, Chopard, David Yurman and Tiffany & Co., among others. Her wispy illustrations have been featured by Louis Vuitton, Dior, Kate Spade, and Gap. New York Times named her the “guardian of all style,” writing: “At Garance Doré, a French blog named after its proprietress, you hit a hard truth, the immovable cliché of style: Paris. The Web came, the European Union, Tokyo style, war, Sarkozy, the crash of global markets. And still everyone dresses better in Paris.”
What is it with the French and impeccable style? The French would attribute je ne sais quoi to not caring — that touch of mess, whether by way of a broken-in pair of brogues or a head of hair that’s been styled by the mistral wind, that delivers a critical balance and keeps one from looking too put-together.
Garance’s blog is a reflection of this “I don’t know what.” Clearly, from all the heavyweight collaborations she’s earned, it’s a website that means business — but a reader would never feel like she’s reading the posts of a strategist. Her most recent post as of press time, filed under Beauty, is titled “Bad Habits.” It’s about her bad habit of not washing her face before going to bed. This is coming from a blogger of eight years, a holder of the Fashion-Week-All-You-Can privilege card, and a pioneer in the industry. People look up to her, and she tells the world she doesn’t do the one thing every beauty editor in the history of publishing has always reminded us to do.
Fans of her blog can look forward to more candor (and lots of style) in her book, Love x Style x Life, etched in her signature font on an understated peachy cover. Jenna Lyons and Martha Stewart are fans. How’s that for squad goals? In my interview with Garance, she overflows with the same openness as her blog, so I felt I could even tell her how she blocked me. Good times. Here’s how it went:
YSTYLE: In your book, Love x Style x Life, you describe yourself as a small town girl with big city dreams. What was the first concrete step you took toward achieving them?
GARANCE DORÉ: It’s very true, the only thing is I almost couldn’t even dream of the big city, it was almost too far from my reach. So it happened in small steps, figuring out one element after another. I first opened my blog, having no idea that one day I would be so in demand that I would have to move to Paris. The first concrete step was to decide to give a try at not having a “normal job” and starting to train myself as an illustrator. It put me on the way.
To what do you attribute your blog’s success? How did you come up with such a cohesive and unique concept?
I didn’t really make it a concept. You know when I started there was no “blog success” so you just went about opening your blog and feeling if you even liked blogging. To me, the idea was to share my illustrations. I had no idea I would start writing and actually connecting with millions of people. The concept made itself on the way, as I was exploring myself, my style, and my creativity!
How many years did it take before you could say that your blog was a success? What were some of the growing pains and challenges of developing a blog?
It took off so fast, it kind of caught me off guard. Before that, I hadn’t done anything very special in my life, so I was really surprised. A few weeks after I started, another blog noticed me and then it caught on like crazy. Three weeks after, I had my first little story in a magazine. I was so shy. I had no idea how to respond to an interview!
The growing pains — in 10 years there have been so many. I would sum it up by saying that staying true to your ideals is not always the easiest thing, though it’s very rewarding. Keeping your finger on the pulse and knowing when it’s time for change, then implementing that change, is another challenge. Again, it’s incredibly rewarding when it’s a success, but when it’s not, you just pick your ego up off the floor and keep going! It’s important to keep in mind that it’s the highs and lows that make it interesting.
You’re one of the most influential women in fashion and that’s on a global scale. What does an influential woman in fashion wear when she’s not feeling especially perky?
I don’t feel much fashion pressure anymore, because I feel like my role is to dress the way I am, and that means an easy, functioning, yet elegant style. So on a daily basis, it’s cool. When I tired, I have a couple of outfits that just work. I don’t mind wearing the same things over and over. I actually like it!
Which would you say are your most memorable collaborations?
There are so many, I am not sure I can pick just one. I would maybe pick writing for Vogue Paris. It was a dream to be part of a magazine that has been using the best writers all the time for years and years. Françoise Sagan, my favorite writer, wrote for them. Being in her footsteps, even if I absolutely know I’ll never reach her level of genius, it doesn’t get better than that to me.
Social media is obviously very important for someone who has built an entire world online. If you could live with only one, which would you pick?
I have extremely mixed feelings about social media. I think I would love it more if it hadn’t become such an industry. It’s difficult to be sincere and authentic when it’s all about who has the most followers. We’re all falling into these races and it’s taking the fun to a competitive place. I really make a conscious effort to keep my cool. Because I love the social media itself, the immediacy, the sharing. Be it instagram, Pinterest, or Snapchat… I believe these are my favorites.
What do you think is the next big thing in the whole Internet-and-fashion dynamic?
As everything is online now, people will gather by centers of interest. There might be a whole world of amazement and like-minded people a click away. I think apart from that, well, our relationships to one another are changing. I don’t know it’s great news for fashion — the street is now online, and it’s more about the experience you’re living, the people you’re with and the food you’re eating than just the clothes.
What are some of the best perks of your job? Can you name three?
I make my own schedule! I feel free. I meet interesting people around the world. I travel. I have a voice that I can use to make people feel better. I work with an amazing team. I get to be creative every day. There are so many, I could go on forever.
Who is your dream (photograph) subject?
My favorite photography is when you throw me in a setting and I just shoot what’s happening and let people be themselves and do their things. Let’s say a beautiful party in Italy, with food and people young and old, the sea in the background… I could make an amazing story out of that!
What is luxury to you?
It’s all about defining your own luxury. To me, luxury is to be able to wear exactly what I want every day.
What are your top five Instagram tips?
Stay yourself. Don’t post too much. Have fun. Don’t do too many selfies. Follow me ;)
What are top three Instagram mistakes?
1) Not thinking before you post. People are actually looking at that thing. Drunk posting can actually be really bad!
2) Posting photos of people without asking them before. People might not want to share exactly what they’re up to at that moment, for many reasons.
3) And, of course, not enjoying the moment because you’re shooting, editing, checking your likes, answering your comments…
How would you describe your book Love x Style x Life?
It’s a letter to my friends and sisters around the world, telling them what I’ve learned through funny bites about my life.
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Love x Style x Life by Garance Doré is available at select National Book Store branches.