Why I Stopped Going to Fashion Week

Jess Ann Kirby pairs a faux fur coat with skinny jeans and white ankle boots
Jess Ann Kirby dresses up a tee shirt and jeans with white ankle booties and a faux fur coat

When I started my blog fashion week felt like a necessity. It was the place where everyone who was anyone had to be. The first fashion week I went to I felt stupid, insignificant and out of place. I didn’t belong. Season after season I kept going back. Every year twice a year it would be that time again, when it felt like everyone was talking about getting ready for fashion week. And so I’d go through the motions and plan outfits and figure out what shows I would go to (the ones I was invited to anyway). And every time I went I felt a bit more insignificant, irrelevant and sad. To the point where I would absolutely dread the time of year when fashion week would come around. 

My goal with every piece of content I create for this blog is for it to have purpose. It should be meaningful in some way. If you’re a regular reader, hopefully by now you’ve noticed that I put a lot of thought, time and energy into my content, whether it’s an outfit post, a recipe or a travel guide. But fashion week for me lacked purpose. I wasn’t going to create valuable content for all of you (and there are plenty of people already doing a great job at that). Every time I went I asked myself the question, what am I doing here? I couldn’t come up with an answer. 

What I eventually realized is that it wasn’t fashion week, it was me. I just wasn’t that into it. How could a so-called fashion blogger (now I’d say lifestyle, but I digress) not care about fashion week? I felt like a phony. Not only because I didn’t like going to fashion week but because I kept pretending I did. 

Living in the age of social media can be strange at times. No doubt there are so many amazing things about it, but one of my least favorite things is how, no matter who you are or what you do, it can make you feel like you’re doing something wrong. Like you are not enough. It can make you question decisions and doubt yourself. It can make you feel insignificant and unimportant. I know this not only because I’ve felt this way but so many of you have reached out to me after something I’ve posted on Instagram stories about the “truth behind an Instagram” and said thank you or that it made you feel better about your own life. I hope I’m not getting too off track here but my point is I don’t ever want to make you feel insignificant or unimportant or like my life is better than yours. Trust me it’s not. We all struggle with a lot of the same things. We all have good days and bad. We all have messy bedrooms and dishes in the sink. Take time to identify the things in your life that make you feel good, that let you shine, that make you feel confident and proud. We don’t have to be everything to everyone. Just because I have a blog doesn’t mean I have to be at fashion week. I’m doing perfectly fine without it, and I can guarantee it’s doing perfectly fine with out me. 

Jess Ann Kirby accessorizes her winter look with Le Specs sunglasses and a beanie
Jess Ann Kirby styles Agolde skinny jeans with white booties and a faux fur jacket
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