Meet LA Blogger Babe Lainey of Iamfashionlaine

A post shared by Fashionlaine ll Lainey 🦄 (@iamfashionlaine) on Aug 16, 2018 at 7:25am PDT

"Even my dog thinks she's an influencer" -Lainey, blogger at Iamfashionlaine

On Saturday at the Simply conference in LA I got to meet so many cool people from the fashion and beauty industry. Check out my interview with blogger and influencer Lainey of pop art fashion blog Iamfashionlaine. She spoke on a panel about being a micro-influencer and shared some great tips for bloggers just starting out. Before going on to her panel I got an exclusive interview with her where we talked about all things fashion and the latest trends in the industry as well as her top tips for micro-influencers.
She said, "Our panel is about the power of micro-influencers so I think the biggest tip is about being authentic to who you are because being your self is the biggest most special thing you can have in a world where everyone is an influencer, my dog thinks she's an influencer so its like what makes you different and I think its really you. That's what I figured out throughout the past 5-6 years about being a blogger."
This was a theme shared throughout the conference and something that really speaks to how the influecner space has evolved over the past couple of years.
Lainey told me about growing her blog and how her own personal style has changed since she started it. She is focused on a colorful style and her insta feed is filled with neon and rainbow outfits.

She told me about her look for the day saying, "Right now I'm wearing a crop top and a matching set and I love two pieces I love fun colorful stuff even if it's winter and I really do wear crop tops a lot so I feel like I always go back to that."

Lainey was taking advantage of all the great panels and expert opinions at the conference just like everyone else and she told me about the highlights she'd seen so far saying, "I've just been hopping around to the different panels and seeing a lot of people that I know and I was like Oh my God, Lo from the Hills is here! So I'm like freaking out. But just seeing the different people and hearing what they all have to say because everyone has something cool to say here!"

We also talked about her latest venture called Fashionablylatte a fashion and popculture Youtube show she created with her partner Diana Espir. She's been working on trying new content ideas with the show and was so excited when she found out I watched it. She even featured me on her insta story during the event! Check out her blog to see more of her fun styles here!

Check Out my Interview with Kelly Clarkson's Stylist Candice McAdrews at Simply LA

At Simply LA on Saturday I got an exclusive interview with celeb stylist to Kelly Clarkson, Candice McAndrews. Before heading onto her panel she gave me an inside look at what it's like to be a Rock n Roll fashion expert plus she shared her top style tips!
Fashion is an important piece of celebrity image and as a stylist Candice is responsible for creating that image and keeping it consistent. For a musician like Kelly Clarkson that means coming up with new looks when the singer is on tour while still keeping them on theme.
Since Clarkson always looks 100% I decided to ask Candice what her top style tips were because who doesn't want to look like a rockstar?
She said, "In, style and fashion I think that the best tip I can give anybody is to be confident in what you wanna wear and who you are because clothing is another way to express yourself. Rock what you've got and be you."
Now that's definitely the best fashion advice any girl could get.

Next she told me about the business side of the industry and how it's changed since she first started out saying, "Instagram and social media and showing your work on there is how you market yourself now. Showing the people that you've done shows that you're a professional even though there a lot of people on social media who aren't. I think that having your agent and an agency on there is important too. You have to really show that you are a bona-fide stylist and a professional because there's a lot of non-stylists coming off as professionals. I think that building a website, having an agent, showing your portfolio, and then people will believe you're an expert because you are."

On her panel McAndrews talked about what got her into fashion in the first place saying, " Growing up, I loved MTV and watching the music videos and seeing the different styles."

The stylist hasn't always worked in fashion though and first served in the army for 4 years before coming to LA to start her styling career. She shared that once she returned home she started thinking about what she had wanted to do when she was 16 and decided to take styling internships in LA because she remembered how much she'd loved fashion.

Her story is so inspiring because it shows that really anyone can be a fashion lover. She also told the audience that she's continued to serve in the reserves since she got out of the military and just retired from that last year, showing that fashion and other interests aren't mutually exclusive.

Finally she shared with me her favorite moment from her career so far as a stylist saying, "It's really hard to choose because I'm in Rock n Roll and Hollywood so I go back and forth but right now I'm working with Kelly Clarkson all the time and she is the dopest person on the planet. I'm so grateful to have her as a client. She's just humble and funny to no end, hilarious, she really takes care of her people and I'm just enjoying my time with her. We're doing the Voice and we're doing music stuff and we're doing some TV pilots and she's just bouncing everywhere so each day is something new and something fun and she's just really lovely, like I could do it forever."

Behind the Scenes at Awesomeness TV with Emily Hecht

My look for the conference! 

Saturday August 11, the Simply LA conference took place at the Americana at brand mall in Glendale, The digital marketing focused conference was filled with experts from the fashion and beauty industries. I got an exclusive interview with Emily Hecht the Head of Fashion and Beauty programming atAwesomeness TV. Before going onto her panel she shared some insight into the current trends in the industry as well as what it's really like to work at the digital media brand geared towards Gen Z!

First we talked about what it was like working with influencers since she interacts with them a lot in her job. She shared some of her top tips for influencers and how to keep content fresh and popular!

She recommended, "Always be organic and true to yourself. I think the reliability factor that influencers bring is so important especially now I just think that really being real with your audience and staying true to who you are is so valuable."

This was a theme echoed throughout the Simply conference and is such an important message for content creators!

Next we talked about what it looks like to take your influencer brand to the next level from her perspective working in the media and reporting on new brands and product laucnhes. For influencers who want to start their own brands or launch products Emily says it's important to be relateable to your audience.
She told me, "It's really the relatability factor of your brand and really building your brand based off of your vibe and your aesthetic, and building everything around who you really are so you can keep up. Because if you have a fake persona its harder for you to keep posting and keep being that person. Really just relating to yourself and hoping that your audience is going to appreciate that is the best way to build a brand."
Finally we talked about what's next for this growing space and Emily shared some of the top trends she's been seeing in her work in the entertainment world right now saying, "Raw content, like the more raw the better. It's really crazy. We see that a lot like on insta-stories. Like its this part of their life that we're not really seeing on their Insta feed because that's a lot more polished. And then on YouTube we see a lot of vlog content which is also not very polished just kind of like a day in the life type thing. I think that's just again, so relateable that people wanna watch that. Teenagers see themselves in that influencer or feel like that person is their best friend which is so cool."
Speaking of Insta stories you can find my Simply experience in my highlights section on Instagram @cerisesdumatin. Plus check out more of my Simply coverage on the blog as well as my article over at Hollywood Glam magazine!

Check Out my Article on Kat Graham's Favorite Style Icons and More at Simply LA for Hollywood Glam Magazine

I interviewed the former Vampire Diaries star at the Simply LA fashion and beauty conference on Saturday August 11. She shared her favorite style inspirations as well as talked about her latest collection of Foster Grant sunglasses. Read the full article here http://www.hollywoodglammagazine.com/2018/08/13/kat-graham-talks-style-and-fame-at-simply-la/

CdM Exclusive: Simply CEO Sarah Boyd launches Simply LA in style

“It’s really just one handshake or one introduction that you need to really change your career.” -Sarah Boyd Simply founder and CEO

Photo via Instagram @sarahpboyd

Simply common sense is the best way to describe Saturday’s fashion and beauty conference held on the rooftop of the Grove shopping center in Beverly Hills. The event, powered by Nylon Magazine was full of informative panels, innovative brands and fun networking opportunities, exactly how Sarah Boyd, the Simply founder and CEO, pictured it 5 years ago when she first came up with the idea.

“I was doing PR at the time and I really saw a need for in person connection and to do it in a kind environment.” She told me of her inspiration for the company.

The event was filled with experts and digital influencers from the fashion and beauty industries as well as editors and businesswomen from traditional media such as Gabrielle Korn Nylon editor in Chief, actress Ashley Greene, blogger Becca Tilley and more. Fashion lovers and young stylish consumers were invited to experience the brands that were showcasing their products and get the latest updates on the new and exciting companies that are making waves in the industry including popular names like Planet Blue, BeGalmmed, New Beauty Magazine, BlessBox, Shoedazzle, and more. For the VIP attendees exclusive access to panels with celebrities, digital influencers, and successful entrepreneurs was the highlight of the event. Topics like the business of blogging, starting a brand, and how to kill it on social media were just a few of the insider tips that were discussed.

She told me about her idea saying, “It’s really just one handshake or one introduction that you need to really change your career because you have that one person who believes in you. So, I wanted to make that happen here in person.”

Organizing the scattered and confusing landscape of social media influencers and publishers within the fashion and beauty industries is a challenge that few people have wanted to take on, and it is often regarded as a separate business altogether.

“A lot of this stuff, I never thought it would ever happen.” She continued.

However, providing a conference for consumers who are looking to experience their favorite companies and, industry leaders in social media and digital content, to connect with up and coming digital and traditional brands (and plenty of Instagram worthy photo-ops) was the perfect way to highlight all the things they have in common.

Not one to give up, Sarah told me about getting her ideas from her vision board to a real-life conference at The Grove saying, “You just gotta hustle and persevere and never take no for an answer and it can happen.”

“I network a lot. I always tell everybody at my events you have to network.” She added.

As for her process of finding the right brands to work with at the Simply conferences she said, “It’s people that have a big heart and are kind and share their knowledge. Not a lot of people do that in the industry so I personally handpick a lot of them…I think it’s just through meeting people and if I really feel like they can bring something to our audience that’s how I choose them.”

And she still has more she’s looking to accomplish for the future of Simply.

 “I see doing more cities, more countries. Potentially retreats in the future. Just building the community.” She told me. For now, she’s just been celebrating the success of her LA conference saying, “It’s incredible…A pinch me moment.”