Charlotte and Emma divide up the work for their blog evenly. They both create the outfits, Charlotte models them and Emma takes the pictures and writes the descriptions
Casey Manzella and Daniel Konstantinovic
Features Editor and Reporter
If you asked most students at New Canaan High School what they use social media for, they would probably tell you that they use it to talk with friends, organize clubs and even stalk people. However, if you asked sophomore Charlotte Grayson and senior Emma Grayson, they would tell you they use it to promote their fashion blog, Weeknd Chic.
Sisters Charlotte and Emma have long shared a love for fashion and this past January, they decided to share their passion with the world. “We are fortunate to have some really awesome clothes so when we walk down the street people are like, ‘That’s so cute! Where did you get that?’” Emma said. “So we wanted to make an outlet so people can go on the blog and say, ‘Oh that’s where she got that outfit!’”
While running a business with a sibling may seem like a daunting task to many, Charlotte
Charlotte and Emma work well together. Running the blog has actually strengthened their relationship.
and Emma were un-phased when they decided to start their blog. “People are like, ‘I can’t believe you’re working together and you’re still talking to each other!” Emma said.
Working together has not always come so easily though. A few months ago Charlotte had to run the blog by herself when Emma had her wisdom teeth removed. “When I got back she was still very much in control,” Emma said. “I wasn’t doing as much so then we delegated and got back to normal again.”
When working through difficulties, Charlotte and Emma have an example close to home to look to. “We learned from our parents because they have a business together,” Emma said. “We always see how they interact and work out their issues so it helps us.”
“Working together is definitely a relationship helper,” Emma said. “It strengthens our bond. We’re best friends, that’s why we can do this. We love hearing each other’s ideas and we’re pretty much open minded about it.”
Charlotte and Emma take advantage of living close to one of the fashion capitals of the world and often find inspiration for blog posts from their trips to New York City. “We go into Manhattan a lot,” Emma said. “Just walking around and seeing so many people with so many different styles is a huge inspiration for us.”
The influence of Manhattan style on their blog is apparent to followers. “The stuff on the blog is amazing!” sophomore and blog-follower Catherine Wright said. “It is so
Charlotte models an LF flannel, a Current Elliot shirt, a J. Crew shirt, a BCBG skirt, Steve Madden shoes and a Chanel bag in a September blog post titled “Layers to Central Park”.
sophisticated and very New York City chic. There are also key pieces and ideas that would help me everyday.”
Charlotte and Emma also look to the New York press for ideas. “We look at the New York Times Sunday Style section,” Emma said. “I cut out Bill Cunningham’s weekly articles of Style watch. I’m obsessed with him!”
The sisters also find inspiration closer to home. “Even just walking around school Charlotte will text me like, ‘Oh my God I just saw the cutest skirt this girl was wearing!’” Emma said. “So we’ll check it out and see if it’s a reoccuring trend and then blog about it.”
Sophomore and blog-follower Ellie Von Oehsen recognized these trends on the blog. “Our styles are pretty similar,” Ellie said. “I could easily browse through her blog for hours.”
After finding an inspiration, the girls begin the process of expressing it on their blog. “Finding inspiration is something that is equal,” Charlotte said. “We both put together ideas for outfits. When it comes to the actual description of the blog, Emma is in charge of that.”
“I think we’re both happy with the roles we play,” Emma said. “She wears the clothes and I can take the pictures. Then I’ll write the description and she’ll edit it.”
After creating the pieces and posting them, Charlotte and Emma use social media to attract followers. girls also use their personal Instagram accounts to promote the blog. Charlotte currently has 10 thousand followers on Instagram from all over the world. “We use blogspot.com to do our actual posts and everything,” Emma said. “We also use Instagram a lot because it is so accessible.”
Charlotte models an Aqua dress, Schutz shoes and a Céline bag in a March blog post titled “Birthday Occasion: LBD”
While the blog has grown significantly since January, this growth did not occur immediately after it was started. “Some of the difficulties have been seeing other blogs become so successful in a short amount of time,” Charlotte said. “We try to base ourselves off of that and be just as successful, but we know that it takes time. We started the blog and immediately wanted it to be popular, so the most challenging part has been trying to understand that we need to give it time.”
Emma saw the benefits of the slow start to their blog. “One of my mottos is, ‘Everything happens for a reason,’ and I think that the pace at which our blog is growing is definitely for a reason,” Emma said. “Because we’re in school and have so much going on, if it was growing any faster I don’t think we could keep up with it.”
Sophomores James Franzis and Justin Lampert can relate to Charlotte and Emma’s experience. Since launching their online t-shirt company, Mingo Wear, this past September, the company’s Facebook page has gotten over 120 likes.
It was only on September 3rd that James first had the idea to start the company. “I just thought it was pretty cool,” James said. “I found a flamingo and I’d always liked to design stuff so I thought of putting it on a shirt. I came to school the next day and discussed the idea with Justin.”
Justin and James started their t-shirt business just a month ago and their Facebook page has already gotten over 200 likes.
“When he first talked to me about it I was like, ‘I must be a part of this!’” Justin said. “I immediately started a Twitter page and a Facebook page and started ‘the asking thing’: asking for likes.”
According to Justin, social media has been vital to the success of the company thus far. “It definitely spreads it to broader groups of people. It gives it better expansion than word of mouth and allows it to reach people outside of the school.”
Although the company was just founded, James sees the benefits its brought him. “Obviously, to have a cool, popular thing going on and make a profit from it at the end of the day is great because it’s not a school-based thing, it’s something we’re doing ourselves.”
Charlotte and Emma have also derived many benefits from their online enterprise. “I would say the best part of it is getting great feedback from people who actually read it and have an appreciation for it,” Charlotte said. “We started it for fun so the fact that people actually take time out of their day to read it is rewarding.”
