Poppy Dinsey, we want your job! // The self starting fashion blogger

Poppy Dinsey, 24 // Fashion blogger and entrepreneur

When I gave birth to Le Blow, one of the first girls I approached to contribute was Poppy Dinsey. I’d followed her on Twitter for, like, ever and her updates never failed to amuse me.
I also liked the daily outfit posts she did on her blog, What I Wore Today – and the fact she used her mobile to take the pictures; that she sometimes posted in her PJs and the witty commentary alongside each look.

Since those humble beginnings, Poppy’s blog (essentially born out of a New Year’s Resolution to stop buying new clothes and to ‘shop her own wardrobe’), has proven to be so ruddy successful (250, 000 visitors a month, anyone?)  that it’s since developed into WIWT a social networky/outfit sharingy site and our Poppy is fast becoming the female equivalent to Mark Zuckerberg…

So what with building the WIWT platform, writing for MSN UK’s Life & Style channel and blogging for Vodafone at London Fashion Week, Poppy had to sadly decline my Le Blow job *snort!*

But on the day that WIWT is officially released into the wild (complete with iPhone app for outfit posting on the go), we managed to catch up with Poppy and yell in her ear: We want your job!

It’s WWYJ meets WIWT…

When people ask you what you do for a living, what do you say?
Either “I’m a fashion writer” or “I run a fashion website”. Then I have to explain that I don’t work for ‘insert magazine here’ and that I don’t want to review their outfit/take them shopping.

What did you dream of being when you were little?
I covered off most professions, probably everything except a vet and an astronaut. I wanted to be a lawyer, a banker, a screenwriter, a soldier (I know), a spy, a boutique owner, an actress… basically any profession that has even been featured in a movie. As I got older I narrowed it down to banking or screenwriting. I am not doing either of those things. Oh.

In life pre-WIWT, what did you do for a living?
My most recent ‘job’ was working at Globrix.com, a property search engine. I worked for a couple of vertical search engines, I was fascinated by them – they were on the cusp of doing something very disruptive in the search market. I eventually got bored of trying to be a cheerleader for technology to old skool estate agents who didn’t give a shit two hoots.

And then you went and made a life changing New Year’s resolution…
Yes. That was a weird time. I was in LA and wasn’t feeling very well so I spent New Year’s Eve on my own in a hotel room eating Cheesecake Factory takeout (Godiva AND Key Lime) watching a Jersey Shore marathon. I watched the ball drop in NY on the teevee then fell asleep. Rock and roll.

When/how did you make the decision to turn to blogging full time?
I stopped freelancing in May 2010, realising that I wanted to focus on building WIWT and seeing if I could run with the ideas in my head. I booked two weeks off in my diary and blogged that I was happy to meet with anyone (within reason) during these two weeks to discuss the ideas I had. I had four business ideas and I sat through 8 meetings a day to help me try and decide which idea to focus on. I decided to focus on WIWT.

Is it true you make £23238490475834577 per annum from blogging?
Yes, have you not seen my VW Lupo?

Where did you get the idea for world domination the stand alone WIWT site?
Lots of people would email me or tweet me with pictures of their outfits, I didn’t want to feature them on my blog (it was all about ME dammit!) but I could see that there was a demand for people to be able to join in the fun. And I don’t scale, ya know? People wanted more content but I can’t wear more than one outfit a day. Well, I could… but I’d be a bit of a twat.

How did you make it happen (did you have contacts already or have to sell your granny to fund it)?
My background is in tech, not fashion, so it was easy enough. I’ve always worked with super hot developers and designers, that’s what I’m used to doing. I had tech contacts to lean on for advice and so on, but I’ve never had fashion contacts. I’ve never worked in ‘that world’ and I find approaching fashion people really scary. I probably shouldn’t, but I do. I’ve only ever worked with brands that have contacted me first; I’m a bit of a baby like that. I should toughen up.

What makes WIWT different to other outfit sharing sites?
I think the difference is that it’s just a bit more laid back and inclusive. I’ve never wanted to post on the outfit sites that exist already, I’ve never felt cool enough. WIWT is for anyone to post to, no matter what they’re wearing. You’re not going to get chucked off the site for uploading in your pyjamas on a Sunday morning – in fact you’ll probs be featured on the homepage. And the tagging makes it different too, if a user tags their garments with buy links then other users can click out to buy the clothes they fall in love with straight away.

We keep seeing you on the tellybox or blogging at glam events like LFW. How have you managed to blag those cushty numbers?
People just ask me and I say yes, like an attention seeking ho bag.

Career highlight so far?
Probably dancing with Idris Elba to Kanye West at Big Chill this summer. (Dancing ‘right next to’ technically, but whatevs). Or the work I’ve done with Christopher Kane. Or that double page feature that was in The Sun. I’d always wanted to be in The Sun so it was nice to get in there without being half naked/killing someone.

Any advice for other start-up scensters? Or new fashion bloggers? E.g. anything you know now that you wish you knew then?
The people that succeed generally work their arses off…and I really can’t overplay that. I miss ‘fun things’ every weekend to be in the office instead. I have tiny gaps in my diary to see friends, usually breakfast time or a post 10pm cup of tea. You kinda have to sell your soul to your business. And be polite and kind to everyone, karma is very real indeed.

Do you find yourself making a conscious effort not to wear the same thing twice (I know I do)?
In the first year of my blog I wore something different every day, but I do have some favourite outfits that I wear to death.

Why don’t you live in London, then?
Lotsa reasons really, some boring and ‘personal’. My office is in Old Street and I am looking to rent somewhere Monday to Thursday so that I don’t have to commute in every day, commuting is shit, but I love where I live. I will always want my weekends here I think. I like living where I went to school and where I know everyone at the pub. I can never get that across to people, but I promise that if you visited my ‘endz’ you’d understand.

Dustin Hoffman. Discuss?
I love him so much. Have you seen Straw Dogs? You must see it. Then you’ll ‘get it’, I promise.

Song that best describes your life?
Ooooh I don’t know. I’m quite moody. ‘It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to’ (Cyndi Lauper)? ‘Baby‘s in Black’ (The Beatles)? I guess ‘My Way’ (Sinatra) is an obvious choice, too obvious. I shall settle on Eve’s ‘Let me blow ya mind’.

What would you like to do before you die?
Meet Dustin Hoffman and for him to think that I’m really swell. And I should probably have some kids too. Kids with Dustin would be ideal, but improbable.

You’ve got great boobs. Can I have them?
Imagine my boobs with your legs, we’d never need to blog again.

WIWT launched today. Go forth and upload your look here: http://wiwt.com/
Want to see what Poppy’s wearing? Sure. Head here: http://wiwt.com/user/poppy/