This post has been a long time coming. For the past year and a half, I have been working on re-designing my blog so that functionally, it’s easier for all of you to sift through my 6+ years of content and find exactly what you’re looking for! As I have transitioned from a designer to a designer/blogger, this is my final step in the transition to blogger full stop. I may bring back my Etsy at some point or do a few flash sales of your faves (because I’ve gotten a lot of requests) but for now, my aim is to dedicate my time to becoming the best plus size fashion and lifestyle blogger that I can be.
So why the re-design? Well, the old Ready To Stare site was designed to be an e-commerce site first and a blog second. This site is fully designed as a blog complete with better navigation, search capabilities and clearer images. Here’s some of my personal favorite features:
IMPROVED NAVIGATION
To put it kindly, my old site’s blog navigation was clunky especially on mobile. I knew this but my previous platform had limitations that made a total re-design my total option. The new site has been designed to be more intuitive and hopefully easier to find what you need. If not, the search tool has also been upgraded!
NEW CATEGORIES
The old site categories were decided back in 2014 and were simply not in line with how Ready to Stare has evolved. Content is now organized by , and .
Under Style, the category is designed to give you shopping reviews, lists and general shopping information. shows how I styled certain items and is where you can find Ready to Stare’s archival Lookbook’s dating back to our 2012 origins.
In the Travel category, is all about what I wore while traveling. If you want to find what I wore on my trips to Italy, this is where you’ll find it rather than buried on my site like it was before. is self-explanatory but expect to see that category grow! I definitely plan on adding more traveling while fat information here. is the home for conference, fashion show, expo and pop-up shop coverage. Want to know about my NYFW experience? Events is where you’ll find it!
For Lifestyle, you’ll find a lot of good stuff. I’ve introduced an category to house the many posts I’ve written about running your own small business that have definitely gotten lost in the shuffle. The category is where you will find a lot of my personal essays, self love musings and rants. is all the queer shit I want to talk about – my coming out story, my engagement and what to wear to Pride, it’s all there! AND finally, the much-requested category has everything I’ve written about dating, love and friendship.
EASY TO FIND RESOURCES
I have heard you! You wanted one big to find plus size fashion and body positive resources so I made one! From plus size friendly retailers and body positive podcasts to a list of fat-positive doctors and LGBTQ+ plus size influencers, this is designed to be a good primer for you or a friend looking to dive deeper into the world of self love, body positivity, fat activism and/or plus size fashion. This list will continue to grow and if you don’t see what you need, hit me up and let me know!
SHOPPING IDEAS
I get it. Some of y’all are just here to shop and that’s totally cool with me. I wanted to make things easier for you too! I have made it super easy to find my It’s linked right in the Resources drop-down. One easy way to support my blog is to click a link from my Amazon Influencer page before you add something to your Amazon cart to buy – that gives me a little kickback and costs you nothing! Plus, I have a lot of great shopping ideas on Amazon so check that link often!
As much as I would love to, I can’t afford to buy every item I like online. I wanted somewhere to post what’s on my shopping list – items I’ve tried on, bought but haven’t blogged yet or things I want to own. This is now called “” From bags and earrings to jeans and jumpsuits, this should spark your shopping habit. I’m not gonna lie, I’ve already grabbed a few things myself since creating it!
GET TO KNOW ME!
As a freelance writer, I know the importance of . I do a lot in addition to blogging so now you can find more information about me, see the press I’ve been featured in and easily find where I’ve written as a freelance in the About tab.
So that’s it. What do you think? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! I know enough to know I don’t know it all and I am super open to your feedback about how your experience as a reader could be even better!