whowhatwear.com
Although Oxford seems like a small speck compared to the urban capitals of the fashion industry, there are some students, like one inspiring University of Mississippi alumna, who graduate and prosper in the big city.
Meghan Blalock, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, has done just that. Currently managing editor of the fashion blog Who What Wear, Blalock started out by utilizing on-campus opportunities.
During her years at Ole Miss, Blalock started her collegiate career writing for The Daily Mississippian. She began writing her freshman year and later became an opinion editor. Eventually, she graduated to managing editor. Her senior year, she began writing a “Hotty Toddy Fashion Column,” which would prove to be a pivotal move for her future.
“I always grew up knowing I was going to be a writer, but I never really knew it would be about fashion,” Blalock said. “I always loved looking at fashion, but my first passion was writing.”
The “Hotty Toddy Fashion Column” took a humorous look at Ole Miss dress and game day attire by critiquing Oxford’s fashion culture. Appropriately, the column would run every Monday after a game day weekend.
“I found it interesting that in the South there were not a lot of progressive attitudes (towards fashion),” Blalock said.
After graduating, Blalock made the jump to New York City. She worked in fact checking for three years. One day, she made the significant decision to go back to writing about a familiar subject: fashion. Blalock started freelancing for various fashion websites to build up her portfolio. She took a summer fashion journalism job and later saw an opening for a temporary position at InStyle magazine.
As expected, the transition from Oxford to The Big Apple was not without challenges. Blalock, however, was adamant about pulling it off.
“The South is a very chill place. Everyone is really friendly. New York City is the opposite. Everything happens at a very fast pace,” Blalock said. “Before New York City, I had never lived in a place where you use the subway to get everywhere.”
Through a chance conversation with her Los Angeles-based boyfriend, she talked about possibly moving positions to there to settle down. As luck would have it, opportunity came knocking shortly after.
“I got a message from the founder of Who What Wear,” Blalock said. “She told me that if I was interested, they would fly me out for an interview.”
Who What Wear is a popular website that covers everything from street style to runway trends to editorial fashion.
As Blalock put it, “More conceptually, it is a website to empower women” through updates on fashion beats.
Blalock’s role as managing editor at Who What Wear encompasses a variety of tasks. She writes a great deal of content for the website and helps manage the editorial calendar. Signing up for Who What Wear’s newsletter means that you get to read messages written straight from Blalock herself.
After climbing up the ladder in what is considered one of the harder industries, Blalock has words of wisdom for those interested in pursuing a career in fashion.
“I would say that reaching out to people you admire is one of the best things you can do,” Blalock said. “When I was looking for an internship, I bought a stack of magazines and found email addresses, and I just emailed people— anyone who was in the fashion department.”
A crucial factor for succeeding in this industry also lies in being determined. Most of what happens in the fashion world happens in a big city. Learning to thrive there is imperative.
“You learn quickly that you are in a place where everyone is fighting hard to make it where they want to be,” Blalock said. “You either fall in line or you don’t.”
