“Well, I've loved fashion every since I was little...I wanted to be a fashion designer. I just love how clothing can transform a person and how nothing looks the same on two people. You can wear clothing in so many different ways and it's expressive. To me it fashion is art :)”
Suzy Pilaczynski, the blogger behind beneaththeglass.blogspot.com, takes this personal style shit seriously. I say that because, even though her style hardly deviates from the most mainstream of early 2010s fashion trends, she has a very clear sense of personal style that cuts through. She loves leopard print (she mentions that in almost all of her blog posts)—and just print mixing in general—and she often paired her boho-chic looks with an edgy vibe, throwing in dangerously tall wedged heels, leather accessories, or, often, both. I wouldn't quite say that Suzy is a trendsetter as she dresses like the manager of a Forever21 store (I mean, she did work there as a visual merchandiser...), but she still distinctly interprets those trends, and she's unafraid of working in a good thrift find or two to spice up her outfits.
The other thing worth mentioning about her blog is how incredibly open she was about her mental health and struggles with depression. I mean, by today's standards it doesn't feel all that vulnerable to share online that you're struggling in a depressive episode, especially in a media environment where oversharing such personal details is the norm. But this is just at the precipice of said environment, where talking about mental health online was a big deal, and it was bloggers like Suzy, who very frankly discloses details of her life like her tough childhood and experiences with depression to her readers, who made it okay to not be okay online.
“Long time readers will know that I suffer from depression; well, at random times that depression gets the better of me and I end up in a void and shut out everything around me. That's where I've been- clawing my way out of the black hole I dug myself into.”
Suzy's last blog post was an update saying she had to take a break from blogging because her husband broke her camera. Then after that…nothing. When a blogger is as open and forthright about their lives as Suzy was, you can’t help but grow a little attached and invested in their journey. I can’t help but wonder why Suzy never returned to blogging—did her depression get the better of her? Was she just too busy as a mom of 2 and a small business owner? While many of her peers have deleted or privated their blogs, Suzy’s is still up for anyone to peruse. Did she simply forget about it? Is she aware it’s still up?
So many questions, not many answers, but alas, that is the nature of media archive blogging. The key thing I’ve learned is to be satisfied by what you stumble upon, because trying to chase the unknown can lead to a digital void that consumes you for hours or days at a time. I can only hope that Suzy is doing well and that her and her family are happy and healthy. And of course, share the digital fragments she left behind:
No comments:
Post a Comment