IYAAJAY // MENS STYLE BLOG: help

DENIM CARE GUIDE // IYAAJAY

November 01, 2015

Happy weekend guys!

I thought Id do something a little different today and share what I've learnt since being the designated denim specialist at the Topman store I work at. Recently we ran a 'This Is Denim' campaign where we took the rules and ran with them, challenging guys to change how they think about denim and step out of the box when it comes to the classic staple.

Alongside stepping out of my denim comfort zone, I also learnt new roll techniques (yep, theres more then 1 way to roll!) and also how to properly care for your denim and tips that are definitely too good to not share with you guys.

Heres my 4 handy tips to keep your denim tip top;

ALWAYS FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS!

I honestly can't stress this step enough. Brands put these instructions in for a reason, they want you to love your denim as much as they do. Always make sure to follow the washing instructions to the letter and don't treat them like any old item! If your really keen on keeping your denim super clean, you can also invest in specialist denim cleaning care that you can pick up here.

WASH JEANS INSIDE OUT

I know this sounds odd, but it honestly works. The shape holds better and also you avoid losing colour in bars/patches which, it you wear a lot of black or blue denim, it can be quite a headache to keep it looking new after a continuous period of wear.

*NEVER* TUMBLE DRY DENIM

Ive done this before and trust me, its not fun at all. When you tumble dry denim, especially ones with added stretch, it shrinks and tightens the fibres which although mean they're skin tight to begin with, lose shape rapidly after, which then means your jeans become ill fitting and baggy which isn't good if your aiming for skin tight. Ive also found the friction caused in tumble drying can also rub colour too. If your patient enough, drying flat is ideal for denim as it keeps the fibres neat and even.

ONLY WASH WHEN NEEDED

I know this sounds uber-gross but bare with me on this in this crazy logic. If you repeatedly wash jeans (say after every couple of wears) the fibres get broken down due to friction and not only do they fade rapidly, but they are more prone to fraying and breaking, which, when you think of it, is just mortifying (needless to say, this has happened to me once *shudders*) My tip for this? Only wash denim when the waist band goes baggy. That way, the fibre has been well and truly worn and then will go back to original. Also if you obsessively wash your jeans (don't lie, I know your out there!) colour will rapidly fade so your once fresh black jeans will look a murky grey in a matter of weeks which nobody needs!

I hope you liked this post, if you'd like me to do more guides, let me know in the comments below!

ALSO, IYAAJAY has now joined on snapchat too so make sure you add 'iyaajay' to see all the behind the scenes daily madness that doesn't make it onto here or Instagram!

Until next time guys,

Jay

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FINDING YOUR NICHE - 5 HELPFUL HINTS TO HELP YOU DISCOVER YOU AND YOUR BLOG // IYAAJAY

August 07, 2015

This weeks been a little bit of a wordy one on the blog but sometimes, when time is a factor, I skip the pictures and would rather put out better written content.

I was talking to someone at work the other day who knows someone who wants to start blogging but she has no idea where to start and it got me thinking 'where do you start?' and then it hit me, whats unique about you aka your niche.

After racking my brain, Ive come up with 5 helpful hints to help discover you and your blog which I really wish I knew to begin with but now preach to other new bloggers and also have learnt from others too.

DIFFERENCE

When I began IYAAJAY, I didn't really know where I wanted to go with the content of it, whether it was purely fashion based, or a mixture of a few things etc but now I finally think I've found my niche of mens fashion and styling which is something I'm passionate about. What also sets people apart is their passions for different topics such as Andrew James with Beauty and The Boy,Ian Megrath at Rogues and Brogues, Thom Watson over at MANFACE or Bob Larking at Chivalrous, everyone loves different things so don't ever feel pressured into following the crowd. Another thing I've learnt is about is what sort of content do you want to put out. It could either be purely reviews, styling, hauls, you name it, its your blog, you can do whatever you want as long as your happy with the results.

DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK

I really wish I knew this to begin with. I was terrified to ask other, more established bloggers when I first started because I had some horrible thought that they wouldn't want to help a smaller, unknown blogger and so I struggled on until I was kind of hitting a metaphorical brick wall and I finally plucked up the courage and surprisingly got a lot of help. I know the blogging community looks scary, but we're a lovely bunch really! Nowadays, if anyone asks me anything, I gladly respond as I know the difficulty of asking. I also found joining blogger groups (specifically MaleBloggers) really helpful because everyone is there to help each other and also its a great place to trial new ideas etc too!

PREPARE

Blogging needs work, and work doesn't come easily, so be prepared to put in work weekly. I try and produce 2 posts a week, one thats a smaller, more concise piece and then one larger one towards the end of the week so my readers have a large article to read over the weekend etc. Try and find a schedule you can commit to and dedicate time to and once you get into that rhythm, you'll be typing away in no time! Also be prepared to do photography and editing too because I know it sounds easy, but the more photos, the more editing, and so on, so make sure you have enough time to put the effort and prep in to create great content.

LEARN

I know this section will sound a little harsh, but you need to learn these key rules before you start thinking your going to be the next Zoella or huge household name because it won't happen just like that. Blogging is not some get rich quick scheme, you have to put work in to get results, so if you think you can do 2 posts and then hit rich, blogging isn't for you. Its also not as easy as you think to get noticed too. Ill always remember when one of my posts featuring a new exciting brand got a higher amount of views then normal and then kind of took off and it was quite a rush because of the attention but then I realised I had to keep humble and still produce the content I wanted to and to not 'sell out' like other bloggers that are incredibly popular. Ive also learned, and have heard this from a few other people is that perseverance is key when working on blogging because it may be some time before you build up the views etc but if numbers don't mean anything to you, then keep doing what your doing, but if your one of those people who's doing it to get free stuff etc then seriously just re-evaluate what your doing.

MAKE FRIENDS

I know the blogging world looks scary and a big competition but to be honest, everyone is actually really down to earth and lovely that I've talked to. Make friends by following each others blogs, joining groups, whether thats through the comments sections on blogs or other social media (Facebook and Twitter are the best for this) or even getting involved in discussions whether thats over what ideas you have, or wheres the best place for themes etc, its a great way to meet new likeminded people.

Got any great tips worth sharing? Let me know below!

Until next time guys,

Jay

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