Joan Marie : Most Promising Personal Style Blog

Meet Joan Marie, the winner of the Most Promising Personal Style Blog in last year's Style Cookie Awards. A personal style blogger from Philadelphia, she has a penchant for bright prints, yet her outfits are chic enough to take you from day to night. I love what she does on her blog DraFashionista because her looks feature a myriad of styles : bohemian, city-chic, summer wear, and this makes her different from other bloggers in her niche. What started out as posting outfits on Instagram as a hobby{where she has a huge following of 11,000+}, became an inspiration to create a blog to chronicle her daily outfits. Find out more about her amazing style below....

1.What made you create DraFashionista?
Before starting the blog, ever since I was a little girl, i was passionate about fashion. Few years (2011) ago, I thought about starting my own blog, but by then I was a medical student, so it was very difficult to update the blog, so I had to abandon the idea.
In 2012 I started an account on Instagram and I started to upload my personal photos, until I uploaded a photo of an outfit and a lot of people liked it, so every day, I uploaded pictures of my outfits and I had more and more attention. I started to know other bloggers and girls who are passionate about fashion like me. So after a few months I decided to start the blog that both wanted, a space to expressed myself and the love for fashion that i have.
So it was that I started my blog and decided to call Dra.Fashionista because the DRA is synonymous with Dr (doctor) in Spanish and i added the Fashionista, because people used to called me Dra.Fashionista, while i was in Medicine School, because of the way i dressed.


2. Why did you choose to become a personal style blogger?
I wanted to express myself and the best way is throughout my style with personal touch.

3. Describe your sense of style.
My sense of style is playful, i love to play with colors, patterns and mixing and matching.

4. How did you feel when you knew of your Style Cookie Awards win?
I was so thrilled and happy to be part of such an amazing opportunity. This awards are a very good way to acknowledge other bloggers and i believe you'll have a lot of success with your blog and this awards in a near future.

5. Where is your favourite place in the world?
NYC, is such a vibrant and beautiful city. Everytime i'm there it makes me feel so powerful, that i always come home with such a positive thought into following my dreams that i can even described.

6. Who are your style inspirations?
I always get inspiration from movies, magazines and other bloggers or street style. But if I have to choose: Olivia Palermo, Lauren Conrad, Jessica from Hapa Time and Aimee Song from Song of Style.

7. What are your favourite style publications?
Marie Claire, Vogue, Glamour & Vanity Fair Magazine.

8. What was your most memorable moment of 2013?

Well it was a great year for a rookie blogger like me, but I really cherish the time I was featured on Latina.com and when i collaborated with a Store Called Gatsby  from my land Puerto Rico.

9. Your top 5 wardrobe essentials?
1. Blazers
2. Jeans
3. Heels
4. Handbags
5. Skirts

10. Any advice for personal style bloggers around the world?
The best advice i can give to a style blogger, is to be yourself and believe in you. If you feel right, it is right!

Adore her style? Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest and Instagram

Style Cookie Awards 2013 : Winners

After weeks of voting, the nominees have been narrowed down to the finalists, and now the winners of Style Cookie Awards 2013 have been confirmed. Before I announce them, I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has made this possible : bloggers who have nominated yourselves in, to the readers who have turned the finalists into winners, thank you for participating in the first ever edition of this awards, the fact that it has received so much positive feedback even in its first stage really makes my day. Thank you so much! But of course, the reason for this post : here are this year's winners....

JOAN MARIE : DRAFASHIONISTA

ASSHLY RONDON : ASSHLYOFFICIAL

KIRI YANCHENKO : FASHIONBLENDER

CORRINE VITALE : LOVE'S LIKE A RUNWAY

Congratulations to the winners! The bloggers above will be given featured in an exclusive interview as well as their blog links listed in a page dedicated to the Style Cookie Awards winners every year. Winners, feel free to add the post link to your blog to inform your readers of your win. Thank you once again for making the Style Cookie Awards 2013 happen! Love y'all!

Style Cookie Awards 2013 : Finalists

The nominations have been officially closed on the 20th January, and since then I've been looking through all the entries you've sent in and voila! the top blogs for each category have been shortlisted! I'm already rooting for some of the blogs here but it's up to you to decide who's going to be the winner for each category. Here's what you have to do :
1. Vote by commenting below for as many blogs as you wish, but you can only vote for one blog per category.
2. Include the badge below onto your blog if you are shortlisted to let your readers know about your nomination and vote for you!
3. On 30th January, the voting would be closed and on the 31st, the winners would be announced!
The voting has been closed on the 30th of January, stay tuned for the winners on the 31st!

    

      

                                                             

    

                                                                                                               

 

                          

<a href="http://thestyleobsessedcookie.blogspot.com/2014/01/style-cookie-awards-2013-finalists.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag68/forevercookiee/finalist_zpsda59dc50.jpg" border="0" alt="Style Cookie Awards Finalists" /></a>

Style Cookie Awards

Yes, you've seen it right. This year, I will be hosting the very first Style Cookie Awards on the blog! This was the big development I mentioned in my previous post, and I've been thinking about it throughout this year, so you can imagine how hyped I am that it's finally here! {I spent the past 3 weeks prepping it!} Since the unofficial anniversary of my blog is in January, I was thinking why not have a big blog bash to celebrate it with each anniversary? That was when I had the idea of a blog awards event as a way of honouring the most très chic bloggers who have given us endless style inspiration, from street style to outfit posts, vintage fashion to the hottest red carpet/runway togs, from all over the world. So if you have a favourite blog that you would love to feature, or just want to put your blog in the spotlight {who wouldn't?}--read on! 

How it works :

1. To qualify, follow me via GFC, Bloglovin' , Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr.

2. Enter your blog under any one of the categories below here {link}.

3. Place the {gorgeous} badge below onto your sidebar to let your readers know about the nomination! You may also tweet with the tag #stylecookieawards and it would be featured on the blog sidebar.

4. On 16th January 2014  20th January 2014 {due to the overflowing amount of entries!}, the top 3 bloggers of each category would be announced and the voting would be passed on to you to decide who would be the winner of each category. Further details would be released after that.
5. Comment when you're done!
Enquiries : stylecookieawards@gmail.com

Categories of 2013 :

- Most Promising Personal Style Blog

- Best Rookie Fashion Blog {A year old or less}

- Best Teen Style Blog {18 and below}

- Best Beauty Blog

- Best Blogger Duo
- Best Travel + Fashion Blog

<a href="http://thestyleobsessedcookie.blogspot.sg/2013/12/style-cookie-awards.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag68/forevercookiee/Untitled_zpsf4aee17e.jpg" border="0" alt="Style Cookie Awards" /></a>

May the most fabulous blogger win!

The Style Cookie Awards nominations have officially closed as of 20th January. Stay tuned for the honour roll coming up on the 21st!

10 Street Style Blogs To Know Now

Fashion Week is my favourite time of the year, and also the most notable event on any style maven's calendar worth her salt. Not only would it be another chance to feast our eyes on delectable couture on the runway, we also get to see them off the runway, that is on the backs of who's who of the fashion world, donning the season's latest trends. And what better way to chronicle their fashion choices than in a street style blog? 

During Fashion Week, all you need to do is to walk past say Lincoln Centre during New York Fashion Week, and ta-da! Style paparazzi clicking away at throngs of preening fashionistas, wearing everything from the latest trends to vintage finds and limited edition capsule collection pieces. These snaps have become inspiration to the fashion-conscious more than the glossy editorials in magazines, mainly because real-life people are wearing the clothes in an everyday life setting (minus the photographers at the back), thus it is more accessible and relatable. Trends are also set and seeing the latest looks of It-personalities has increasingly become a hobby for many people (including me!). Although I would love to feature renowned blogs like The Sartorialist and Altamira, today I would be focusing on lesser-known, but equally inspiring street style blogs from all around the world that you need to know (and bookmark!) now.

1. Le 21ème

This blog is just one word. Breathtaking. It doesn't picture still images of people posing, rather it takes action shots of people in their candid moments in the streets as well as detailed close ups of a variety of accessories. Definitely a must-visit, especially if you need a little cheering up. 

2. Street Style Aesthetic

One of the most successful street style blogs out there, Wayne Tippets captures his photos with a unique photo journalist take on street style. 

3. GarbageLapSlap

This is one of my favourite, partly because it features street style looks in Singapore! It always makes me smile to see a familiar building at the background in some of the pictures.

4. Pimpumpam

This Italian blog stands out in the fact that they interview every person they photograph, giving readers a peek into these style-setters world. The name of this blog is also really unique! 

5. Candice Lake

Born in Australia, Candice is based in London as a blogger, photographer and most amazingly, Contributing Style Editor at Vogue. With these kind of credentials, you can definitely count on her to produce swoon-worthy snaps of off the runway style.

6. Style East

Trendy street style from the upscale neighbourhood of East London.

7. Xssat

Captured by Xiaohan Shen, these photographs have landed her covetable features in Vogue, Elle and Refinery29! Look to her blog for the most gorgeous looks in the streets of Sydney.

8. Style Borsch

From the colourful streets of St. Petersburg, Russia comes this micro-blog which features Russians going about their daily lives in style. 

9. Nevskiy Podium

This blog also hails from St.Petersburg, but this time expect to see luxe pieces from notable style labels donned by many a Miroslava-to-be! 

10. The Street Walker

Israeli-based, this blog takes most of its pictures from the streets of Tel Aviv and the simple yet stylish outfits really took my breath away! The scenery in some of the pictures are also equally amazing.

What do you think of these street style blogs? Which one is your favourite?