our journey & why we started lastseenwearing

julie: our friendship

To understand why we started Lastseenwearing, you have to understand our friendship. It started over a conversation about what I was wearing…specifically my jeans. It’s a great conversation opener, but really, how often do other women come up and ask you about your clothes? As soon as Krista said, “Where’d you get your jeans?” I knew we had a connection. Over the years, we’ve laughed about how much we talk about clothes and fashion, a subject that would make most people roll their eyes. But we didn’t care. To us, it was no different than talking for hours about any hobby or interest–the usual ones like scrapbooking, gardening, and restoring furniture weren’t our gig–we loved talking trends, dressing for your body type, and creating unique outfits! Krista had so much wisdom in this area that she eventually became a personal stylist for private clients. I kept telling her she needed to start a blog–seriously, if she had started it way back then, she would be BIG TIME right now lol! But all this was happening when blogging and Instagram was in its infancy, so it just seemed so “out there”…

our IG beginning

Fast forward to last summer…both Krista and I had started to follow several fashion bloggers on Instagram, like @merricksart, @cassiesugarplum, and @fashionjackson. We loved their fashion sense, their tips, the peek into their interesting lives. But we also knew that we were full of good fashion sense and tips too–it was becoming more believable that we might have what it takes to dive into the world of fashion. Instead of continuing to push Krista, I told her we should do it together…what could be more fun? Our kids were older now, so it was the perfect time in our lives to start an adventure. The only thing holding us back was deciding on a name…

We both have a strong faith, so we believe there’s no such thing as coincidence. The name “lastseenwearing” popped into my head one morning, totally out of the blue, and the moment it was in my head, I knew it was perfect. I immediately texted it to Krista and she loved it! Only later did I see that my husband was reading a mystery book by Colin Dexter titled Last Seen Wearing…oops. Senior moment or God moment–we’ll never know!

–Julie

krista: our first year

I think it’s an understatement saying that there was a steep learning curve in starting Lastseenwearing. The part that probably came the easiest was coordinating the outfits and working together–the fun stuff! The steeper learning curve was in the technology, photography, posing, collaborating, captions, you name it! However, the biggest thing we had to overcome in our first year was the concern over what people would think of us. Before starting LSW, Julie and I would occasionally post on our personal Facebook or Instagram, but it was few and far between. We were never very “out there” on social media. Well, we’re definitely “out there” now! We’ve learned, over time, to be ourselves, pursue what we love and to let go of the rest. So many of our friends have been super supportive, and we are so grateful!!!

Julie and I, before starting LSW, loved texting each other ootd pictures. We used to joke that we had a fashion blog with one follower! Come to find out there are thousands of fashionistas all over the world that love to do the same thing!! We have met so many wonderful women through fashion blogging. Many of these women we consider friends due to the fashion inspiration, advice and laughs we’ve shared on Instagram. Recently we’ve begun collaborating with some local fashion bloggers/friends that we’ve actually hung out with in the flesh. We’re looking forward to future opportunities with these gals!!

I remember one weekend early on in our first year when I realized that LSW wasn’t just an experiment… it was actually a “thing” that wasn’t going away! I kind of freaked out thinking that I had to keep getting my picture taken! After riding this wave of fear and doubt for a couple of days, I recovered and Julie and I have persevered ever since. I am so thankful for Lastseenwearing–for the fun, the challenge, and the friendships gained along the way. We thank all of you for your support, and we look forward to the years ahead!!

–Krista