20 February 2013

What is in a Name?


pleated plaid

Respect the shoes. I know, it just sounds like a footwear site of some sort, doesn't it? And I adore shoes, so I guess in a way that's true. But it's also a whole lot more to me.

When I first thought up the name for my blog, it just seemed to fit me.I think I've spent a good part of my life wrestling for some form of respect in a lot of different areas - being short but not petite, being asian but not necessarily good at science or math, being shy but a big-mouth, working in a mostly male-dominated industry, dealing with a lot of people who are older than I am, sometimes feeling like the family black sheep, etc., etc.

pleated plaid  pleated plaid
 
 In that instance when I typed the name into Blogger, I was thinking that I may be the owner and wearer of more than my share of frilly impractical shoes, but I should stand proud and not be made to feel silly for it - or as not silly as a personal style blogger who loves to shop should feel, I guess. Look at me, Internets, in all my gathered wardrobe finery!

So I think the easiest part of starting a blog for me was to think of a name. I honestly only went through about half a dozen iterations in my head, and now eons later, even as my style and blog have grown, I think it still perfectly appropriately me.

How did you come up with your blog name? If you could go back and change it now, would you?
 
pleated plaid

Sweater: J.Crew cambridge crewneck (worn here - same cardi, sim, sim)
Vest: F21 utility (worn here - sim, sim, sim)
Scarf: Loft exotic bullseye (worn here - sim, sim, luxe)
Skirt: Esprit, thanks to modernmom (worn here - sim, longer, as dress)
Tights: Anne Klein
Bracelet: Ann Taylor pearl & pave cluster (worn here - sim, sim)
Ring: BR (sim, sim, steal)
Boots: Vince Camuto bronco (worn here - sim, sim, pricey)

+ + + +

I'm away on business right now, so I'll be back to my regular blog-consuming activities shortly! In the interim, there's still time to enter my giveaway for $50 to spend at ASOS - enter here! 

54 comments:

  1. I'm terrible with titles, so when trying to come up with my blog name I went to my usual pool of song lyrics. My first choice was "A Lack of Color" by Death Cab for Cutie but that URL was already taken, so I picked "14 Shades of Grey", after an album by Staind instead. I like it, and it's become so much of me now that I wouldn't change it for anything. Besides it does now and then give me a stray visitor who's looking for a "50 Shades of Grey" blog :P

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  2. I'm always curious about how people named their blogs. Your story makes sense, I always thought it was something along those lines. And speaking of shoes, I really like your booties...I just bought a pair recently and I'm afraid they make me look stumpy.

    As for mine, it's the title of one of my favourite poems by Christina Rossetti (and I don't really care for poetry) and I thought it was a little quirky and silly and fun. Sometimes I think about changing it, but I've had it for so long, I think it's mine now. :)

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  3. Love your blog name Lisa....I thought it was so interesting and unique when I stumbled upon it a couple of months ago!!! Thanks for sharing your blog's backstory!!

    Rebecca
    www.redtagchiclosangeles.com

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  4. My blog's name as i typed it in was My Everyday wear - and then on the header i added my name because there was a similar one out there. Because that is all there is to is, it's just what i wear everyday.
    :)

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  5. My blog name (My Superfluities) is so ridiculous, but because of its "general" name would fit anything I write about. So I could have ended up blogging about fruit bats and it would have probably worked for that. In the end, I sometimes think I should have something more specific to what I do write about, you know, personal style/review/Boden clothing related, but eh, I have had the darn blog for four years now, and for better or worse, it's all mine.

    I always respect my shoes, for what it's worth. ;)

    Love your skirt, lovely lovely lovely!

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  6. Great topic Lisa!
    I really didnt know what kind of name i wanted,i just knew i wanted it to be different.
    When i think of outfits and shopping i am in my own little wonderland sometimes.
    I also like the movie Alice in Wonderland,so i guess its a combination of both:)
    So i came up with my blogname ina in wonderland.

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  7. The name of my blog used to be Bisous since that is the name of my other business as an artist designer for the crafting industry. Everyone else in the Craft and Hobby Association went by there given names and seemed to be more recognizable and were able to develop their brand better based on their image and name. So when I decided to switch over into more of a fashion-centric blog format I decided I needed to put my name in there. Now I don't know if I made the right decision. Seems like I'm always 2 steps behind...

    I love your vest and you seem to get lots of use out of it.

    bisous
    Suzanne

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  8. I had the hardest time with my blog name. I wasn't quite sure what direction I wanted to go with it, so I didn't want to pick something strictly fashion-related. Although now that it's gone in that direction, I'm sure people wonder why I chose it!

    Fizz and Frosting

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  9. Blog names are tricky! It's all about marketing yourself essentially and it can be tough to pinpoint one. I still like my blog name of Ruffles & Sequins (makes me giggle every time) but I do want to change it. But I also think that its too late to change it, since I'd be rebranding myself which is difficult step to take. AND it doesn't help that I haven't got a clue as to what I'd rename it. Maybe Desperately Indecisive?!?!? :P totally joking :D Great post, Lisa!

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  10. My blog name was first the name of my Etsy shop (which I no longer have). I knew I wanted it to be "tiny" something to incorporate the fact that I'm petite. I'm happy with the name I chose and I wouldn't change it!

    -SharonThe Tiny Heart
    February Group Giveaway!

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  11. My blog name is my childhood nickname, which isn't necessarily marketable, but when it FINALLY popped up as available on GoDaddy I bought it without even thinking twice and set up an automatic renewal. The only tricky/annoying part I've found is that it's hard to get the same name on any other platform (Twitter, Instagram, Gmail, Pinterest, etc) because, shockingly, I am not the only Heidi who uses the German diminutive "heidikins" as a nickname. Sigh.

    xox

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  12. I love your blog name :) And I also love that adorable plaid skirt - so fun!

    Annie
    The Other Side of Gray

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  13. My blog name was a pun (of course it was, because I'm a dork and it's what I do best) based on my maiden initials and frequent nickname--TAT. When I first created it, it was Oh Well, TAT's Life, like the phrase "Oh well, that's life". It's still the actual url address to my blog. It fit really well because it meant I could blog about whatever I wanted to in relation to my life. It didn't start off as a personal style blog at all. When I married my high school sweetheart Mr. Wheeler, I simply could not resist the punnery that was us being "Two Wheelers" (like bicycles--even though we don't even own or ride any). And hey, if we ever had kids, I could call it Three Wheelers, or Four Wheelers. To transition the blog name change(even though like 4 people read the blog at first, so it probably wouldn't have mattered), I added the tag line "Oh Well, Tats Life just got even better" so that the url would make sense, and as another jokey-type reference to having gotten married. I also included an explaination of the change in my blogger bio.

    What an interesting topic for a post! I actually really enjoyed explaining my blog name on here. Wow, I AM a huge dork.

    Taylor
    Two Wheelers

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  14. I think you chose a great name for your blog. Personally, the name for my blog came from a nickname given to me from a co-worker way back in the day. I worked retail and they were insisting that I wear a nametag. Having being given a name that instilled in the general public a need to comment on it instantly (Rockin Robin, Robin Hood, Batman and Robin, Robin Williams, Robin of Loxly, etc.), I refused, but they didn't give up. So I chose a random, but beautiful name of Francesca, a name I had always liked. Everyone at the store started calling me Frannie or Frannie Pants. Newbies and customers really thought that was my name and I was fine with it. Thus, my blog name was born.

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  15. Love this look on you - and I was always curious about the name! Sounds perfect now that I've heard the explanation. :)

    My blog name was born from a brain storm session with my sister - I wanted something literary inspired (English major and bookworm!), so we went with the old Dick and Jane books as a model. But I also wanted something that felt personal - which is why it includes my nickname, Mo. The "go" just seemed fitting in that in won't define the blog too much - it can be about my daily adventures, which are mostly fashion-inspired, but also feature fitness, food, family, etc.!

    xo
    See Mo Go.

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  16. I love that you shared the story behind the name of your blog, I always assumed it had some deeper meaning and I am so happy to learn about it. It does suit you so well from what I can see, and I adore that you are always so honest and open.

    I came up with mine because one of my friends asked me "Don't you just adore life?" one day in a conversation and it just stuck. I do adore my life, not that it is so great and grand, but it is my life and I am able to live it in the way I want and I adore that I can do that.

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  17. Thanks for sharing this Lisa! As for my blog's name, I've always loved clothes but was in a total fashion slump. Right before the school year started a fried suggested I look at Along the Lines of Style. I'd never seen a fashion blog before but through Whitney I found all these other cool blogs and it caused me to look at my clothes differently. Every new outfit I put together instantly became "my new favorite outfit." I few months later when I decided to start my own blog I just new the name would be perfect. :)
    Ginny
    mynewfavoriteoutfit.blogspot.com

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  18. I always imagine Aretha belting "Respect" when I click over to your page. And I love that your strong woman persona fits so well with that! I chose The Perpetual Student's Wife because my husband is in grad school. For music. Forever. Which seems silly. I had to put off a lot of my own personal goals (home ownership, being a mom, holding down a job for longer than the length of his next degree) and was feeling a little bitter and snarky that his dreams became our plans. So I ha ha ha ha'd my way into the snippiest non-insulting blog name I could think of. And it's funny because, even though he's graduating, has kicked ass all the way through his professional student-hood and won a killer job, I'm STILL going to spend my life surrounded by academics. Can't escape it! But, I wouldn't change my blog identity for anything. It's recognizable, it reminds me to remember that it's okay to snark a little, I'm introverted, but I've got a terrible sense of humor. Might as well own it.

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  19. I love my blog name. I wanted something girly + tough like me. It works. I just hate that it's too long to use as a username on most sites. I use mistylovesvamps on most social media sites, but need a better name to work with the blog. Still working on it...

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  20. i like my blog name but i would change the actual url of it. i think i attempted to once and it just messed everything up. alas, if someone has tips... i'd appreciate it. ;)

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  21. I wanted something that would signify food and fashion. But I wanted a word that flowed, almost like a made-up word that *could* be a real word. And so FashionEdible came about.
    FashionEdible Blog

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  22. I love the name of your blog, thanks for sharing the story behind it Lisa! I would have started my own blog months before actually doing it, but it literally took me that long to think of a name! Finally, afte considering and casting aside many different titles, "Colorful Corporate" popped in my head and it fit me perfectly. I work in the corporate world and I love color, but sometimes meshing the two in an appropriate way is difficult. www.colorfulcorporate.blogspot.com is just my little corner of the internet to show other professional women what I consider to be fun, feminine, but also professional work wear. :)

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  23. I loved reading about how your name came about. Mine started off as more of a daily life blog, then morphed into a personal style blog with a dash of my goings on thrown in it. Not all that quirky or fun, but works for me!

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  24. My name was chosen very easily. I had just came back to my home country, and I felt really out of place and disconnected.
    It's still a name I love, and I wouldn't change it. I often still feel so out of place!

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  25. i love your blog name. mine is boring but it started as a personal chronicle of things i was doing, so it just fit. if i were to pick another name, i'd try to be more clever. LOL.

    xox P

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  26. I'm glad it looks like I wasn't the only one who had trouble with a blog name. I wanted my blog to have some fun, cool name (I had a friend who had just started a blog, Pancakes & Stilettos, which I thought was such a clever name) but I was lame and couldn't think of anything. I take that back, I thought of some cute ones but they were all taken! So I went with my last name (Cairel Chronicles). Then, as you know, I started getting a little weirded out by our last name being so OUT THERE with pictures & stories of us so now it's Jen + John. I kind of hate it but don't want to go through the trouble of switching blogs AGAIN. *le sigh*

    Love your skirt & those booties!

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  27. Another awesome topic!
    As connected as I was to Shopping the Closet, I no longer want to post OOTD's or talk about clothing. Well, maybe once in a while. ;) I still only read maybe 2 or 3 style blogs, yours being one of them. I spent months trying to figure out how I could evolve my blog into what I really have to talk about while still being Shopping the Closet. For me, it made more sense to walk away and start fresh.
    Since my new shop is called Ballyhoo and Bedbugs, of course I gave the blog the same title. Ironically, I almost opened a real life Ballyhoo and Bedbugs in the 90's, selling the same type of merchandise in a brick and mortar shop. It's exciting that all these years later that dream is finally coming to fruition!

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  28. I sort of wish I could change my blog name. I called it Lindsay's Look because that was the name of my celeb gossip column in college. I really wanted to call it oh my blog because that just seemed so inherently "me"- my friends and family always joke about me always saying "ohmygod" really fast as a response to things. I typed it in, and it was taken. So I figured if I went with something I had already used, I had at least some people that were familiar with my writing and what I did. So I don't know, I'll keep it for a while I guess. What's in a name, anyway?

    ~L

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  29. hahahaha, cute! I love my blog name and wouldn't change it a bit. It says what I want it to say, that; life is full of sparkling moments and they aren't all in fashion. :D

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  30. i love your scarf! Such a gorgeous print!

    xo,
    Angela
    headtotoechicblog.com

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  31. I really enjoyed hearing about why you named your blog the way you did. I think the fact that you don't fit into typical stereotypes for the characteristics you possess is exactly what we all like about you.

    I really named my blog in a whim. One of my friends had a bunch of different nicknames for me, and Franish was one of them. I just picked it out of the air when I randomly started my blog. Now it feels right but I didn't have much of a reason.

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  32. What a great post! It is so neat to hear how you and others came up with blog names! My blog was originally called "The Philosophical Fashionista" because I'm in grad school for philosophy and I love fashion; I actually intended to write philosophical reflections on fashion related topics. I didn't actually tell anyone about this blog, and I realized the name was a mouthful. I changed it to A Journey in Style because I wanted the name to reflect that my style was a work in progress. It actually took a while to come up with the name since so many variations of it were already taken (but the sites hadn't been updated in years).

    I would actually change mine because one of my favorite blogs is called "HK Style Journey"-- I don't like having such a similar name. I came up with a different name I much rather prefer, but thought it would be too confusing to change it now that I have followers and such.

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  33. Great topic Lisa & l love the reasons behind your blog name. I totally struggled with coming up with a name. I wanted a name that was kind of generic since I was not sure where to take the blog (though I knew it would be fashion centric). I wanted to target an older audience but now I kind of wish I didn't since it seems like I am connecting with people of all ages. I have no idea what I would change it to but it would probably be shorter so I don't have to type it as much. :)

    Alice
    www.happinessatmidlife.com

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  34. I totally know the feeling. (PS, that's how I feel about most things that you write. You're very relate-able.)

    I thought about my blog name, but I honestly decided on it on a whim. It's crazy to think that years later, I've built myself around the name.

    7% Solution​

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  35. Love the outfit! The skirt is so cute!

    Choosing a name/title is really hard. I find the other bloggers' blog names are so unique! I would come up like 10 random titles, but always end up choosing the easiest one haha- because it's so easy to remember and plain simple. I just thought of a nickname and made it as a title of my blog. I'd probably stick to it for a while :)

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  36. I love the scarf :) Name titles are def hard and when I started my blog I just used a nickname that I had for one of my MSN names haha - something that I would remember and that others I hoped to as well but if I ever do another blog I might change it to reflect the content of my blog :)

    katattack2000.wordpress.com

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  37. What a pretty combination - love the skirt and jumper together!

    Have a great day,
    -Kati

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  38. Love your skirt and sweater! So cozy and chic :)

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  39. i'm loving that skirt lisa. what a great plaid! i wanted something really general that encompassed everything i felt was sweet. whether it was clothes, accessories, beauty, travel, art...just anything sweet!
    http://www.averysweetblog.com/

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  40. U look amazing here babe xoxoxo

    www.islandchic77.com

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  41. Hi pretty! I came up with my blog b/c I am fashionable and a lawyer, hahaha.
    I personally love the name of your blog.
    It's a great motto. I feel like I could see the phrase, "Respect the shoes" on one of those frames, like the one's that say " Keep Calm & Carry On." Wouldn't a piece of art like that be perfect for a closet or something?
    Go ahead, use my idea. I give you permission. lol.

    xo
    The Fashionable ESQ
    http://www.thefashionableesq.blogspot.com/

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  42. So cute! Love the scarf, especially! I think "Respect the Shoes" is the perfect name for your blog, too! Also, it's so memorable!

    We had some different ideas for LCDF, and I love laconceptiondesfemmes, but I do kind of wish we made the actual URL lcdf.blogspot.com and had the longer title on the webpage! laconceptiondesfemmes.blogspot.com is not only hard to type out, it's hard to just tell someone and have any kind of confidence they will ever find the blog! LOL! :)

    *Maigen

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  43. I had the hardest time thinking of a name for my blog! When I decided to start one, I was super inspired by fashion bloggers, but I didn't think I had what it took to commit to posting only outfits everyday. Plus, I've always loved writing and knew I wanted to have the freedom to write about my life experiences too. I was trying to think of something that was broad enough to represent everything I wanted to have on my blog and after thinking way too hard about it, my blog name just kin of floated into my head and it stuck. I'm happy with it and think it fits me!

    Stephanie

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  44. I go back and forth with my blog name - while I like it because of the alliteration and because it speaks to my clearance rack pillaging tendencies, I sometimes wish I'd come up with something more unique, and occasionally feel like i've boxed myself into a corner and feel guilty if I blog about splurging on something frivolous and overpriced.

    Chic on the Cheap

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  45. I like your blog name, but then again, I love shoes! I heard once that they really "make" the outfit and that stuck with me. I chose my blog name because I love eggplant (the color, and the food) and it's a play on words -- c'est/say aubergine. Though aubergine/courgette (eggplant/zucchini) are more commonly used in British English.

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  46. I love your blog name! It's fun and hell yes you better respect the shoes ;) I wouldn't change the name of my little blog - pearls & paws sums it up pretty well!

    XO
    Pearls & Paws

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  47. ooh love your mixing of prints! the scarf and skirt are perfect :D

    katslovefashion.blogspot.com

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  48. I love it, do you want to follow each other?
    Kiss**
    http://fashion--gets-fierce.blogspot.pt/

    and here's my page on facebook
    https://www.facebook.com/fashiongetsfiercee

    Would mean a lot if you could like it!!

    Nice blog between, i really like it :)

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  49. LOVE the shoes

    -liv
    http://chocolivlovelaugh.blogspot.kr

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  50. There is so much to respect about you, Lisa. To me, you are way more than a pretty pair of shoes. You're a talented writer, you seem to have ESP and know what I'm thinking at all times, and you are approachable (some style bloggers are not).

    I did change my blog name (but not the domain name yet) to The Good Will Hunting Paralegal, mainly because somehow my blog morphed from a news site to a budget style site. It sort of snuck up on me as these things do.

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