NICOLE YVONNE
Nicole Yvonne is not your average blogger. She doesn't flaunt her expensive handbags or luxurious travels. She talks about REAL things and how to experience New York on a budget! What's not to love? After moving to New York City after college, Nicole has learned a lot about New York's culture, art, fashion, and events. She shares her experiences as well as some cool budget-friendly travel ideas. Be sure to follow her Instagram @nyinthecity and visit her blog https://nyinthecity.com
WHEN AND WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO CREATE YOUR BLOG, NY IN THE CITY?
"I had a really shitty internship when I first moved to the city and I felt like I wanted to do something creative. I noticed a lot of girls in the city had blogs and Instagrams, so I decided to start one of my own. It really started as a way to just report back home about what I’m doing and then turned into something people other than my mother read."
DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A FEMINIST? IF SO, IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU FIND YOURSELF EMBRACING THIS LABEL?
"I do consider myself a feminist. I’m not really sure how I specifically embrace the label other than just being myself. I think it’s inherent to be a feminist when you’re a woman. Otherwise, you’re going against yourself. If even you aren’t on your team, then who will be? I think as women it is common sense to be a feminist and I think even as men it’s common sense to be a feminist. Men wouldn’t be here without a woman. And after all that labor, man or woman, you better fucking fight for her."
WHO HAS BEEN MOST SUPPORTIVE TO YOU AND YOUR BLOG?
"If I don’t say my mom, she’ll kill me. She reads every single post and gives me edits, whether I asked for them or not. She even got on Instagram just to see my Instagram and like all of my posts. She’s my number one fan girl (she’s my only fan girl)."
DO YOU USE YOUR BLOG AS A VOICE FOR CHANGE? IF SO, HOW?
"I don’t necessarily outwardly voice my opinions on my blog. I’ve always been a little reserved on social media. I don’t like writing lengthy posts about my feelings or any of that. But, I think I do represent myself as a strong woman who is getting shit done in New York City. I think that in itself says something. I think I represent a type of woman, whether that be body type or personality or whatever, that is under-represented in mainstream media. There are other women similar to me who go about using their voice for change in a different way. They like to hashtag body positivity and express their feelings. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with that. But, that is just not how I express myself. If I started posting pictures of me in my underwear telling a story about all of my insecurities and then saying hashtag body positivity, it would seem insincere to me and I feel it would take away from what those women are doing. I don’t express myself that way. And, I think the whole point of the movement is to be able to express any body type in any way you want. I think my Instagram and blog do that. I don’t apologize for how I look or what I post. I post what I want, when I want, and how I want and I think that in itself is a change for women. Women need to stop apologizing for who they are."
WHO OR WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
"It’s so cheesy, but I want to say the city. I can’t really narrow it down. The city just has this energy and when you’re here you have this power. You can do anything and be anything. It gives you this confidence to be yourself. I was kind of lost before I moved here. I was just out of a horrible relationship. I was unsure of what I wanted to do. All I knew was that I wanted to be in New York City. Once I got here, it was like I had figured out what I was supposed to do. Everything else was secondary, but I was meant to be in this city."
WHAT’S BEEN THE MOST DIFFICULT AND MOST ENJOYABLE THING ABOUT CREATING AND PURSUING YOUR BLOG?
"The most difficult part is keeping up with having the life you want to post about and actually having time to post. I post about things that I do around the city, but then I get caught up doing so many things I don’t have time to post about them. My New Year’s resolution is to start planning content so I consistently post. The most enjoyable part is definitely the photography. Even though I can’t take my own pictures because I am in them, I definitely direct everything about the picture and then just stick one of my friends behind the camera. I’ve been having fun with disposable cameras lately because I find it fun that you don’t know what kind of shots you got until it’s developed."
DO YOU BELIEVE THERE IS A ‘FEMALE BLOGGER’ STEREOTYPE? IF SO, HOW ARE YOU REBELLING AGAINST IT?
"There is 100% a female blogger stereotype. First of all, people constantly think that because you take a lot of photos you must have some unnatural obsession with yourself. I think it’s kind of funny because people will make fun of me, but I already make all of those jokes about myself so I’m like unless you’ve got something new I’m going to keep doing what I want to do. But, there is also this female blogger stereotype that you get from all of these big name bloggers. You’re expected to look just like a model and have fake teeth and fake lips and be unusually tan in December and have that same fucking Gucci bag everyone seems to own. There is this aesthetic that has taken off in the blogging community of the bubbly, designer-dressed, model-like, jet-setting, fabulous blogger that has just taken off. But, in a way, it has ruined what blogging was before this influencer mania started. Those girls are not just your everyday girls giving you cute styling tips anymore. Now, they’re trotting around the city in designers you’ll never be able to afford. Don’t get me wrong, the looks are great, but seeing what feels like the same post over and over again is boring. I literally refer to them as the “Gucci Crossbodies” because at this point they have become so saturated by these designer brands and this influencer lifestyle that they have all sort of become the same. My new rule on my Instagram feed is that if I confuse your feed for someone else’s I unfollow you. If your feeds look that much alike, it isn’t worth my time. It’s nothing new."
WHAT’S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST SUCCESS IN 2017? IT CAN BE BUSINESS OR PERSONAL RELATED.
"Does just making it through the year count? I feel like this is one of those years that if you have just made it through give yourself a pat on the back. This has been a tough year for so many reasons and I think the biggest success has been coming out of this year still fighting."
HOW DO YOU THINK WE CAN CREATE A BETTER PLATFORM FOR FEMALE/FEMME-IDENTIFIED BLOGGERS?
"I think the best thing would be to just keep growing and keep pushing the boundaries. The best thing that could happen is for a platform like this to become mainstream."