[Creator Briefing] Fits, fabrics and feeling good in what you're wearing
A Q&A with Angharad Jones.
Welcome to The Content Brief 💼, a community designed to help you take the overwhelm out of preparing, producing and publishing your content (so you actually get it done). It’s less “how to succeed on Substack” … more *how to stay sane* as the Editor in Chief of your content.
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⏪ Last time, I ventured into how to think about your content as a whole and how you can do less to connect more. That's here.
⏩ Today, Angharad Jones sits down for a Creator Briefing Q&A.
What makes a great basic?
What do you wear on a long-haul flight?
And (please) what is a “comfy ‘I Made an Effort” outfit??
will tell you.(In fact, she did here, here and here.)
In
, Angharad is helping people find their personal style—and feel good in what they’re wearing.
It’s that last line that really sums up what you get … it’s not just a style newsletter championing timeless, ethical fashion and plenty of outfit inspiration but something more—how to enjoy getting dressed every day and feel good in what you’re wearing.
After starting a fashion blog in 2012, Angharad later moved to sharing her stylings on Instagram (building an audience of 45.6k followers) and now offers long-form posts, links and details about fits and fabrics here on Substack.
Having worked in-house at luxury fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands in London, Manchester and Sydney, and freelanced for even more around the world with a byline in publications including architecture and interior design magazine, The Local Project, and fashion magazine, Editorialist. Angharad joins the Creator Briefing today with more on her approach to content and her creative process.
What does “content” mean to you? How do you approach it? How has your approach to connecting with people through content changed since you started blogging in 2012?
What a question to start with! I feel as though over the years, the word “content” has become used only for images and videos on social media but it is so much more than that. “Content” covers a much broader spectrum of formats and mediums than people who don’t work in this field in one way or another quite realize. My personal focus is social media content (for Instagram, Threads and Pinterest), and Substack—particularly written posts with images, although I have dabbled in some video here too.
When I first started blogging, I was fresh out of university so I’d like to think my experience since then has improved the quality of my output! I’ve learned a lot more about marketing my content across platforms that suit me and my audience and understanding analytics to see what resonates most. The way we consume content has changed a lot since I first started out, mostly thanks to the internet and social media, so a big part of my career has involved adapting and moving with these changes, but that’s what keeps it interesting.
I always feel as though I’ve stayed true to myself with the content I publish on my Substack and social channels. I’ve adapted to new platforms and consumer behaviors but only when it’s felt right for me. Threads works for me because I like the conversational element. You won’t find me dancing on TikTok or creating a Reel on Instagram just because it’s trending but doesn’t feel authentically me.
You’ve described yourself as a writer, content strategist and Instagram content creator. How did you become a content creator? In short, what’s your story?
It’s a cliche but I’ve always loved reading and writing. I studied English Language and Linguistics at university, then had grand plans of becoming a journalist at a national broadsheet or big magazine—preferably involving fashion, my other passion. I started out as an Editorial Assistant at a small publishing company in London and ran a blog about style and fashion in my spare time.
This was 2012 and we were still feeling the effects of the financial crash, with a lot of traditional print media closing up and increasingly going online. A move into content marketing felt like a smart move, and I spent the next few years working in-house for online retailers and international brands. Just over two years ago, I took the leap to go self-employed and now I’m a freelance copywriter, editorial writer and content marketing specialist, working with fashion and lifestyle brands and publications.
I continued working on my blog until around 2018, when the fashion blogging era had all but fizzled out and Instagram had become the go-to platform for sharing all things style. My Instagram account was a natural progression from my blog—I’d been posting images of my outfits there for years—and my audience has steadily grown, giving me some incredible opportunities to work with brands I’ve admired for years. In July 2023, I decided to start a Substack. I missed having a space to write that was purely my own and I’ve really enjoyed going deeper than purely posting on Instagram allows.
You share your love for timeless, ethical fashion with plenty of outfit inspiration and styling tips. What does “personal style” mean to you and how are you helping people find theirs through what you create?
A huge part of personal style is about feeling good in what you’re wearing. Having a strong sense of style means being confident in trying new shapes, prints or colors, all while knowing when something isn’t “you” and what trends or items to steer clear of.
I use my Substack to go into detail about why I’ve chosen certain pieces of clothing, what I like about them and why I’ve chosen to style them in the ways that I have. I share a lot of my items again and again to also show how they can be versatile, leading to a more efficient wardrobe and less waste, which is a huge problem in fashion.
I find that going into detail about my approach to dressing and styling is really resonating with my audience, and ultimately, helping them feel confident in finding their style. A few months ago, I wrote a post about how I tackle those “I have nothing to wear” days. I gave a breakdown of my step-by-step approach and it’s up there with my most restacked posts.
What does your creative process look like? Where do you most often get content ideas? How do you move from idea to published post? And how does Substack fit into your overall content strategy?
It mostly starts with an outfit. For years, I’ve been sharing my looks on social media and my former blog, so I’m very used to documenting what I’m wearing. There isn’t a lot of thought that goes into what I’m posting on Instagram beyond the outfit. I love playing with style so it’s not often that I’m short on ideas when it comes to creating a new look but if I am stuck, Pinterest and good old street style are huge sources of inspiration.
Now that I’m sharing more of my styling process on Substack, I’ll think about how the outfits I’m capturing can feed into a wider subject—is it a certain trend that I’m tapping into, or a particular occasion I’m dressing for that requires a tricky dress code?
The questions and comments I get from my audience on Threads and Instagram quite often inspire a post on Substack, as do regular conversations with friends who tell me what they struggle with in terms of style. Having an existing audience on Instagram has been great for my Substack—I’ve gathered a lot of intel in terms of what their pain points are and I can now direct them to posts that go into a lot more detail than Instagram allows.
What are you currently feeling inspired by?
Spring is—very slowly—starting to arrive in the UK. I always get a rush of inspiration when a new season starts—I can pack away the heavier winter pieces I’ve been wearing for months and dig out my lighter clothing that hasn’t been worn for a while.
I often look to the runways and my favorite designers’ collections to see how they’ve created outfits for the season, and Spring/Summer 2024 is no different. I published a post last month where I recreated five looks from the runways using items of clothing I already owned. It was so fun to try new styling tricks and get inspired to wear my existing pieces in a slightly different way.
For more from Angharad Jones, subscribe to and follow her on Instagram. Have a question for Angharad? Drop it in the comments below!
Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear in the comments if this resonated or if there’s something you’re going to try. Seriously, drop a comment or hit reply. I'd honestly loooove to hear from you. Typing into the void isn't nearly as fun as interacting with a real human—you! 🫶
I’ll be back in your inbox before you know it with another edition of The Content Brief 💼.
Here’s to strategic, sustainable simplicity.
xx, Christin
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Thanks! I pour a lot of love into this space and I hope you can feel it. It wouldn’t be the same without YOU!