London bloggers: WishWishWish, What Olivia Did etc...

[Whoneedstalent]

Thought I’d stick my nose in here - I actually really like both Carrie and Liv and find them refreshing in the world of Sophie Milners / josieldns / lydias etc. I also think both of them have real talent, especially Carrie with her photography. Both come across as down to earth, and not showy or superficial!

As someone who can’t stand the product-pushing, self-absorbed, consumerism heavy and tone deaf influencer antics that we see all the time, I really do enjoy what Carrie and Liv bring to the table. And I appreciate their craft and believe they totally deserve their audience.

I find the comments here about Carrie being ‘so, so vain’ and Liv ‘big-headed’ bazaar to be honest. Carrie is hardly posting selfie’s every 5 seconds like a lot of influencers and when she does they’re beautiful photos in their own right.

They also seem to be on the right side of any scandals like the influencers jetting off to Dubai or moaning because they couldn’t get their nails done.

Most influencers just leave me feeling rubbish about my own life, shoving a new Chanel bag in our faces or posting another half naked photo that’s been facetuned to the brink of reality. These two are actually really nice to see on my feed.

I like them.

 

[Shutterbug99]

I've followed Carrie for ages. Along with Mademoiselle Robot, she was probably the first fashion blogger I followed. I still follow her on Instagram, as I still mostly like her style (I know she looks like she's stuck in time warp, but I quite like that). Anyway, the thing that strikes me about her is that her career doesn't seem to have progressed like some of the rest of these influencers; she still seems at the same level as she was years back, although she does get some Marc Jacobs ads (I think maybe a Chloé ad too?) and she is gifted quite a lot of nice stuff from Sézane. She often strikes me as being quite unfulfilled. She has spoken a few times about wanting to start a family, but they have put this off as they are not homeowners, and so it is not the right time. I have no idea why they are not homeowners, as her husband seems to have a pretty good job (working on Star Wars and the like) and others in her field seem to have no problem snapping up property. They have been renting for a long time now. Must be over a decade. I feel like she is maybe stuck in a bit of a rut.

As for Liv, I have never really warmed to her, even though she seems perfectly pleasant. I don't know why I haven't taken to her. I think it's because I often find myself rolling my eyes at her 'Insecure girls club' shtick. She strikes me as anything but insecure!

 

[clueless]

I've followed Carrie for ages. Along with Mademoiselle Robot, she was probably the first fashion blogger I followed. I still follow her on Instagram, as I still mostly like her style (I know she looks like she's stuck in time warp, but I quite like that). Anyway, the thing that strikes me about her is that her career doesn't seem to have progressed like some of the rest of these influencers; she still seems at the same level as she was years back, although she does get some Marc Jacobs ads (I think maybe a Chloé ad too?) and she is gifted quite a lot of nice stuff from Sézane. She often strikes me as being quite unfulfilled. She has spoken a few times about wanting to start a family, but they have put this off as they are not homeowners, and so it is not the right time. I have no idea why they are not homeowners, as her husband seems to have a pretty good job (working on Star Wars and the like) and others in her field seem to have no problem snapping up property. They have been renting for a long time now. Must be over a decade. I feel like she is maybe stuck in a bit of a rut.

As for Liv, I have never really warmed to her, even though she seems perfectly pleasant. I don't know why I haven't taken to her. I think it's because I often find myself rolling my eyes at her 'Insecure girls club' shtick. She strikes me as anything but insecure!

I completely agree with this. Carrie doesn't seem to have progressed like some others, although she does still get some great partnerships/giftings from time to time that I'm still envious of! So much of her content was travel related and I understand this has been put on pause, but I'd love to see her getting back to her blogging roots again; there was a time she blogged regularly about non-travel things as well, so I don't think there's much of an excuse to not be blogging more; her last post was on Christmas decorations, on 1st December! Nearly two months ago. Though with her blog being so polished, perhaps 'old-school' style posts could be considered a bit of a step back (although I miss those days, and she says she misses them too, so she could try and find a way to make them work?! She's usually creative) ... or maybe she doesn't enjoy it as much anymore or is a bit jaded? And I agree, they've been renting for an awfully long time now. I seen she did a True/False Q&A on Instagram recently and she had said about how she'd like to eventually move to the countryside and start a family if they can, but her husband's work is keeping them in London for the time being. That's a tough one to find a compromise on. I hope that she's content though, as I know what it's like to feel unfulfilled and to just be floating along.

Gosh yeah, 'the Insecure Girls Club'... Liv doesn't strike me as insecure either!

 

[Shutterbug99]

Yeah, Carrie definitely seems a bit jaded. I didn't know it was Miguel's job that was keeping them in London. I thought he could pretty much work anywhere once he had a computer/equipment. Goes to show I know absolutely nothing about his job! I'm sure if he was prepared to do a commute, they could find a place near enough to London that would allow them to buy and also give them a bit of countryside living? I dunno, it seems odd to me to keep renting and to keep putting off having a family if what you actually want is to settle down, buy a house and start a family - and this seems to be the case with her.

 

[Whoneedstalent]

Perhaps her plan of starting her family doesn’t mean tomorrow? There seems to be a worrying emphasis placed on her role as a future mother. To describe someone as unfulfilled because they haven’t given birth is horribly outdated. I agree she has said she wants to start a family, but that could be in 5 years time for all we know.

she also seems to really like London, and unlike a lot of influencers who are already from privileged backgrounds, she’s making her own way. perhaps renting is the only option, maybe with all the uncertainty around brexit etc she just doesn’t want to buy

I just think there’s a huge amount of judgement here, and assumptions that her own fulfilment and happiness is defined by her renting status and whether she’s pushed out a baby. Maybe she’s actually pretty content with her life, and likes the independence of being able to move around and not have a family. There’s enough pressure on women to tick all these boxes by a certain age...let’s not make assumptions that people are miserable if they don’t

 

[Shutterbug99]

I agree that you can be child-free and be completely fulfilled (I am not, don't plan to be, and have never wanted to be, a mother). I wasn't talking generally, but specifically regarding Carrie: She has spoken many times over the years of wanting to start a family - I remember her mentioning this years back - but stating that she was waiting for the 'perfect time,' and until she was living in the 'perfect place.' In that case, she'll be waiting. Maybe it has been playing on her mind a bit more of late, since her friend, Liv, is pregnant.

There has been an undertone of sadness in a lot of her Instagram posts recently; could just be lockdown, could be a lot of other things. I'd best not speculate further!

As for the renting thing, as someone who rented for years and just saw it as money down the drain, I think it's a good idea to invest in a property if you can -if it's what you want! Carrie has said many times that she would love to buy but it not in a position to - it just struck me as strange since most of these influencers seem to have no problem buying property. I thought Carrie would be well able to afford something, but if she wants to stay in London and wants to live an a particular type of property, then maybe not. She has said she's a perfectionist and I get the impression that only the perfect place will suffice. However, it might make sense to get a foot on the property ladder, and work your way to the perfect place from there.

 

[clueless]

When I was saying about her perhaps feeling unfulfilled, I didn't mean because she isn't a mum yet, more with her blogging career; how she hasn't progressed like some of her peers, her inactivity for nearly two months; she seems jaded and not getting much out of blogging anymore... I hope that's not the case though. Who knows, she could be busy doing other things that we don't know of. But when someone's a full-time blogger and they haven't posted for months, you can't help but wonder about it and how they're doing.

She's also said herself that she would love to buy but isn't in the position to, and that she hates the insecurity of renting, so I don't think we're going too off-base there!

 

[clueless]

Radio silence from Liv the past couple of days on Instagram, she’s normally very active on Stories. I wonder if she’s had her baby!

 

[Shutterbug99]

Liv had to stay in hospital for quite a while after having her baby - 8 or 9 days. She is just home today. Hopefully everything is OK now (don't know what the issue was).

 

[blossombloss]

Does anyone know if Kristabel (previously what I wore) is still friends with the girl that she used to live with?
I find her Instagram lately has been a bit erratic but I never see her mention that friend and I remember her Carrie etc all used to hang out.

 

[bugeyeboo]

She was with Lucy not too long ago, they’re still friends. I think Kristabel has had a really tough time being on her own throughout lockdown

 

[Shutterbug99]

Does anyone know what Liv is talking about in her stories today? She's talking about having a 'wobbly week' but is home and resting now. Did something happen? I haven't seen any of her stories from this week.

 

[clueless]

Does anyone know what Liv is talking about in her stories today? She's talking about having a 'wobbly week' but is home and resting now. Did something happen? I haven't seen any of her stories from this week.

I'd seen this too, the only thing I had noticed before this was a previous story talking about nurse appreciation week (I think that's what it was called) and in that story, she mentioned little A had been getting blood tests done but she was hopeful that all is ok. So I hope all is well!

 

[Shutterbug99]

I'd seen this too, the only thing I had noticed before this was a previous story talking about nurse appreciation week (I think that's what it was called) and in that story, she mentioned little A had been getting blood tests done but she was hopeful that all is ok. So I hope all is well!

Oh, I hope everything is OK!

 

[Lcat19911]

I do wonder if something has happened between Kristabel and Carrie/Olivia? They seemed pretty tight (especially Kristabel and Carrie) but I've just realised they've unfollowed each other. Kristabel has spoken out a lot around setting new boundaries for herself and performative activism from influencers, especially in the wake of last year's events, and I can't help but wonder if this had something to do with it.

 

[bugeyeboo]

Just had a peep and you’re right!

Wonder what occurred? I mean Carrie’s husband Miguel has been fairly vocal about Brexit as a Portuguese transplant here and I don’t recall Carrie saying much about that at the time. And Liv has just had a baby which is all encompassing. Maybe they’ve just drifted apart? They’re all in different stages of life, it happens to many friend groups. She still follows people like Alex/The Frugality who was one of the few influencers that stuck by Hannah Gale when she got outed for that racially insensitive post...so it makes me think this was a personal thing.

 

[bugeyeboo]

I’ve been a long time follower of Carrie for years and think she shoots beautiful photos and video but she’s going down the path of Lily Melrose with barely there content. If you’re not into it anymore, and rarely or inconsistently post- just quit and move on?

 

[clueless]

I wonder what happened with the friendship too! They were always this little group. Even if you drift apart or life gets in the way, to actively unfollow seems like quite a statement as opposed to just losing touch.

 

[bugeyeboo]

It was around the first lockdown, when BLM and anti racism was very much the topic everywhere and Kristabel had some kind of breakdown/awakening. That’s when things seemed to change? Can’t put my finger on it. Maybe she didn’t feel supported? She vague posted lots of stories about performative anti racism support. She ranted a lot that’s all I remember. She’s still friends with Lucy but not with Liv and Carrie. And Lucy works for Boden that isn’t exactly known for its diversity, it’s target are rich white people (IMO) so maybe it was a personal falling out, not because she culled a lot of people she felt weren’t doing the work or asking the right questions.

 

[bugeyeboo]

Speculating here, but does anyone else think Liv and her husband Joe have split up? She’s not worn her wedding ring for ages, she seems to do a ton of solo trips just her and her lovely son, and her most recent insta post sounded like she’s got something serious going on behind the scenes?