BACKGROUND: Pavement Prowler

Why I created this blog & what it means to me
A little more than two years ago, I started a fashion blog with my ex-boyfriend. Our goal was to showcase the street style of ladies and gents from Northeast OH, namely kids we spotted at shows and stores in "hip" parts of town. We were young and never saw much fashion creativity beyond the borders of our high school, so we wanted to do something new.

That is, until we realized blogging about street style and local fashion wasn't that innovative of an idea at all. We figured we had an edge over others because we were male and female, teenagers, and while I had the writing skills, he had the social skills to ask others about their outfits. We made a few entries, and between relationship ups and downs, new projects and poor communication, we both lost the motivation needed for the blog.

I pretty much gave up on fashion blogging up until my freshman year of college at Kent State. I began writing for Fashionably Cleveland, College Fashionista and Examiner. I covered local fashion shows, designers, boutiques and, again, street style. It was amazingly fun, but the best part was all the new and creative people I met. I felt very inspired and excited that innovative men and women did, in fact, exist in little ol' Ohio. It gave me the drive to keep writing, shopping and bonding with others over fashion and style.

Being a magazine journalism major, it is common for others to ask if I plan to "write for Vogue" or other fashion publications. I typically always respond with, "That would be awesome, but we'll see where life takes me." I know the world of journalism is very competitive, and the fashion universe is even more cut throat. This intimidates me a bit, so my interest in fashion journalism waned a bit since the beginning of college.

Now I am embarking upon my third year as a journalism student, and I have experienced so many new things in this field. I have written about local art, musicians, LGBT publications, traffic and so on. My eyes have been opened to a vast array of topics, and I realized that journalism is so much more than just "writing about clothes."

When I became Co-Editor-in-chief of Luna Negra, Kent's literary and art publication, I really felt like I found my niche. My love of literature and creativity followed me throughout and I earned my spot as a leader of a real print magazine. I helped change so much about this publication and am still doing so. I feel like this is where I belong.

However, my "passion for fashion" (sorry for borrowing such an icky cliche) never left because I, like many others, view style and clothing as an art form just like any other. I get a thrill walking into the fashion school and watching the art that design students send down the runway. I get a high from finding a beautiful vintage garment. I love it like I love paintings, sculpture and poetry.

I decided to start my own fashion blog initially for myself to keep track of stylish things I find that I can use as inspiration for my own outfits. When a few of my friends found out about the blog, I decided to post a few of my own outfits inspired by outside things, namely literary characters, music and art.

The blog is like a notebook or bulletin board someone finds in my bedroom; it isn't anything more or less.

Other local bloggers have created brands and a real community out of their blogs, and I think that is fantastic. I, however, view my blog as a piece of the big puzzle of my journalistic endeavors.
The name Pavement Prowler itself is a slang term for journalist. I'm out on the sidewalks, gathering inspiration everywhere I go. I don't need to show you how "stylish" others think I am. That is not my intention!

Although fashion is competitive, I am not a competitive person. I find it icky.
So enjoy the blog like you would enjoy my lost notebook full of magazine clippings, poems and doodles. Remember — This is me, and I'm not trying to be anything more or less than a creative person who appreciates beautiful things.



—Brittany