The photograph above is of me, Sasha Wilkins. It was taken in the East Village, New York by the very talented photographer Jackie Dixon on our trip to New York in November 2006. We stayed in our friend Todd Selby's apartment, took some meetings, did a lot of flea market shopping and decided we had to spend some more time in the city. *
I had nothing to stay for in England, (recovering from a bad break up) and by February 2007, we were back in New York. I knew immediately I wanted to stay in the city for the indefinite future. (Miss Dixon went back to England once her NY projects were finished a month later.)
I knew hardly anyone: my address book was full of contacts but, too English & shy and yet to discover that Americans love to be asked for advice, I didn't call any of them.
Instead I started writing this blog. And met so many of you who have changed my life in so many ways for the better. (I'd like to say a big thank you to the brilliant fashion bloggers DisneyRollerGirl, who was the first blogger to leave a comment here, and Queens Michelle & Marie of Kingdom of Style for being such wonderful & supportive blogosphere friends when I knew no one on-line in the early days.)
2007 was a blogging learning curve. When Grazia first wrote about me at the end of the year, I still couldn't believe that anyone bar my friends & family actually read me.
And then I stopped blogging: I was offered my dream job as Executive Style Editor on the global launch of The Wall Street Journal's WSJ magazine, setting up the fashion department, and over-seeing beauty, fashion, accessories & jewellery.
That was one hell of a rollercoaster and, at the end of 2008, I went back to writing full-time. I re-started LLG on 10 Jan 2009 and within six weeks I was on The Sunday Times 100 Best Blogs in the World list. And then it just went MENTAL.
So, here I am, standing naked in front of you. I've had to reveal my identity for two reasons. Firstly, other people were on the cusp of doing so publicly and I wanted to control how my identity would be released and, secondly, I wanted to be able to attend events & fashion weeks as LLG, not just as Sasha.
* I just love that three years down the line all three of us, me, Jackie & Todd all have successful blogs. Funny how the world works...
