A fashion blogger has launched her own clothing line in collaboration with designer Jody Bell.

Scarlett Dixon, from St Albans, 23, started blogging six-years-ago under the name Scarlett London, as her time as Sandringham School came to an end. I spoke to her to find out how she got to where she is today…

St Albans & Harpenden Review:

When did you start blogging/YouTubing?

I started blogging over six-years-ago, when the online world was just getting started and it wasn’t the industry it now is.

I initially set up my blog because I had dreams of working as a journalist and I knew it was probably going to help showcase my writing to potential employers and universities if I had an online portfolio. I didn’t even know that what I had created at first was even called a blog.

In terms of YouTube, I actually didn’t start that until January this year - as I knew it would add another dimension to my blog and allow my audience to get to know me a little better. Plus the online world is far more visual and voyeuristic than when I first started, when we invest in a personality, we want to be able to access their life from all platforms.

Is it hard work?

I think there’s a huge misconception with blogging that it’s a super easy, really glamorous career and that we sit around all day prancing around in front of the camera, taking pictures of ourselves and basking in all our freebies. In reality, there’s a tonne of hard work and grit that goes on behind the scenes.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s an incredible job to have and it never feels like work - there are glamorous moments and I’ve had some amazing opportunities - like attending the BAFTAs and doing a photoshoot in a doorless helicopter in New York (just to name a few), but to get to a place where you’re able to feasibly make a living from it, takes a lot of hard slog.

It’s more of a lifestyle than a job because you have to be prepared to share your life online, you have to document everything - so what looks like a ‘holiday’ is actually a week of getting up super early to do a photo-shoot before it gets busy, then filming the area (which can take hours of re-shoots), then you sit and edit, manage all the admin and it can sometimes dampen your ability to enjoy a destination.

You do your own admin, editing, writing, sub-editing, accountancy, PR, social media management and marketing.

But it’s incredibly fun and I love having a bank of memories (in video and blog post form) to reminisce.

What are your top tips?

I don’t think there’s any winning formula to blogging but I definitely think it helps to let your personality shine through as much as possible, because your niche is you and the things that make you unique - so make sure it’s there on show for potential audiences to invest in. Consistency is key - regular content that you would personally want to read yourself (which is always the filter I go through whenever I post anything). Invest in a domain name too, they only cost £10 a year and it shows people you’re serious.

How did the fashion collaboration come about?

The fashion collaboration came about because I’d been working with an incredible designer called Jody Bell as a blogger for a couple of years. She’d sent me a few dresses to wear at fashion weeks and in turn, I’d modelled and blogged about a few of her collections.

I loved her boho, floaty, feminine creations and how different everything was to what you normally get on the high street. We stayed in touch and discussed the possibility of collaborating on a capsule collection.

Tell me about the process?

My inspiration behind the collection was my own personal style, because I wanted the designs to reflect me and my audience to be able to see my influence. I sketched everything out and also sent over colours and prints for the fabric design. Jody then seamlessly wove the designs with her style too, we made a number of tweaks along the way - and then we had the final dresses. We flew out to New York in early September to showcase them at New York Fashion Week - which was absolutely incredible to see my designs go down the catwalk.

They are available to pre-order here.