Hello, Bonjour, Hola, Ciao, Guten Tag, Hej, Konnichiwa,

As we approach the 17th anniversary of Habitually Chic, I thought it would be a good time to check in and also tell you about an exciting new development. I have joined Substack! Those of you who follow me on Instagram already know this news but I wanted to share here as well for anyone who doesn’t follow me or who may have missed those posts.

Why start a Substack now you ask? Good question.

Substack approached me about creating my own Substack last September but I wasn’t sure I needed one at the time. I pay a lot of money for my own website each month and have a large following already. I think the demise of Twitter was the first inkling that social media isn’t as dependable as it had once been and recent changes to Instagram in the last few weeks has seen many creators with reduced engagement, perhaps as a tactic to get them to pay to be promoted.

It’s all a bit exhausting to be honest but Substack feels like Blogspot 2.0. There’s a sense of community and lists of Substack recommendations similar to blogrolls, chats reminiscent of old chatrooms, and notes that are a replacement for twitter. Part of me feels like I don’t have time to post on one more platform but people are saying that are spending more time on Substack so it feels like a place I need to be now. After 17 years, I see Substack as a fun refresh for Habitually Chic. The Substack community has been extremely welcoming and I reached Bestseller status in less than 48 hours.

Will you stop posting on your original Habitually Chic blog/website now?

I will continue posting on the current Habitually Chic website for the time being but I am considering winding this website down in a year or two. I just renewed my domain for two more years so I have some time to think about things.

When I started Habitually Chic on blogspot, it was all mine and extremely easy to use and update. The management team I signed on with in 2014 made me change it over to a website with a WordPress content management system. It has never worked correctly and WordPress is extremely clunky and annoying to use. The website needs a complete overhaul but the idea of interviewing website developers and shelling out $10,000-20,000 to pay for it had me dragging my feet. It also costs around $1000 a month to host my site on a dedicated server and send out emails via MailChimp while Substack is free and has the ability to charge a monthly or yearly subscription fee.

You can also read Substack posts via email subscription, on the website, or on the app. I have been enjoying following Notes on the app since it’s all content that I want to see unlike Twitter and Threads.

I’m not exactly sure yet how I’ll decide what content gets posted on what platform. I am thinking that Substack will be a great place for new posts as well as a place to rework some of my best very old posts into fresh new content since there weren’t affiliate links way back when. I may also repost a few of my favorite old blog posts before I close out the original website. Because I started my original blog when I was an interior designer, I’ve been pigeonholed as a design blogger but I’ve always written about fashion, film, tv, art, travel, and more. I’d like become more known for my fashion and lifestyle posts which is another reason Substack will be perfect for a fresh start. Obviously, anything that is paid content for Substack subscribers only will be new and exclusive content.

Starting a Substack feels like coming full circle, back to the feeling of the original days of blogspot. It has me excited to post again and bring back some old post themes that fell by wayside over the last 17 years. It also made me realize that not every post has to be an epic War and Peace length saga. Right now, I’m thinking that the longer photo driven posts will continue to live on the original Habitually Chic site and Substack will be a great place for posts that are a bit tighter and concisely edited. But it’s a work in progress so please bear with me as I figure things out and while I’m on vacation this week.

Thank you again for your support and encouragement over the last 17 years. I really had no idea where things would lead when I created Habitually Chic and I feel very excited to start this next chapter and hope you will subscribe to my new Substack.

XOXO,

HC