Cape Town - With thousands of followers on record, fashion and beauty blogger Aisha Baker is someone people are taking note of. Her blog, Baked The Blog, showcases the hottest fashion trends and is a must-go-to for make-up inspiration.
“It’s kind of weird to have such a huge following because I am quite shy. People expect me to be very outgoing and bubbly, which I am once I have gotten to know someone,” says Baker.
“Now, lots of people read my blog and some even spot me when I’m out in Cape Town, which still scares me a little.”
The 24-year-old UCT graduate says she started the blog to express her love for fashion and writing while studying business science and marketing about four years ago.
“Blogging was my form of rebellion. I actually wanted to study fashion but my parents kind of pushed me to get a real job. I started my blog as a way to express myself,” she says.
“I look at it as a brand now and have started investing time and money and putting more effort into it. I have discovered there is so much more I can do with it. I want to pioneer blogging in South Africa because we are not really sure what we are doing out here yet.
“Blogging is nice. We get to have fun. But at the end of the day it would be nice to make money from something that you love doing.”
Baker’s hard work is paying off. A collaboration with photographer Tegan Smith ensures that her blog and Instagram account is filled with quality images.
Her Instagram account is followed by over 13 000 people and just last month her website reached a milestone of 50 000 hits for one month.
“It’s a major thing for me because it’s very hard for a fashion blogger in South Africa to get that many hits, unless you are writing about gossip and current affairs. Fashion is such a niche market, you can’t expect that many clicks in one go,” Baker says.
“But I believe it’s because I believe in it so much that I am starting to reap the rewards.”
Instagram is an online photo-sharing, video-sharing and social networking application that was founded in 2010, and attracts over 150 million active users a month around the world. With its popularity growing quickly, it has given ordinary people access to the lives and wardrobes of influential fashion designers and industry power players.
We met the petite Baker at The Woodstock Exchange in Albert Road. She says her brand is slowly becoming profitable and is getting attention from major brands.
“I do get my fair share of freebies… I now get deliveries every week. In the beginning it was very exciting, then it started becoming more of a challenge because I don’t want to align myself with just any brand,” she says.
“Also, as Muslim I can only work with certain brands. I can’t work with anything alcoholic or a brand that is promoting a certain kind of lifestyle that I am not into.”
Regular posts are essential to increasing your followers, says Baker. She gets at least a thousand new followers a month for every four pictures she posts on her Instagram account a day.
“Posting four pictures every day is really tough because you want them to be interesting pictures. My followers are quite feminine and they like posts about make-up and girly things such as coffee dates and beauty products,” she says.
“I do a lot of selfies with a make-up look… that is when I get the most likes. Most of my selfies are with bright lips because my female followers love finding out about new lipsticks.
“There is definitely a lot of pressure with putting a look together. I never wear revealing clothes and mostly cover up because the internet is such a large platform.
“As a Muslim woman I may decide to go for a job which will require that I fully cover up my body and I wouldn’t want to regret something that I have put online.
“I put out there what my future self will be okay with. I don’t want to have to explain to my daughter why I posted inappropriate pictures online,” Baker says.
The Vredehoek resident now also gets invited to host trend workshops, locally and in Joburg.
“The Cape Town fashion blogging scene is still small, but we support each other. Bloggers bring the fashion community together, which is awesome. I don’t really know where it’s going, but I hope we are going in a good direction,” she says.
With a growing number of people calling themselves bloggers, what sets Baker apart is her flawless sense of style.
“I am not one of those people who regards herself as cool. I still am surprised when people like my posts. I am really insecure about my writing and I am very particular about the way we take our pictures.
“My readers say they feel they can relate to me and that they enjoy my online voice. Some even think I am funny… which is really cool.
“I would really love to be the best blogger in South Africa. There are so many of us fashion bloggers and we make such a huge effort to be fashionable and to build a well-thought-out brand and we don’t really get recognised,” says Baker.
What does she say is on trend for the high summer season?
“Pop colours in bright oranges, yellows and pinks and, of course, all white in summer is always great. The casual looks are also popular with sneakers making a huge comeback around the world. I either wear high (heel) shoes or sneakers,” she says.
“I’m also loving the boho and minimalist black and white look.
“I don’t know why I love wearing black in summer, it’s the weirdest thing. I am so into black at the moment that I can’t wear any other colour.”
Cape Argus