Many years ago, my mom was talking about some guy's blog that she had read. I asked "What's a blog?" and she said it's kinda like an online journal. And I thought "Well that's stupid. Who's going to read your online journal...and why would you want strangers to read that anyway?"
Years later, while searching for fashiony stuff, I came across my very first blog read. The name was The Princess Portal, written by a beautiful girl in Australia who called herself "Princess Skye" She wrote about day dreamy thoughts, frilly dresses, tea parties and inspiring rules on "how to be a princess" and treat others with respect, dignity and spread beauty in the world through our actions. She described it as
“a lifestyle blog about discovering your ‘inner princess’ and reclaiming the magic and childlike wonder of a more romantic world view. Here you will find a way to discover your own inner strengths and develop the confidence and grace of a Princess, while gaining an appreciation of the virtues of a more beautiful way of life. I hope you’ll enjoy these daily tips, musings, recipes, guides and challenges. ”
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| Photo- La Vie d'une Poupee by Sabrina Wong |
I read her blog for months, swooning over her mary janes and parasols. The internet search had began when I had ideas about modern/historical fashion. I have always loved historical fashion from Elizabethan to Victorian and I was looking for some inspiration to tie elements from those eras into modern fashion. Then I found Princess Portal.
One of her most loved pieces was this:
The Princess Code
written by Princess Skye
A Princess inspires others to follow their hopes and dreams through pursuing her own.A Princess greets everyone with a welcoming smile, melting the hearts of friends and disarming her enemies.
A Princess has dignity, which protects her from the opinions and spite of ignorant people.
A Princess always looks beautiful, even when she is asleep.
A Princess aims for perfection in every step.
A Princess should be given fresh flowers everyday, even if she has to give them to herself.
A Princess grows in recognition and stature in proportion to how much she treats others as royalty.
A Princess reflect’s her inner beauty in her aesthetic choices.
A Princess goes to war against the violence of incivility with the weapons of etiquette and prodigal generosity.
A Princess lives each day from the heart, expressing herself freely and treasuring every moment.
A Princess has the right to spend her funds on beautiful things she does not need because beauty in itself is priceless.
A Princess should follow her heart and believe in her dreams, even if the whole world seems to be against her.
A Princess respects her environment and nurtures the beauty of nature.
A Princess is never too busy to give a kind word or smile where it is needed.
A Princess’s most precious jewel is Hope, which lights her darkest days and shows her the beauty in every soul she meets.
I haven't read The Princess Code in about 4 years but reading it now, I never realized how much I took this to heart and that to this day, I try to follow this code in my life and especially in my blogging.
I adored that girl and everything she wrote. She was so sweet, creative, so stylish and inspiring. I wrote her an email once to tell her how much I adored her blog and was so thrilled to get a response! It was the most pink, sparkly candy coated piece of the internet in its time but I loved it. I read all of her old posts and never missed a new one.
Skye wrote The Princess Portal from 2006 to 2007 but eventually, decided to take her blog in a new direction with The Lost Princess. She completely deleted The Princess Portal, which made us very sad but sometimes a girl has to grow up and move on, I suppose. I scoured the internet for scraps of The Princess Portal and found that you can still read portions of it on The Way Back Machine. Click the blue circles on the calendar to see the remnants of posts.
All photos and excerpts of The Princess Portal from princessportal.com
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I read all my friend's deadjournals, but I consider those slightly different than a blog for some reason. I think the first actual blog I read was the lady who did the webcomics Natalie Dee
ReplyDeleteI remember reading the Princess Portal - I think it was the first blog that I read too.
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten how much I liked it! Wish it hadn't been deleted! x
ahhh!! That is so cool! I know, I miss it! I don't know why anyone ever deletes a blog completely. You put so much work in it, don't throw it away! :(
DeleteThe first blog I read was a sewing blog that I stumbled on to when searching for something else. I was amazed that someone would sew something and then put her picture of it on the INTERNET! As a long time sewer it just seemed so BRAVE. That was a long time ago. She was French and I can't remember the name of the blog. Your blog is the best! So informative and fun. Love your magazine too.
ReplyDeleteThe first blog I read was Karlas Closet. I still read it now.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember what my first blog read was but I remember before having read one that I thought it was stupid just like you said above.
ReplyDeletediary of a vintage girl the lovely fleur. And i still read it. I was searching for 40s dress and found her. Swooning over her photo shoots, hair and amazing attire.
ReplyDeleteThe first blog I found was thru her YouTube channel: Casey's Elegant Musings. Her blog created my interest to blog myself!
ReplyDelete-Viola ;)
Casey's is one of my favorites!!
DeleteOhhhhh I remember when one of my close friends in college told me about blogs and that I should do one bc I love to write etc. I thought she was nuts too and was like "who would want all their business on the internet?". How wrong was I? LOL xox
ReplyDeleteThe first blog I read was by my friend Beth and was called Penelope Nightingale sadly she no longer has time to write it :(
ReplyDeleteI think the first blog I ever read- and devoured- was called Jen but never Jenn: Welcome to the 50's Housewife Experiment. She cracked me up with her trial and error at doing everything the 50's way. It was supposed to be funny, and was not to be taken seriously, and it never failed to make me laugh. ;)
ReplyDelete~xoxo, CoriLynn
This is such a lovely, heartfelt post. It was a joy to learn more about the first blog that ever touched you and which helped inspire some of your own approaches to vintage. It sounds like I would have been completely smitten with her as well, had I know of her site at the time.
ReplyDeleteTruthfully, I don't remember the first blog I read, but chances are it was either cooking or medical related. (A bit later on) I can remember discovering some of the earlier vintage bloggers in 2007 and 2008, and just knowing instantly that I'd "come home", so to speak, in the sense of no longer being the only person out there who was wearing, thinking about, and filling their life with vintage around the clock. After a couple of years of being inspired by these pioneers in our field, I launched my own vintage blog in early 2009 and have always remained grateful to those who propelled me to share my own passion for the past with the world because they too had done just that.
♥ Jessica
I use to follow Mary Deluxe back when Live Journal was still the thing and then she stopped to start blogging so that is how I got introduced to blogs.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cute little blog! I'm so sorry it was deleted (though I do understand it..I've changed quite a bit myself since I started blogging..and moved locations!) I first started reading blogs to find vintage fashion inspiration because there were no publications available that catered to my taste in fashion. I believe my very first was Solanah's Vixen Vintage :) (and BOY was I inspired!)
ReplyDeletethat's a really great and inspiring code. I think I might recall seeing that blog, but its just a very faint memory. The first one I remember remembering was vinxen vintage. that's a good one, found yours a bit later (year or two ago ) and liked your vintage dresses.
ReplyDelete