Blog: GorgeousInGrey.com
Niche: Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle
Founder: Ty Alexander
Twitter: @gorgeousingrey
After working at the Baltimore City Child Support in Baltimore, MD, Ty Alexander decided it was time to bid farewell to her comfortable nine-to-five lifestyle and head North to embark on a path a bit more indulging. But she didn’t do so without a plan. For four years, the grey-haired fashionista traveled back and forth between New York and Maryland as she began to network her way into the Big City’s style and beauty world. Then, in 2010, frustrated with the stylistic blog sphere for more sophisticated, fashion-forward women, Alexander decided to start her own fashion and beauty blog. And along the way, she’s found herself contributing to Style.com, Huffington Post and XOJane, and now works as on online style and beauty editor for Interactive One’s HelloBeautiful.
Admitting that she’s had a thing for hot red lipstick since she was a kid, there’s no question that Ty is the sassy, go-to voice for
women searching for ways to spruce up their fly and mature look, or just looking for the best products to match their everyday persona. From Baltimore to New York, Fly Ty has become a boisterous voice in fashion, and slowly becoming a sought after blogger for brands across the country.So as BlackEnterprise.com continues its Black Blogger Month fiesta, we’re taking a look at Ty Alexander and the journey that’s made her so gorgeous in grey.
Gorgeous In Grey is…
A lifestyle blog where women who are over 30 can come to get inspired through style and beauty, and get inspiration and motivation to be their best person.
The life of a fashion and beauty expert…
[Is] hectic, [but] I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
I started this blog because…
I didn’t really relate to the fashion and beauty bloggers out there. I wanted to create a digital space for women who were older and who were still fly. A place where those women could
be celebrated. I also wanted to put an end to those “I’m-over-30-so-I-can’t-wear-midriffs-or-wear-my-legs-out” myths that hover over older women.The biggest struggle when creating this blog was…
Oh my goodness, the name! There were two different names before I got to Gorgeous In Grey. Then, I was actually at Fashion Week a few years ago, and there was a commercial on…the segment was Gorgeous and Grey. It was highlighting women with grey hair, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I should name my blog that!’ The rest is history as they say. My hair is kind of just the center of who I am, and then you get to the blog and you find other things besides my hair.
A milestone for the blog occurred…
[When Lane Bryant] reached out to me so I could go to Essence Festival [this year] and report. I actually went to be their style ambassador for the weekend. I was down there reporting on stylish, curvy girls, and what they were wearing and what trends they were rocking. It’s a time where I realized that I was a brand myself, and that other brands were seeking me out.
People should trust my blog because…
[Fashion is] who I am. Fashion is what I breathe every day. I don’t go out the house without fashion. I take it with me wherever I go, it doesn’t matter. Whether I’m in the grocery store or getting my nails done or relaxing. Every moment of my life is fashion.
I want my readers to…
Be inspired. Whether I inspire [them] to start a blog or reconnect with your family or their mother[s]. My mother passed away in April of this year…[so] I talked a lot about my mother and my journey. That was also another pivotal moment for my blog because I kind of switched it up and shared a lot about my personal life and not just style and beauty. I was scared, but it was well accepted by the
readers and a lot of them reached out to me like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve been fighting with my mom and you made me apologize and now we’re much better.’ So…whether it’s the fiery red lip or it’s to take better care of your skin or it’s to take a vacation, I just want to inspire [my readers] to be the best person that [he/she] can be ’cause that’s all that I’m trying to be.If I wasn’t writing, I would…
I’d probably be modeling. I had a small stint as a model in my 20s, so if I wasn’t writing I would definitely be a plus-size model. I would still be in the fashion industry whatever I did. As a girl, I always loved dressing up, and putting on make-up. So, it would still be something in style and beauty.
Be sure to check out the rest of the digital thought leaders as they’re revealed each day by logging on to BlackEnterprise.com/BlackBloggerMonth .