interviewing: Ambika Dhir

Renouveau Media got the chance to interview Ambika Dhir. On her blog The Clothes Chameleon, she shares articles on topics like Beauty, Fashion and Travel. Her Instagram page features a carefully curated feed of her travels, brand collaborations and of course, her amazing sense of fashion. Ambika has a fabulous outlook on life – here’s what she has to say about it all.

Iuliana: Hey Ambika! How are you? Excided to interview you today! Tell us a little about yourself. How would you describe your personality in three words?
Ambika: Hi Iuliana! Thanks for having me, I’m excited to get the interview going! I would say I’m adventurous, ambitious and my friends would say I’m pragmatic, so maybe that?

Iuliana: When did you start blogging/social media, and what was your motivation for getting started?
Ambika: I started my blog and instagram page back in 2017, so quite a while back now! I was still in 6th form (12th grade for any Americans out there) and it was the first time that I didn’t have to wear a uniform to school. I was quite lucky in that my sixth form had a relaxed dress code policy and that meant I could play around with what I wanted to wear each day. Planning my outfits became an important part of my morning routine and a few people at school suggested I start a blog, and it went from there!

Iuliana: In the ever-changing world of blogging, it can be tougher to start out these days than it was years back – what advice would you give to someone just starting a blog? Do you believe there’s room for everyone or is the industry just too saturated?
Ambika: I think the main thing with blogging is doing it because you have something to say or share, and you enjoy sharing that. My blog isn’t particularly popular but I love that it gives me something of a ‘style diary’ to look back on to see how my style has changed over the years. I think the industry is saturated but everyone’s unique and so we all have something different to share: I think it’s your unique-ness that makes you stand out, so there’s absolutely room for everyone! My main piece of advice would be to just start. Don’t worry about what others will think or worry about content too much! Put out what you like and what speaks for you and everything else will fall into place over time.

Iuliana: What’s most important to you when pursuing brand partnerships?
Ambika: I think it’s about accepting collaborations with brands that you feel are reflective of you and your values. Since quarantine began back in March, a lot has been happening around the world and different issues are being pushed to centre stage. I think it’s hard, from a fashion perspective at least, to not think about how the industry feeds into a lot of these issues that have come to light. As lovely as it is to hear from brands, I think with this in mind, it’s important to think about the companies that reach out to you and whether your values align or not. Brand partnerships are fantastic, but I want to make sure that when partnering, I’m partnering with a brand that I genuinely love and is reflective of me.

Iuliana: What are your best accomplishments so far as a social media content creator?
Ambika: Ooh that’s a hard one. As I said I’m still quite a small creator and my blog is my hobby, so I think I only have three that really come to mind: being featured in a couple of WhoWhatWear articles (which I’m still stoked about), finally finding my feed style and building a small community/friendships. I remember being so excited about WWW reaching out as it was my first big company that had contacted me, and I’ve been a keen reader of WWW for quite a few years now! Finding my feed style sounds like such a weird one, but I think finding out what kind of content I felt reflected me and my personal style took a lot longer than most people? I’m not sure how to make it make sense, but I guess it was just figuring out what I want to actually put out for people to see. I think finally, whilst there are definitely darker parts to Instagram and social media, I feel lucky to have been able to form friendships and support other creators that I’ve found through it. Making actual friends and being able to support others in their style journeys feels like a small success to me.

Iuliana: When putting a fit together, do you find yourself to be calculative, or does everything come together through instinct?
Ambika: I think a bit of both? I think when buying pieces I have a think about what I’d be pairing them with, from items I currently have in my wardrobe. I’ve tried to put a rule in place that I need to be able to think of at least 3-4 different ways of wearing the piece before I purchase it, so that when it comes to actually wearing it, I’ve already thought about what I can pair it with. Instinct usually kicks in when I’m running late for events/meeting people and need to quickly throw something on and run out the door (which is more often than I’d like to admit!).

Iuliana: While social distancing, have you found that your style has changed?
Ambika: So I started up a TikTok account at the beginning of quarantine and it’s such a different place in terms of style to Instagram! I think Gen Z have a really different take on fashion to Millennials and courtesy of TikTok, I’ve taken aspects of Gen Z style and incorporated it into my own. I think now I like a good mix between scandi-minimalism and 90s princess-diana esque fashion. I’ve also found that I can’t lounge in jeans like I used to be able to, so I caved and bought some sweatpants, and now I’m never lounging in jeans again.

Iuliana: Where do you get your inspiration from?
Ambika: Everywhere! That’s so cliche to say, but it’s true! Instagram/Pinterest are always where I start, but I like taking colour combination ideas from nature and interior design! Interior designers come up with such chic colour schemes and I love being able to mimic that with clothes: I’m quite a monochromatic outfit fan, but a few house tours that I’ve seen on Architectural Digest have inspired me to wear colour a bit more/pair certain colours together. I’ll usually keep an eye on any shows of favourite designers of mine during fashion weeks to spot trends and figure out what I’ll be able to incorporate into my wardrobe and style for the next season too.

Iuliana: What motto/quote do you always try to live by?
Ambika: That’s such a hard one! I think it would be ‘if you settle for just anything, you’ll never know what you’re truly worthy of’.

Iuliana: Do you have any special projects coming up?
Ambika: I have a brand partnership that i’m quite excited about, so stay tuned for that one! Otherwise, I’m trying to make sure that I’m more consistent with content and putting up actual blogposts, so I’m revamping my blog to make this a bit easier!

Follow Ambika on Instagram here.