A whimsical interview: Agnese Kleina

Being a fashion blogger, there are only a few blogs which I read and inspire from on a regular basis. But there is one that’s my complete favorite. It’s Whimsicalagnesiga, of course. There’s a lot of reasons why I like it, first of all, it’s the most successful Latvian fashion blog & the girl standing behind it is a huge inspiration herself. Agnese Kleina is not only an amazing journalist and blogger, but a fashion icon of the new generation. Let’s just say that I was more than excited that she agreed to do an interview for G&M.



She describes her personal style as an endless game where she gets to make the rules. “I play with garments and colors that not always go together as the people with the ‘bestest taste’ would wish, I play with the societies assumptions of what’s acceptable and expected for people to wear at the given age." If there’s something characteristic about her personal style, then she says there are two things: "An endless love for hats and head accessories (Actually I don’t understand why this part of the body is kind of left out in fashion nowadays) and an exceptional love for the traditional clothing of the many nations and tribes of the world (for example Japan, China, Ukraine, Native American etc.)”
Just looking through her blog you can see that Agnese loves traveling and exploring new far-away lands. I found out that fashion-wise her favorite city is London. “Everyone takes a little more risks there than elsewhere, if only Tokyo or Seoul is even more daring and crazier. In London you’ll see a mixture of people representing all sorts of styles,” she compares it to a street-fashion blog “only the pictures are alive, they talk and shout, walk the streets in their pace and create a very exciting visual experience.”

And after all this traveling, I was eager to find out her thoughts about the local street-fashion in Riga. “It’s definitely more exciting than in Paris," she says "it’s not accepted to play with colors in Paris and only one - Black color rules. I’d wish there to be a bigger mixture and variety of people who represent different styles, but there are only so many of us in Riga and Latvia. It’s delightful to see that people are wearing local design more and more." She adds that the locals all together are like a fashion event themselves. "Of course, from time to time we come to realize that suddenly everyone’s wearing the same things, but as I said, it’s completely natural for such a small population as Riga," (approx. 700,000 people), "'cause there isn't that big variety of styles to balance out the current trends.”
At the moment she’s into ethnic clothing and accessories. “Kimono, kimono belts, Native American headpieces, elements of our own, Latvian, traditional outfits - crowns etc.”

Being so busy, I wonder how she finds the time and inspiration for keeping her blog fresh and updated. “Since I’ve started working as a brand stylist for the brand’s nest MATKA, time’s even less, indeed," she admits. Agnese also notes that she’s usually writing during the dark time of the day, "Ever since the beginning (blog just turned 4 years) I’ve written articles in the nighttime - starting midnight and up. That’s the time when all of the jobs are done and no one’s calling or mailing me with questions, ‘cause those are the things that could distract me from working on a new article." But she keeps her blog on her mind all of the time.
I started wondering if she finds the time to read other fashion blogs and maybe if she had any favorites. “I usualy take a look at StyleBubble & TheSatorialist, but it’s not too often," she adds that people don’t usually read fashion blogs, that they look through them. "In journalism I’ve always thought that it’s right to look for inspiration in fashion, but inspiration for blog in brand development and things like that. I’ve always liked to look outside the specific field and to search for parallels with different global events and trends in different sectors.”

I found it interesting, now that she’s established herself as a successful fashion blogger if she’s felt any pressure from people around her that she’s always got to be hip and one step ahead of fashion. “I definitely don’t feel any pressure," Agnese adds, "'cause, as I mentioned before, my style is like a game where I make my own rules. It's not like I wear things just because I realize that I'm a fashion blogger and I can't go on the street without looking like one. I respect people who are real and honest, I myself am only human. When I feel like wearing something special, I do, and when I feel differently, I walk around the house in my boyfriends old football shorts and a basic sweater.”
I congratulate her on her 1000th article and am intrigued to hear how these four years have been for her since she started with her blog. “Crazy. These four years have been crazy for me in a way that I’ve never would have thought where my blog would bring me to - H&M collection opening in New York, two (3rd is on the way) organizers under blog’s name, thousands of followers on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram. So much has been written and experienced!”

I hope you found this as amazing and interesting as I did. I want to say a big ‘thank you!’ to Agnese Kleina for agreeing and answering my emails and questions and a big ‘thank you!’ to You, dear reader, who hopefully enjoys my material. Have a great weekend and enjoy the beautiful August while it lasts!

Pictures from Agnese’s personal archive.