Jackie Njeru, 23, a civil engineering graduate, has successfully used YouTube videos to realize her childhood dream of becoming a fashion designer. “I have always loved fashion, and my friends admire my style. They encouraged me to start a fashion blog so I could inspire more young women,” she says.
Ms. Njeru started off in October 2014 when her blog, Trendy Tragedienne, went live. She started out posting photos of herself in a variety of trendy outfits bought from local shops.
“A few months into blogging, I realized there was something missing; I wanted to give my audience something different from my counterparts in the style and fashion blogging world,” Njeru said.
She started looking for fresh designs, and would take her ideas to a tailor who would custom-make outfits she could showcase online. This, however, did not go on for long as her designs were not always executed as precisely as she had visualized. “I felt that the results weren’t worth what I had paid, which was especially difficult to accept since I was using my savings at the time as a third-year student,” said Njeru. “I, therefore, decided to find a way to make the outfits myself.”
Early last year, she got onto Google looking for images and videos on sewing. She figured it would not be too difficult to learn how to make her own outfits. After all, while in primary school, she had befriended a tailor in her neighborhood who had taught her how to sew dresses for her dolls. She hoped relearning the skill would be easy.
Njeru started saving up for a sewing machine from what she could set aside from her pocket money. In the meantime, she familiarized herself with sewing ideas from several online resources. When she had raised enough money to purchase a sewing machine, she decided her first outfit would be a jumpsuit — a garment that incorporates trousers or shorts and a top in one piece. It was a bold choice, but Njeru was determined to make her mark quickly. “I was ready to give it all I had. I went online and searched, ‘how to sew a jumpsuit’. That is when I discovered how resourceful YouTube can be,” she said. “But even after discovering YouTube, my first outfit was not a success. Still, I did not give up, I just kept learning.”
A couple more outfits did not turn out exactly as envisioned, but Njeru was not about to quit. And her resilience paid off.
