Saying that I love fashion blogs is a huge understatement! When I’m feeling like I need a little fashion inspo to spice up my look, they’re always the first place I turn to. When I reached out to one of my all time favorite bloggers to do an interview, I was absolutely ecstatic when she said “Of course!” Meet Sarah Tripp, the fashionably fabulous face behind…
Behind the Blog:
What inspired you to create your blog, Sassy Red Lipstick?
Two things main things inspired me to start SRL. First, I had just come back from living in NYC where I interned at a fashion-forward ad agency {the clients I specifically worked with were Stuart Weitzman and David Yurman—it was pretty dreamy}. New York is such a melting pot that there isn’t ever a certain “trend” happening; everyone has his/her own style and it all just blends together. Living in the City taught me that I could create my own style—be preppy and colorful one day and wear black with edgy details the next. I realized I didn’t necessarily have to stick with a certain genre of fashion, like I previously thought. When I returned home, my then-boyfriend-now-husband, Robbie, really encouraged me to start my own blog. I had always wanted to, but his extra push {and the fact that he knew how to do the technical side of launching a website} really helped me to get going on a lifelong dream—making fashion a career.
With your busy schedule, how do you make time for blogging?
I recently quit my 9-5 working in the marketing department of a local women’s apparel boutique. It was a hard decision to make, but I knew I wanted more time to really focus on my blog and build my brand. Now a typical day in the life looks a lot like this: I wake up around 8am, work on my blog for a few hours {which includes writing & arranging a post, answering emails from brands & companies, pinning images on Pinterest, posting on social media, etc}. I try and make it to the gym or go running before I eat lunch. I usually have photo shoots with my photographer Haley Nord in the afternoon that last an hour or two. We shoot about once a week. I also have wifey duties like grocery shopping, running to Target, making dinner, etc. I’ll catch up on shows in the late afternoon while answering more emails, Instagramming, Tweeting, etc. By the time evening comes, I feel like I’m on social media all day {and so is Robbie for his career}, so at night we like to put our phones down, eat dinner, and watch a few episodes of House of Cards {our current Netflix-binge}. Obviously no two days are ever really the same but that’s a pretty typical day in the life!
Why did you decide to leave your full-time job and pursue blogging full time?
I think for me it all came down to pursuing my passion. My husband is really, really big on living a life for yourself and not other people. He is such a shining example to me of making things happen and creating the life that you want for yourself without asking for permission. So while I liked my job, I didn’t love it and a lot of days I would come home feeling like I had contributed nothing to the world or to myself. Robbie would always encourage me to quit and tell me that life is too short not to be happy where you spend the majority of your day. I wasn’t passionate about what I was doing, so being a typical millennial, I knew I needed more. I actually went part-time for a while to try and get a better balance while keeping the job but that wasn’t working out too well for either party, so I made the leap of faith and quit my job to make Sassy Red Lipstick my priority. I’m grateful for a husband who supports my decision and continues to work hard supporting our little family while I continue to follow my dreams.
Roughly, how many hours a week do you put into your blog?
I’ve never actually counted, but an estimate would probably be 20-30 hours, depending on the week. Now that I’m not working a 9-5, I am able to fully dedicate myself to it, while still maintaining a good life balance.
What are the most frustrating aspects of being a blogger and how do you deal?
First off, for me personally, it’s learning to recognize that not everyone is going to love my blog, or even like me {or at least the version of me they see online}. I’ve come across a site solely dedicated to bad-mouthing bloggers; the things I read about me were hurtful, but I just had to realize that not everyone is going to like my style, my photos, or what I have to say, and that’s just life. Secondly, I’ve really come a long way from when I first started blogging on learning to love my body. I’m not a size 2 blogger and I’m also not a plus size blogger, so I’ve had to find where I fit in. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with either body type, but there’s just not a ton of middle ground for the women in between. I know it’s a focus of mine, along with other bloggers, to try and break that barrier of loving your body, and not feeling there is a “typical blogger body.”
What have been your favorite places to shoot?
I love a good colored wall, specifically pink. I just love finding places to shoot that fit the style of what I’m wearing. Shoot location has become just as important to me as what I’m wearing; it all needs to be cohesive to make the post really come together.
Do you follow other fashion bloggers? If so, who are your faves?
Yes, of course! I follow a number of other style bloggers, both locals that I’ve met at events and the notables that everyone knows. I love seeing how different bloggers style different items that I may or may not have. For me, I love it when I can see a woman’s unique personality reflected in her sense of style. One of my favorite things about fashion is that it’s such a pure form of expression. As for specifics, I’ve been a long time follower of Cupcakes and Cashmere, and absolutely love that Emily Schuman has built her fashion blog into a lifestyle empire. I have followed Blair Eadie (Atlantic/Pacific) since she lived in San Francisco, as she now resides in NYC. She’s preppy and super feminine, and I draw inspiration from her all the time. My latest favorite is Julie Engel from Gal Meets Glam. I love the chic femininity of the way she wears trends. She and her husband are a team {he’s a photographer and shoots almost all her blog posts}, so I love seeing them work together. Plus, they frequently travel to my dream destinations, so that’s so fun to follow as well.
College Life:
Where did you go to college and what did you study?
I went to Brigham Young University {BYU} in Provo, Utah and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications with an emphasis in Advertising. I always knew I wanted to be in a creative-type of atmosphere and the things I learned while in the ad world still help me to this day.
What extracurricular activities were you involved in?
I loved my time at BYU because it has one of the top advertising programs in the nation. It’s a major you have to apply to and be accepted to study. Once I was accepted, I started volunteering in the BYU AdLab, a student run ad agency that works with real clients. It was such a great experience to work on real campaigns. By my senior year, I was working in the AdLab as a Senior Account Manager, which led me to competing in a National Advertising Contest where my team took 1st place at the regional level. We traveled to give our presentation and it was a blast working with such creative minds. I also studied abroad in Jerusalem, Israel my sophomore year, and it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I would encourage every college student to do some type of study abroad—get out of your comfort zone, travel the world, learn about another culture, and make lifelong friends and memories.
Looking back, what was your favorite/least favorite part about your college experience?
I definitely got senioritis my last year in college because that was when I was engaged, so I was just so ready to move on and start the next chapter of my life. Other than that, I can’t recall a least favorite part of college besides it being hard work! All the classes, homework, and tests made it difficult sometimes but that’s just a part of it all. My favorite part about college was just really finding myself. College is a time where you have to grow up and take responsibility for yourself. There’s a lot of late nights and study groups, but there’s also so many fun social events and experiences to grow as a person.
Fun Stuff:
When/how did you meet your husband?
Oh everyone always asks us this and we never know how to answer! The short answer we tell people is that we met through a mutual friend. The long answer: the mutual friend was one of my friends from high school that Robbie dated for a few months. We started following each other on social media because of her, so when they fizzled out, he and I were still connected even though we had never met. Fast-forward a few months later and we randomly started commenting here and there on social media and then started FaceTiming every night. This was in the final weeks of my junior year at BYU and Robbie was attending a junior college in central California where he was playing basketball. He came out of nowhere, but isn’t that the best kind of love? Our first date was May 10th, 2013. I was just about to move to NYC for my summer internship, so we continued to date long distance for three months and when I got back to school in Utah, Robbie decided to transfer to school there as well {where he is originally from}. We continued to date, got engaged, and exactly a year to the day of our first date, we got married in my hometown of Las Vegas on May 10th, 2014.
What was the inspiration behind the theme of your wedding?
I never really had a “theme” in mind per se, until one of my bridesmaids told me after my wedding that it looked like “Kate Spade threw up everywhere.” It wasn’t until she said that that I realized it was so true! Our colors were blush, pops of hot pink, cream, and glitter gold, with lots of floral accents. Robbie and I always talk about how our wedding day was perfect in every way and I wish we could go back and relive it! Our very favorite part of the reception was the live band we hired. I would pay for live music again in a heart beat because it truly made the evening magical.
You can view all of our engagement/wedding posts at the bottom of this post here.
Favorite place you have vacationed?
My family has traveled out of the country quite a few times; I always grew up going on summer vacations. My favorite trip with my family was our trip to Spain we took after my junior year of college. We went for two weeks and I had just finished my fourth semester of Spanish so it felt good to be able to {mostly} understand the locals. I was pretty shy {mostly embarrassed} to speak back, but it was such an eye-opening experience. My favorite vacation since I’ve been married was going to Harry Potter World for Robbie’s 25th birthday just recently! We are both huge Harry Potter nerds who grew up devouring the books, so it was so fun to dress up, buy wands, and relive our childhood in a way.
Favorite makeup brand?
I love my MAC lipsticks! MAC has such vibrant pigments, which is why I love them. I also really love my Makeup Forever foundation. It’s pricey, but so worth it. And lastly, I’ve recently become addicted to filling in my brows with my Anastasia Brow Gel.
Favorite clothing designer?
Oh, this is a hard one. I’m a handbag and shoe girl through and through, so my favorite designers are Christian Louboutin {there’s nothing better than that red sole} and the iconic Louis Vuitton. Louis bags are just so timeless and only get better with age. A funny story that Robbie and I always laugh about when we were dating was when I was getting dressed for a date night and grabbed my Louis speedy bag and Robbie said to me, “Does that bag match your outfit?” I looked at him with all seriousness and said, “You don’t match Louis to anything; you match to Louis.” I believe that is true.
Favorite bible verse?
I’m so glad you asked this because my faith is a huge part of my life. I love the exchange Christ has with Mary Magdalene after His resurrection in John: 11-18. The women in the Bible are just so special to me.
Are there any other ways we can keep up with you besides the blog?
Yes! You can follow me on Insta of course {@sassyredlipstick} to see all my posts but also just glimpses into life and travels. I’m active on Twitter {@sarahktripp} for anyone who wants to hear my thoughts and opinions on Harry Potter, good places to eat, movies, etc. I have also been very active on Snapchat lately and am having a blast giving people more of a look into my day-to-day {username: sarahktripp}. For anyone who wants to drop me a line, my email address is sarah@sassyredlipstick.com. I always answer emails and I try to answer all comments/questions on social media as well! I always want my followers to know that I’m someone they can relate to and feel comfortable chatting with.
[All Photo Credits to Sarah Tripp]