one year of unflattering

and a new membership level 🥳

One year ago, on May 16th, I published my first post on Substack.

I tend to barrel past these milestones or not notice them altogether, but for once I actually saw this coming. Here are a few thoughts.

I started this Substack for two main reasons:

One, because my income is irregular as a stylist. I felt the need both to diversify my income streams (ugh so annoying to use that phrase, but true) and have one of them be more regular and reliable. As a person with limited capacity, it made sense to monetize something I was already spending hours on for no direct financial results: writing blog posts and sending newsletters.

Secondly, I wanted community. Back in the day, I’d had a lovely active community on Facebook but phased that out in 2020 after watching The Social Dilemma. After that, I’d get great responses to my email newsletters, but people were responding only to me and couldn’t see when others were having the same reactions. I wanted a way that people could not only respond to me, but to each other, creating connection in the process. 

“What's kept me around is easy. It's the community you've built here with open-minded women on the spectrum from vulnerable to powerhouses, each one pulling one, as Alice Walker tells us women must do. I feel welcome in this community.”
-Anita

I went into this experiment with a huge case of imposter syndrome.

I like to write, and I know I’m decent at it, but it’s not what I was trained in or what I taught myself or what I do as my actual job. Everyone else’s posts on Substack were researched and interviews had been conducted and they had theses. More importantly, they were capital W Writers. I was just a person with some ideas about clothes trying and feeling like I was failing to articulate them clearly. This has dissipated a bit with time.

“I've got so much going on in my life I don't have time for a full wardrobe revamp, or even to think a whole lot about what I wear, but I need and crave your consistent messaging that I am enough the way I am, that I don't have to wear a certain thing or dress a certain way to be worthy, and that I can find enjoyment and comfort in what I wear in an authentic way. I basically need you consistently whispering in my ear that everything is okay.” -Katherine

My goal when I launched last May was to hit 100 paid subscribers before the end of the year.

To my surprise, I hit that goal in one day. Today I have 8,580 total subscribers. You probably don’t care, but that’s not growth from 0, it’s growth from about 3,500 (the emails I brought over from my previous email list a couple of weeks after my initial launch). I’m not downplaying the growth because I had worked hard to get those 3,500 subscribers on my previous email list, but it’s just not all from Substack. 

One week after I launched, Substack got in touch with me because

Virginia Sole-Smith

(who had previously been a client and was a big part of my starting here) had shared one of my posts. Soon after that, unflattering was a Substack featured publication.

I’ve never done something that I’ve been recognized so quickly at. My business didn’t take off right away, my attempts at passive income have all failed, and my growth on social media has been steady but very very slow. The fact that I hit my goal and that other people were noticing what I was doing so quickly was a different experience than I’ve ever had.

Since then, this little place on the internet has continued to grow. Aside from any stats or numbers, to me, it’s successful because I’ve created what I set out to create: a supportive community that’s changing people’s habits and provides me with a bit of steady income. 

“You've helped me to be much more thoughtful about what I buy. I continue to follow you because you are honest and relatable. I recently came across a haul’ video that felt very fake, they loved every outfit. It made me laugh because I know we won't get that BS from you. You look at fashion in a much more nuanced way. I'm a mom as well and appreciate that your clothes work for real life. Your work is greatly appreciated!” -Alex

I don’t have all the answers, but here are a few things that helped me get there:

The unflattering readers. I’m so grateful that such an amazing group of humans has stuck around and contributed so much to the richness of the discourse here. Your comments and questions and responses to each other are the things that motivate me on a day when I’m not feeling so inspired. From the beginning, I’ve responded to almost every question and comment, and while that may not continue to be sustainable, at this point, you all are supporting each other as much as I am and that makes my little heart swell with joy.

Collaboration with other Substackers. I felt so welcome here when I started and I’ve tried to welcome others in the same way. I do love how there is a really supportive vibe from other writers. The publications that have directed the most subscribers to me have been The Minimalista Edit with

Shira Gill

, Burnt Toast by

Virginia Sole-Smith

, Feminist Founders with

Becky Mollenkamp

, and LIVING SMALL by

Laura Fenton

. Thanks, y’all!! 😘

To collaborate further, I started the style stories series. Style stories are an important piece of the work I do with one-on-one clients, and one of the pieces I love most. I thought it would be interesting to hear other Substackers’ stories, and you all did too.

“You create the type of fashion writing I find nowhere else and I wish my teen self had read- it would have saved me decades of harmful relationship to my body, my image, my closet, (and my bank account lol).” -JA

Let’s get to the stuff you really want to know - how much have I earned?

As of May 15, 2024, I have 8,580 total subscribers and 437 paid subscribers¹. Substack with its many charts and stats tells me that this results in revenue of $22,704 each year, but that number is a little deceptive. That number would be correct if I’d had this number of paid subscribers from the start, which I obviously haven’t. It also doesn’t account for Substack’s 10% fee and for Stripe’s processing fees. For every full price $5 subscription, I get $4.06, and many of my paid subscriptions are discounted. I actually brought in $13,241 (before taxes, of course) over the last year. Which is super fucking amazing. There’ve been many years in my styling business when I didn’t bring in that much overall. 

“I really enjoy your thoroughness on all topics. It feels like you have given all of the different parts of getting dressed so much thought. And with a no bullshit, compassion and kindness. I love fashion, clothes, learning about new labels, and learning about anti fat bias, male gaze, patriarchy, consumption and all of these heavier and stickier yet really important components of clothing and accessories and ultimately life.” -Elizabeth

I’m so so grateful you’re here.

To celebrate this anniversary, I’ve created the unflattering membership!

Usually, the Founder’s member level for any Substack is just contributing a bit extra to the writer, sometimes with a perk or two. This membership will really create a whole new level of access to me and others, with resources that I usually charge for.

If you increase your subscription to the unflattering membership level, you’ll get:

• All the usual stuff: access to all paywalled articles including AMA’s, the ability to join the community with commenting privileges, and access to my monthly shopping links.

You’ll ALSO get:

• The ability to submit the questions I’ll answer in my AMA’s, as well as me answering any that don’t make it to publication.

• Free access to my mini-courses on Uncovering Your Authentic Style, Stress Free Shopping, and Travel Packing (value: $150)

• 💥***NEW AND EXCITING***💥 6 times a year, you’ll receive access to a special thread called “Dacy Finds It For You”. You can submit two items you’re shopping for and I’ll recommend 2 options for each specific to your needs. (value: $1050)

• Access to my constantly updated spreadsheet of 250+ retailers, sorted by size, price range, style, and sustainability (

  Virginia Sole-Smith
  called it “gold”). Go here to see a quick video of how it works.

You get all of this for $120/year! If you’re already a paid subscriber this is just $5 more per month. Since there’s so much here, the price will be going up on June 1 to $150/year, so upgrade or subscribe soon!

I’m opening comments to all subscribers this week, usually a paid perk! What other questions do you have about running a Substack? What do you like about your favorite Substacks? 

P.S. Here are my most popular posts from the year:

can stylists all just shut up about “defining a waist”? and is Queer Eye fatphobic?

From the vault: why is flattering the priority?

How does white supremacy show up in our clothes?

a reaction to letting go of resolutions which was a reaction to the pressure of resolutions

on trends and judgment

On aging and style

1. if you’d like to be a member of the community but don’t have the resources to be a paid subscriber, email me at dacy@mindfulcloset.com and I’ll comp you, no questions asked.