Six months ago, I moved from London to Sydney, and with this monumental lifestyle shift, I was inspired to start a new newsletter and to revive this blog after a couple of years of inactivity. I think I simply wanted to share a bit of this experience with others who might be interested in doing something similar or who were just curious to learn more about it.
This change of scenery also got my creative juices flowing. The newsletter covers style (my first love, as you may already know!), wellness, traveling around New South Wales and Australia, culture (mainly books and podcasts I rate), and basically anything and everything I like and want to recommend. I called it Longe.
In Portuguese, Longe (pronounced lon-jee) means ‘far away,’ an apt descriptor for what it feels like to live in Australia after spending my entire life in the Northern Hemisphere. I also picked this word because I find it beautiful and it channels the notion of stepping into the unknown with a spirit of adventure, which is a bit of a life mantra for me.
Creating on Substack
I started writing on Substack back in May 2020 with Slow Fashion Weekly, my first-ever newsletter. It began as a venture into sustainable fashion news and commentary, but evolved to incorporate more personal notes and different topics I’m interested in beyond fashion and buying clothes. I’m creating a more immersive and curated experience through Longe, and would absolutely love to have you as one of my readers.
I’m an avid reader of newsletters myself and subscribe to many (free and paid). Substack reminds me of the early 2000 when fashion bloggers would write lengthy posts about their daily life rather than just posting standalone images. Don’t get me wrong, I love fashion photography, but this new medium takes style/beauty/lifestyle content to a whole new level of awesomeness.
Some Substack newsletters I look forward to in my inbox
- Night Shades by Melanie Masarin to get an insider view of her work building the super stylish non-alcoholic cocktail brand, Ghia, coupled with her life snippets—surfing, snowboarding, and her unfailingly cool style.
- Remotely by Lucy Williams for peeks into this OG blogger’s effortlessly cool life, style, and colourful home in London. Her podcasts and TV recos are always on-point.
- The Review of Beauty by Jessica DeFino is sharp, well-researched, and interspersed with just the right amount of sarcasm to make it highly enjoyable. Her deep dives into the beauty industry are eye-opening. She will make you change the way you look at your skincare.
- I came across the podcast Content People by Meredith Farley on Spotify, but it turns out it’s a newsletter as well. It’s about the people behind the content we see online, which is always a refreshing angle. Check out her interview with Liza Belmonte, author of the newsletter Every Body Gets Dressed for an honest take on Instagram influencing and mindful fashion.
These picks barely graze the surface of the exceptional and entertaining writing available on Substack. It’s really not an exhaustive list of the content I consume daily on the Substack app either. Definitely download the app and explore it further for more inspiration, but don’t blame me if you get sucked in this new content universe.
So Far on Longe…
I typically write monthly, though occasionally I’ll publish two or three times depending on my schedule at work and life events I can’t control that can get in the way. I haven’t set a strict posting schedule yet as I’m still exploring different topics and formats, but I’m aiming to establish a more structured approach gradually and would love to have you part of this journey. Here are some of the recent issues I’ve shared.
- Reflections on wellbeing during a reset I did in the Blue Mountains between Christmas and NYE.
- Beauty and wellness tips I mined from a decade of casting and modelling.
- Novels I got recommended from friends on Instagram (slowly going through the list at the moment).
- Decorating my first home in Sydney (but more updates on that coming soon as I’ve moved to a completely new neighbourhood a few weeks ago).
You can become a subscriber of Longe here.
If you’ve read thus far, I want to say a huge thank you for being here and supporting my blog and newsletter. Your presence truly means the world to me. I’m excited to continue sharing my discoveries in style, travel, and culture with you through Longe and this blog.
If you’d like to reach out, you can send me a message at hello@inesfress.com ✨
