London’s Closet Twins Reveal the Secret to Confidence

Enviously scrolling through the elegantly designed pages of London’s Closet and seeing the perfectly styled outfits of these stylish twins, it's impossible not to wonder how the two 19 year olds were given such a good eye when it comes to fashion. From creating their own brand to winning an award and overcoming fears, the London based twins Shope and Shore Delano have achieved more than they could ever have dreamed when their personal style blog hit the blogging scene.

At the tender age of 15 in 2010, Shope set up London’s Closet with the intention of quietly documenting her personal style, “I was so shy back then,” she laughs, “I would never ever have done it had a friend not pushed me to start [the blog]. I still wonder how she managed to convince to do it. I never really thought that anyone would even read my blog or take notice, I think it was more something that I could look back on for myself and see how my style evolved rather than inspiration for anyone else.”

After a year of going solo, the other half of this fashion-forward duo, Shore, added her style, “When Shope asked me if I wanted to join her I didn't even have to think about it, in fact I think I asked why it had taken her so long!” said Shore, “It was just a natural thing to happen really as we did pretty much everything together back then.”

The two sisters have created a dynamic combination of both of their styles; Shore’s fashion sense favours sophisticated tailoring with a feminine edge and Shope a grungier, edgy side. The result is a blog which caters to two very different styles yet seamlessly blends them together which seems to have struck a chord with nearly four thousand followers. Their blog hit new heights when they cleverly came up with the idea of Twoosie, an online store which sells small limited edition handmade two-pieces designed by different bloggers. “The idea for Twoosie came about after I decided to attempt making a co-ord for myself after seeing them just about everywhere,” explained Shope.
 
“I asked my nan to borrow her old sewing machine and found some fabrics and somehow ended up with a wearable outfit. I posted it on Instagram and was literally so shocked by the reaction from my followers asking me to make some for them,” she added: “Shore suggested we ask our favourite bloggers to design co-odds which reflected their own styles and so came about the longest summer of sewing and stitching but it was so worth it!”
 
Following the success of Twoosie, London’s Closet saw an influx of opportunities from brands wanting to collaborate with them from the likes of Lazy Oaf to Public Desire. In 2013 they were awarded Best Blogging Duo at the Company Style Blogger awards, “I think it was when we won that award that it really struck me;  we had made our small, seemingly insignificant blog in to something much, much more,” said Shore, “To even be nominated in something like that was such an honour and it made all of the hard times melt away.”

The blogging brains behind London’s Closet aren't just savvy when it comes to maintaining a successful blog but they do it in style on a student budget whilst at university. With Shore studying Philosophy at the University of Warwick and Shope studying Economics and Philosophy at Nottingham university, it has to be asked how do they manage it? “Both of us have always really enjoyed education and blogging but there have been times when we have rang each other in despair at the work loads and finding time to take outfit pictures,” said Shore, “you have to have good time management skills, that's for sure. I think Shope does better at that than me as she always has been the more organised twin!” Shore added, “The hardest part whilst being at uni is trying not to buy all of the clothes in my shopping basket and breaking in to my rent money!”

Whilst their blog continued to grow it wasn't always plain sailing for the twins, “One of the hardest things I found whilst blogging is the negative criticism we received. When London’s Closet was just starting out, a lot of people at school who I had believed were my friends would take the mickey and judge me because of our blog. Then there were the hateful comments people would leave on the blog which some days really took their toll,” said Shore, “It took me a while to realise that I just needed to ignore those people who were bitter that we were doing something we loved and eventually it made me stronger!”

For Shope, the negativity nearly made her quit all together, “I was always painfully shy at school which is probably why people made such a big deal of the blog. I used to really care what people thought about me and I still do but not to the same extent. When I used to come home and read through the nasty things some people would say I would just let it all get to me and was always envious of Shore for being able to ignore it but I just couldn't.

“It was difficult to not read it as I always interacted with people who commented and so I'd have to sieve through the good and bad to respond to reader’s questions,” she explained, “and one day I was just having a terrible day and had seen one too many mean things and I just said to Shore that I couldn't do it anymore and was ready to give up. She sat me down and told me that if I quit the blog then I would be letting all those people win. She made me see that I shouldn't let bullies stop me from doing what I enjoy and their comments were their own insecurities showing. It's been a learning curve and because of London’s Closet I have never been more confident and sassy!”