When Meg Taylor graduated from UF last December with degrees in classical studies and Spanish, she never expected to get into fashion.
But she's pushed aside the jeans and baggy T-shirts she wore in college to write for "The Bargain Queen," a fashion blog that gets 70,000 hits a month.
"I'm really a nerd at heart, so it's been kind of weird," she said.
She started her original blog, "All About Appearances," after a breast reduction surgery renewed her interest in shopping.
She posted a few comments on "The Bargain Queen," and founder Sara Goldstein liked her writing style.
Goldstein asked if she'd like to join her, though Taylor had only been blogging for two months.
Taylor, who also runs a Web design company with her husband Charles Taylor, said the Internet and blogging have changed the fashion industry.
"There are so many jobs that have been hard to get into," she said, "but the Web allows you to show yourself and make connections."
For people wanting to get into the once-impenetrable world of fashion, Taylor said her most important skills have been ones she learned in college: how to ask questions, find answers and explain them to other people. The skills are important to any career, she said.
"I learn a lot of stuff by writing posts on my blog," she said. "I look them up so I can explain them to others."
She posts bargains to fit all price ranges, some at less than ,30 and some at more than ,150. But everything is a good value for the money, she said.
Working in fashion has given her a lot more respect for what goes on behind the scenes.
"It's not the shallow, ditzy industry that it's made out to be," she said.
Taylor said it's never too early for college students to start dressing well, even in a casual university town.
Professors are worth impressing, she said.
"Go in there in your pajamas and you basically send the message, 'Oh, I don't care about this class,'" she said.
And having some closed-toe shoes can never hurt, she said.
But she said to beware the pitfalls of bargain hunting.
"I think a lot of women in general have this mentality where it's like, 'Oh my God, it's such-and-such name! It's Valentino Prada!'" she said.
The primary concern should be clothes that complement the wearer, she said.
Taylor said she might write a book one day and jokes with Goldstein that she's completed a new "chapter" every time she makes a blog post.
But nothing is in the works right now, she said.
Taylor keeps up her original blog, but writing for the audience of "The Bargain Queen" still sometimes overwhelms her.
"I try not to think about it," she said. "I try to keep my writing like I'm writing from one person to another."
Overall, she said, it's been a fun experience - and the fashion world isn't quite what she expected.
"I discovered that a lot of the other writers online - we're all a bunch of nerds," she said.
