Fall into style: one on one with Silvia Njoki

Silvia Njoki has been and is still a household name when it comes to fashion styling in Kenya. It is apparent that you cant scan a fashion blog or social media platform without seeing Silvia Njoki’s work. The Kenyan stylist/blogger is currently outfitting the most sought after celebrities in Kenya – Elani, Victoria Kimani, and Vanessa Mdee.

Ghafla’s Moree interviewed Silvia Njoki to find out her personal style & life as a stylist.

At what age did you start becoming fascinated with fashion?

I have always loved fashion.  I loved dressing up on Sundays and on Christmas. I watched all the TV fashion shows and magazines I could find during my youth. While at boarding school for my secondary  education I sometimes organized fashion shows for my fellow students, dressing up in bed sheets, Khangas and whatever odd pieces of clothing we could lay hands on. It’s always been in me.

Your site, Style by Silvia was inspired by your daughter Nielsine. What do you hope for your daughter’s futures?

As all parents I wish the very best for my daughter. I want her to be happy and well-adjusted and have a wonderful childhood. These days you are not seeing many photos of her on myblog since I want to protect her privacy and just enjoying being a little girl. I do post her pictures sometimes; she is very fashion conscious and keenly interested in my fashion, makeup and photography. However, I would be very proud if she grew up to pursue the
things she loves, my goal is to equip her for a life of success.

So far how’s the experience so far in blogging ever since you started?

I came to love my blogging more than my other professional activities quite early on I chose to turn it into my primary career and sole source of income as opposed to my original field of study a BSC in food Science and Technology and my subsequent work as a fashion stylist after fashion school. With all its ups and downs, I have never come to regret this decision and have even widened my area of focus by creating a new blog in addition to Style by Silvia. It’s an online magazine called Style Yetu www.styleyetu.com to which I am now devoting more and more of my time and efforts.

How supportive have your folks been in your career?

My parents are very traditional and as most people they honestly don’t understand fully what blogging and being a social media influnecer is as a career, but they are of course excited to watch my work and see my newspaper columns, they do appreciate the value of what I do and the support it is getting from various quarters.

Who would you say is your number one fashion inspiration?

Her Highness Sheika Moza Bint Nasser or Qatar, her style is modest, classy, and classic. Everything I would ever hope my style to finally evolve into. What is the biggest tip you have for anyone want to start a fashion blog or website? Unless you are simply blogging for fun, it rapidly develops into a full time activity. So before you start, do make sure that you are prepared to make that investment – and most importantly choose a niche you love for your blog, so you can enjoy creating it and be appreciated as an authority on the subject.

You have a lot of followers to your blog how did you do this? How important has social media been in ensuring your blog is visible to a larger audience?

Building up a community of followers and regular readers of a blog is an uphill battle and
success doesn’t come overnight. I am convinced that initially most followers came to my
blog because they recognized my professional competence and authority – and probably also
simply because they loved my style. Social media have all along been key to creating
increasing awareness of the blog and even with the large audience I have today I will always
share new posts on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. The social media scene is constantly
growing and there will always me many more potential readers to take on board.

Once you’ve got the followers how do you keep them?

Consistency is the key. My followers are there mainly because they like what I’m posting about, so I try to stick to those themes. Putting up posts regularly is of course also essential to keep them coming back, but otherwise my top priority is to live up to my own quality expectations rather than focusing specifically on gaining followers. If I like what I do, so will they.

Who does your amazing photography? How important is communication between yourself and the photographer that you work with? What sorts of things do you do to prepare yourself for an upcoming shoot?

I work with a range of photographers occasionally including friends and family members who might be on the spot. The communication with the guy behind the camera is absolute key to a successful shoot – it’s a true team work. Preparing for a shoot requires the identification of the venue or location including in some cases the permission to shoot there and most importantly piecing together the outfits I shall be wearing (garments, shoes and
accessories). For high quality shoots I always rely on last-minute inputs from a hair dresser and a makeup artist. Although, I try to not go over the top with my shoots and keep them as reasonably relate-able as I can without losing the high quality that I always aim for.

Name the top three things in your styling kit that are must-haves?
Safety pins, super glue and double sided tape.

What is the biggest challenge about fashion blogging & Styling?

The biggest challenge in fashion styling is to gain a deep understanding of what your client needs, let them accept your creative direction so you can execute the job accordingly.Blogging has many challenges but among the most important is to post regular content of consistently high quality to keep your followers and readers engaged and make them comeback for more.

How are you making money through blogging & styling?
Styling is a straight forward profession where you are paid for a given styling job by the client. Blogging on the other hand allows you to make money in different ways from charging fees for advertisements on social media platforms, attending events, to long-term agreements with major brands that will pay you for promotional content (article and photos) on the blog.

What fashion item do you spend a lot of money on?
I love to attend red carpet and other gala events in the fashion and entertainment world and
am prepared to spend serious money on exquisite gowns and outfits for these special

What do you love most about blogging & Styling?

These days I only take up specific styling engagements but concentrate more on my blogging activities. I love that I am able to write and show photos about subjects close to my heart including fashion, beauty, travel and motherhood. I also love that I am my own boss and can work from home or anywhere. I love to travel and for the past 3 years I have been lucky to feed my wanderlust across the world thanks to my blogging career – a dream come true.

How many times a week do you post?

On my personal blog Style by Silvia I try to post at least once or twice a week if I have the proper content. On Style Yetu, I normally put up an average of one or two posts per day. However, my social media platforms will have content shared each and every day.

How do you stay updated on the current trends?

Staying updated on current international trends is the key to success in everything I do professionally. Luckily the potential sources of information are among my favourite platforms on the Internet and TV including fashion blogs, Instagram pages, fashion shows and pop culture programs and I enjoy every minute of my research browsing time. I follow people that inspire me so I am always feeding my brain with images of beautiful clothes, makeup and art.

The celebrity you’d most love to dress is…

If given the chance I would love to style celebrity couple Gabrielle Union and Dwayne Wade, they are beautiful!  The celebrity most in need of a fashion makeover is hahaha I cannot say that here.

What’s your next fashion must have?

I want to expand my eye wear collection, so I have my eyes on some cool sunnies that I cannot wait to bag.

Who is your favorite all time designer?

There are so many great designers around these days locally and internationally, It would be difficult to narrow them to just one. But visit my instagram @silvianjoki I am always rocking my fave designers.

Who is your Celebrity crush?

What a hard question. At the moment, the person I have a crush on is not a celebrity…

Is there special recognition you’ve received while styling and blogging?

Already back in 2015 I earned the BAKE awards for Best Kenyan Fashion/Beauty/Hair/Style Blog as well as Kenyan Blog of the Year and the following year I was nominated for the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award for Best Blog in Africa. Most recently I was named Best Blogger at the Abryanz Fashion and Style Awards in Uganda. I also won a Kenya Fashion award as the best Kenyan stylist of the year in 2015.

What is one thing your readers would be surprised to hear?

I recently went vegan, It’s been close to 5 months now and I want to make it part of my life

What is your Favorite Quote?

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”

Where do you see yourself as a blogger & Stylist in the next five years?

I am already phasing my styling activities out more and more and don’t plan to do any active styling five years from now. On the other hand I expect that both of my blogs will continue to thrive and grow under my management but with increasing inputs from hired staff. Personally, I wish to retreat more to the background and spend more time working in a consulting capacity building up other people by letting them benefit from my experience.