Riveting Behind the Scenes: Setting the Foundation

I’m starting a newsletter focused on menswear called Riveting! Over the next week, I’ll document some of the behind-the-scenes for the newsletter.

In July, I decided to lock into menswear as my niche. I spent time clarifying the vision and strategy behind the newsletter, as well as setting the foundation.

One lesson I learned from writing every day is how much my writing output is a function of my information diet. So one of my first steps was to upgrade my information diet.

I started curating the feed on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube by following fashion accounts. A few of my favorites are of course the @dieworkwear on Twitter, @sleepyboy_zzz on Instagram, and @drewjoiner on YouTube.

I subscribed to a few fashion newsletters.

I started listening to fashion podcasts like Throwing Fits and Blamo!.

I bought some of the menswear bibles like True Style and Dressing the Modern Man. I’d also buy many history books and photo books from my local bookshops.

Next, I knew I wanted to publish this newsletter weekly. I chose Sunday as the day to publish. This meant that Monday-Wednesday I’d research and work on my first draft. Ask a few friends to review it. Then work on the second draft on Thursday-Saturday. I’d use my daily blog as the sandbox. That’s how I wrote How I Got into Fashion, everything you need to know about caring for your clothes, and the history of T-shirts. I learned it was an intense schedule. And I felt like I could’ve done better for a few pieces.

Inspired by Tim Ferriss’ 5-bullet Friday, where he shares five pieces of content and ideas he found interesting, I decided to start Fashion Five, where I share five pieces of content and ideas related to fashion and menswear every Sunday. This would be much more sustainable to do every week, giving me less pressure to publish a long-form piece every week. Additionally, since I’m consuming so much fashion content anyway, it’s a great way to share the best of what I’ve been consuming.