I know you by your legs

Okay, potentially creepy/stalkerish sounding post title, I know, but I promise you there is an entirely innocent explanation behind it! :)

You see, as a general rule, when reading posts in my feed reader (Bloglovin'), I do so by starting with the oldest posts first, which are at the bottom of the page of new entries. Thus as I work my way from the end of the list to the top, I often see a person's feet and/or legs first as a photo accompanying an outfit post appears.

{1940s image source}

I've been reading my feeds like this for years now and have been following many of the blogs that those gams belong to the authors of, for far longer still. As such, I can often tell who a new post is from before I even scroll up to the part that says the blog's name, simply by seeing their feet/legs. I find this rather charming and hope you'll see it as such, too, for it leads me to a far greater point.

In about two weeks from now, this blog will hit 6.5 years of life. In that time I've had the great pleasure of getting to cross paths with literally thousands of fellow bloggers (vintage and otherwise). Some for the briefest of spells, others for multiple years, and some for longer still than I myself have been penning a vintage blog (I started following their sites prior to launching to my own). Quite a few of these folks have become friends - also for varying lengths of time - and a few have become so dear to me they feel like sisters.

It's scarcely a state secret that the vintage blogging world has shrunk somewhat in the last (roughly) three years (a point that I briefly touched on in this post). There are a plethora of reasons (the rise of certain "instant share" sites like Instagram certainly being one them) for this and I won't go into great deal about such here now. Suffice it to say, the vintage blogging pool is not as vast as it once was and that makes me all the more grateful for those who are still keeping at 'er, as I myself am, too.

No matter if such folks are blogging peers, personal acquaintances, friends, or die-hard BFFs, I know them - or in other words, I know you. Whether we've only talked through our blogs - perhaps even one sided-ly (in other words, I've commented on your site, but you haven't on mine) - or have conversed elsewhere, too, by sheer virtue of the fact that you've been sharing part of your life with me - and the world - online for quite some time, I genuinely feel like I know you and this is a beautiful thing unto itself.

I appreciate all of my fellow bloggers, particularly the vintage ones, as we walk a similar path in this new found digital world of ours. I find myself remembering fellow blogger's birthdays, anniversaries, and even due dates. I know who adores 1940s swing dresses, who can't get enough of two tone 30s shoes, and who 1950s circle skirts make go positively weak in the knees.

From BF/GF/husband/wife/partner's names to what people studied in school to favourite colours and foods, a body of knowledge has been acquired and cataloged for many of my fellow bloggers simply by virtue of the fact of how long I've known them and how frequently I've read their wonderful blogs. I have know doubt that many of you reading this post today can say the same about me and I love that fact.

Even the most raw, open and honest person never shares everything about themselves online - and that's a good thing (we all need and deserve some privacy, after all), but we all present a certain version of who we are to the world via our blogs (and social media presences) and what we opt to divulge or not.

Whether we chose to be an open book or present a very curated picture of ourselves and our lives, we still share who we are and those who give of themselves and their time to kindly follow our sites, learn about us through our photos, what we write, and sometimes even what is left unsaid.

I guess what I'm trying to say is how much I care for and appreciate every single one of you, my fellow bloggers and friends. Thank you for opening up your lives with me and allowing me to do the same here day after day, week after week, and ultimately year after year.

We've shared so much and I hope that a great deal more lies in store for all of us who continue to keep our blogs alive and going strong. I look forward to getting to know you even better - shoes and all - and hope that we can keep on supporting one another's sites, efforts (long term frequent blogging is a huge amount of work and very often a sheer labour of love for those doing so, especially in a relatively small niche like the vintage world), and cheer each other on as we continue to blog, share and grow as both individuals and an online community as a whole.