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RATED AS ONE OF the 10 most influential style bloggers in the world, Gala Darling has many avatars. The girl from Wellington who is a big part of the bloggerati in the Big Apple, is fast earning a pop star cult status with one million hits. While media junkies are going viral about the princess of style with an undeniable shoe fetish, Gala Darling is busy endorsing clothing lines, signing modelling contracts and book deals whilst conducting blogger's workshops and boot camps. However, despite the hype, hoopla and the international recognition, New Zealand's most famous blogger export is still grounded… even when she's standing tall in her sky scraper heels. "I consider both Lady Gaga and Carrie Bradshaw icons of NYC so I am very flattered by the comparison! I think it's tempting to compare any female writer living in the city to Carrie Bradshaw, but sadly, most of us don't have her enormous closet!" laughs the quintessential Kiwi who carries her candy-coloured head well on her shapely shoulders.
"A new dress will only make you feel good for so long — after that you need something a little stronger. My website is an evolution of that premise."
An incredible fantasy For someone who worked a 9-5 job in Wellington and sold ads from the Yellow Pages
in The Aucklander magazine, ("That was the only job I got kicked out from," she recalls) her meteoric rise as a shining cyber star in the blogosphere is nothing short of an incredible fantasy. After all, who doesn't dream of being flooded with truckloads of designer gifts or being asked to model for Estee Lauder's Breast awareness campaign and Mary Kate–Ashley Oslen's holiday collection? The sassy, spunky and quirky people-watcher runs Gala Darling.com, a heady mix of
fashion, self-help advice and tips on how to live magically—all packaged beautifully with a lot of glitter, stunning pictures and podcasts. Though these days, Gala is using her cult status to profess radical self-love, a movement she started in 2010. This made-in-New Zealand love guru uses every platform, pedestal and podium in sight to make sure that people first fall in love with themselves before looking at the guy next-door. The underlying idea being that only if you are madly in love with yourself will you be able to share the love with others. "A new dress will only make you feel good for so long — after that you need something a little stronger. My website is an evolution of that premise," explains the blogging sensation. The dark side Life has not always been filled with love and sequins - which also happens to be the title
of her book on radical love - for the iconoclastic blogger. From indulging in self-mutilation to being a teenage Goth and having an eating disorder, Gala has battled her own demons. Talking candidly about her messy past life, she says that the turning point was when her boyfriend at that time gave her an ultimatum. "I was miserable and angry and didn't know why. I was anorexic and indulged in radical self-loathing," she confesses. "I felt my life
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Gala Darling!
