SISTER SISTER | A SIBLING Q&A

 

 

 

Why hello there you wonderful bunch, I hope you’re all doing really well indeed 🙂 How was your weekend? Mine was spent with the family as it’s been absolutely AGES since it was just the four of us together; mum, dad, Faye and I. Our boys are in Austria skiing at the moment so the four of us took that as a great excuse to get the fam together and have a lovely chilled weekend at home (mum & dads home that is) for old times sake. It was truly lovely and totally wholesome with Chinese food and lots of wine and I’m feeling really rather rested indeed.

A weekend with just the family brings me on really rather nicely to today’s blogpost, a little Q&A with my sister Faye (find her on Instagram @fellaby) and I. We’re spending a lot more time together lately which is so dreamy and we’ve actually had the opportunity to collaborate with some brands as a sister duo which is insane, so we thought it would be nice for you to get to know our vibe, dynamic and relationship a little more.
Thanks in advance for all your questions over on Instagram, it means so much and we hope you love this blogpost as much as we loved putting it together. We were together when answering the questions but sat opposite one another, so it's funny to see how similar our answers are.

 

*Disclaimer, some of these photos were used for a sponsored Instagram post with Accessorize for both Faye and I, but this blog post isn’t sponsored*

HOW DID YOU BOTH GET INTO BLOGGING?

MEGAN: Faye actually isn’t a blogger, she creates rocking content for Instagram. I fell into blogging rather accidentally 6.5 years ago now whilst on my placement year at university. I remembered part way through that I was supposed to be keeping a diary to present to my tutor once I was back from my year of interning. Rather than handwriting it I rather naively typed “online diary” into Google and found blogger.com (a really great start to all things blogging) and set to work backtracking on the past few months of interning at House of Holland, ASOS, Alexander McQueen and JD Sports. Due to the high profile nature of the brands I worked at my blog gained some traction and with that I discovered the world of style blogging and thought “Hey, I could do this” so began snapping my outfits before work, using a tripod at 7am on my parents drive, and the rest is history!

WHEN IS THE PODCAST COMING?

FAYE: It’s been in talks for SO long, we’ve been quite busy so far this year but we’re hoping to kick start it very soon. I’m equal parts excited and nervous, I feel like it’s got loads of potential, but I hate hearing my voice when it’s being recorded, so I’m gonna have to learn how to get over that!

WHAT MADE YOU BOTH GET INTO FASHION?

FAYE: I feel like we’ve always been around it! Our Nanna used to work as a machinist in factories in Salford, and our Mum is incredible with a sewing machine (she used to make wedding dresses in her spare time)! But my earliest memory of knowing I wanted to be in fashion, was myself & Megan thinking we’d eventually be fashion designers, and locking ourselves away in our shared room, and sketching (well, if you could call it that, more like scrawling) outlines of mannequins and creating our own designs. I should’ve known then that my very limited artistic ability wasn’t going to land me a career in design, however, after studying textiles at GCSE & A Level, the penny finally dropped, which led me to my career in Buying.

DO YOU BOTH MISS WORKING AT ASOS?

FAYE: I miss the job, and the staff discount obviously, but not the living situation. Everyone thinks that, moving to London is really glamorous, and you’ll be out all the time, with loads of pals, having the time of your life. When, in reality, or in my case at least, it was the loneliest time in my life

MEGAN: I do miss it, working for ASOS was such an incredible achievement for me, particularly as they head hunted me for a brand new role as a personal stylist. I LOVED working for them as it was a brand I absolutely loved (still do) and everyone who worked there was so young, fun and so insanely cool, it was a really inspiring place to work. I miss being surrounded by hoards of super inspiring people on the daily and I definitely miss that office culture of chatting about what you’ve been up to and what you’ve watched on the telly etc, but I don’t think I could ever go back to working for someone else.

HOW DID YOU BEGIN YOUR CAREERS IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY?

MEGAN: I started volunteering at an Oxfam Originals shop when I was 16 and LOVED styling the mannequins in the window, thats when I knew that styling was something I wanted to pursue. I then went to The University of Huddersfield to study Fashion Communication & Promotion and opted in to a placement year where I interned my little booty off, all whilst starting my blog.

FAYE: I got a job at Topshop, on the shop floor, when I turned 16, and worked there for 7 years, whilst studying. I studied Fashion Buying & Merchandising at Manchester Metropolitan University, which isn’t as glamorous as it sounds. The course is really technical, and involves a lot of science and numbers (including finance and accounting modules, wtf?!) I spent the first two years of my course thinking ‘what on earth am I doing here!?’ until I went on my placement year, and worked on the buying team at ASOS, where it all fell into place. I went back to ASOS when I finished my degree, then moved back up North, and went to Missguided!

HOW HARD IS IT NOT TO REPLY AND DEFEND NEGATIVE COMMENTS ON EACH OTHERS POSTS?

FAYE: If it’s about me, I try to just ignore it, and not let it affect me. But, it’s a different story when it’s about someone else, who I love. Especially when the comment is complete nonsense, or just down right rude. You’ve just got to try and remember that for every rude comment, there’s a tonne of lovely ones, and ‘a lion doesn’t lose sleep over the opinion of sheep’.

MEGAN: It’s SO hard. We’ve always been one anothers cheerleaders and bodyguards so it can be tough. We usually just screenshot the negative comments and have a good laugh about them over Whatsapp, thats our way of venting.

FUNNIEST MEMORY TOGETHER?

MEGAN: Good lord we have LOADS, we were a bit nuts as kids.

FAYE: I remember being on the ferry back from Paris when we were 8 & 10, and just absolutely losing the plot. We’d definitely had too much sugar, and we got so giddy/annoying that my Dad got angry and stood on the deck of the ferry on his own for the whole journey. A lot of our childhood was spent being giddy together, it’s not too dissimilar now we’re adults.

FAVOURITE CHILDHOOD MEMORY?

MEGAN: All the summer holidays we had. We were lucky to have parents who worked so hard to allow us to go on holiday once a year, usually to Turkey and those memories are some of my fondest.

FAYE: Too many to recall! I love reminiscing about our days out with my Nanna Doris when we were younger, going into Woolworths where she’d buy us lucky bags, and sweets, and all the bad things that Mum said no to. We also spent a lot of our childhood watching a film called Josie & The Pussycats, which nobody else seems to have seen. We could probably recite it in our sleep, and I reckon it would be my specialist subject if I went on Mastermind.

WHAT WAS ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS YOU ARGUED ABOUT WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER?

FAYE: We didn’t actually argue a lot, but if we did, it was probably over me just being a really irritating, moany cow, ha! Or Megan being overly sensitive… tbh not much has changed.

MEGAN: I know this is a really annoying answer but we have never really been ones to argue. Of course as all siblings do we had the occasional tiff, but there was never one specific thing that made us row. We both know how to wind each other up so if we were in one of those moods we could easily start an argument if we wanted to. 

GROWING UP, DID YOU FIND YOURSELVES COMPARING YOUR BODIES TO EACH OTHERS?

MEGAN: Not too often but I do remember at a really young age feeling insecure about the size of my thighs (ridiculous I now know) and comparing my shapelier legs to Faye’s super lean legs. It took me a while to get over it I must admit but eventually I was able to realise that we both have great figures that are different, all bodies are beautiful.

FAYE: We had really different body types growing up, Megan played a lot of Hockey, so she was toned and athletic, whereas I was lazy, with a big bum and super skinny legs. I think it’s natural to compare, especially when you’re growing up and trying to determine what’s ‘normal’, until you get to an age where you realise that, actually, a ‘normal’ body type is fictional, and every body is, in fact, beautiful.

DESCRIBE THE PERSONALITY TRAITS YOU EACH HAVE FROM YOUR PARENTS

FAYE: I definitely got my Dads grumpy gene, which can be a proper beast when it rears its head. Megan is a sensitive soul, like my Mama, and often takes longer to think about how she feels. We both, unfortunately, inherited my Mum’s monster hangovers.

WOULD YOU SAY YOU’RE EACH OTHERS BEST FRIENDS?

MEGAN: HELL YES!

FAYE: 100%! I’ve got a really incredible group of friends, who have been my best friends since school, but nobody knows me like Megan does. It’s a bond like no other. We shared a womb, we share secrets, we share snacks (sometimes).

WHAT WERE YOUR FAVOURITE TREATS AS A CHILD?

FAYE: Mini eggs, nothing has changed there, I also really loved white chocolate, which is a firm no from me at the age of 24. I was actually a pretty weird child, I used to eat such bizarre things, for example, ham & ketchup sandwiches (which I’d probably still eat now if I was hungover).

MEGAN: A Jammy wagon wheel was and is my absolute fave!

BIGGEST FIGHT?

FAYE: Everyone is going to find this so hard to believe, but we genuinely don’t fight, and we never have; never over anything major anyway! We fell out massively, well Megan fell out with me, when we were about 7 & 9. There was a competition on some Saturday morning kids TV show, like CDUK or something equally as shit, where you could meet S Club Juniors (!!!) All you had to do to enter, was, send in a video of yourself singing along to one of their songs. So, we got all dolled up in our finest Tammy Girl gear, Mum dug out the video camera, and set ourselves up in the living room, ready for our big moment. I went first, and belted out a fine rendition of “Automatic High”, which, I believe, would be a club classic if it ever got released. Then, Megans turn, and just as she’s about to get to the chorus of “One Step Closer”, I snuck up behind the camera, and did an all mighty mouth breathe down it (think of the noise the guy makes in Hey Arnold, when he creeps up on Helga when she’s swooning over Arnold, and that’s the noise I made). Megan shouts “Muuuuuuuuum!!” & storms out of the room…which led to me grovelling for eternity.

WHAT WAS THE NAUGHTIEST THING YOU TWO DID AS KIDS?

MEGAN: I’m sure my mum and dad could come up with some worse ones but one that springs to mind is when we used to get together with our cousins Rose & Lucy we would go into the bathroom and make “potions” with all my mums fancy bath and beauty products… She wasn’t impressed. That sounds a bit ~wheat fields~ doesn't it... ha!

FAYE : We were actually really good kids. Although, Megan was my puppet (despite her being older than me). If I asked her to do something, she’d do it. I once dared her to touch a lightbulb that had been on all day, and she did, which led to her having a massive blister on her hand for a month.

WHAT’S YOUR GO TO PIECE?

FAYE: A floral midi dress, always and forever!

MEGAN: Can I have pieceS? If yes then; A line skirt, ankle boot, blazer, jeans, T-shirt.

FAVOURITE PAIR OF SHOES?

MEGAN: EVER? My Stella McCartney star platforms.
MOST WORN? Black high-top Converse.

FAYE: Doc Martens, once they’ve been worn in of course. Or black Converse, I’d be lost without them.

DREAM HANDBAG?

FAYE: Chloe Faye, for obvious reasons.

MEGAN: Right now I’d do anything for a transparent Chanel bag.

IF YOU HAD TO DESCRIBE EACH OTHER’S STYLE IN ONE WORD, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

MEGAN: Bohemian and totally badass (soz thats way more than 1 word)

FAYE: Fearless (and fucking fabulous).

WHAT OUTFITS MAKE YOU FEEL MOST LIKE YOURSELVES?

FAYE: A chunky boot, and either a midi dress, or a midi skirt with a band t-shirt.

MEGAN: High neck jumper tucked into an A line skirt with a pair of knee boots and a cross body bag OR Blazer, t-shirt, wide leg jeans and platform boots.

WHAT THREE ITEMS WOULD YOU LOVE TO STEAL FROM THE OTHERS WARDROBE?

FAYE: The patchwork Chloe bag, leopard print Shrimps coat, & Balenciaga Triple S trainers (god damn our different shoe sizes)!

MEGAN: Faye’s pink JW Anderson Bag, White Eytys Trainers and the Ren & Stimpy vintage tee that she beat me to picking up in LA.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT EACH OTHERS STYLE?

MEGAN: I love how Faye rocks oversized maxi dresses so confidently. She’s ever so slightly shorter than I am yet looks insane in them, that is one look that I cannot pull off for the life of me.

FAYE: I get a bit scared of mixing prints, but nothing phases Megan, ever! She takes the loudest, boldest prints, clashes them & makes them look incredible!

DO YOU BORROW EACH OTHERS STUFF?

MEGAN: We used to all the time but less so now we don’t live together. Faye’s feet have also annoyingly shrunk so no more sharing shoes, damn it!

DO YOU ENVY EACH OTHERS STYLE?

MEGAN: No. Faye looks amazing and I would LOVE to rock the aforementioned maxi dress and Dr Martens combo the way she does but her style is her style and it’s so personal to her which is what makes it look so awesome on her. We also cross over quite often which is really nice.

FAYE: Yes and no! I envy the fact that Megan can literally wear anything and make it work, but, at the same time, I love that we have such different styles, it would be boring if we were clones.

 

IF YOU BOTH HAD TO WEAR A MATCHING OUTFIT FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE WHAT WOULD IT BE?

FAYE: This is really hard, because we are so different, but it would probably be a chunky shoe/trainer of some variety, then straight leg jeans & a band t-shirt.

MEGAN: I would say we’d both go for leather biker jacket, white slogan/band tee, blue jeans and black Converse, we both look pretty good when rocking that kind of look.

DO YOU TRY TO BE SUSTAINABLE WHEN CHOOSING YOUR CLOTHING?

MEGAN: Nowadays absolutely! I’m shopping SO much less than I used to and have really adjusted the way I approach my content on here, Instagram and my YouTube channel. It’s tricky to do in this line of work but I completely believe in small steps for everyone.

WHERE DO YOU BOTH FIND STYLE INSPIRATION?

MEGAN: I’ve discussed this before but I’m inspired by literally everything whether it’s people, places, food, music, architecture, a certain colour combo of print clash I’ve seen out and about, inspiration is EVERYWHERE!

WHAT ARE YOUR TIPS FOR STYLING ON A BUDGET?

FAYE: Trawl eBay! There’s SO many gems on there, and so cheap!

MEGAN: Shoes, it’s all in the shoes! You could wear the same outfit and just switch up the shoes and it feels like a completely different look.

DID YOU BOTH GO THROUGH STAGES OF DRESSING LIKE EVERYONE ELSE OR HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN DIFFERENT?

FAYE: Obviously, there’s been trend pieces, that at the time, I was absolutely desperate for. But now, looking back, I’m so thankful to my Mum for not actually buying them for me, because they were gross. But on the whole, I feel like I’ve always been different. I remember my Auntie Debbie buying me some blue nail varnish for my 14th birthday, and said that she saw it and thought of me because I’m “quirky”, and that’s a word thats always been used to describe me.

MEGAN: At school and within my friendship group we all dressed very similarly but that was totally different to the way others at school dressed so I guess you could say the whole group of us was slightly unique. It was only when leaving school and heading to college that I really, truly found my individual style and I haven’t really strayed from it since.

HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN SO CLOSE?

FAYE: For as long as I can remember, yes!

MEGAN: Yes, we really, really have!

QUALITY YOU MOST ADMIRE IN YOUR SISTER?

FAYE: Her determination to get what she wants, and where she wants to be!

MEGAN: Her ability to talk to anyone! She used to be so shy but she seems so confident nowadays which is beautiful to see. I’m always fascinated by how she can work the room, I need to take a leaf out of her book.

DO PEOPLE TELL YOU THAT YOU LOOK ALIKE?

MEGAN: Yeah, it’s weird as neither of us can see it at all!
We’ve been mistaken for twins a few times which is even WEIRDER! I think we look totally different, we always have done and no more so than today since Faye went blonde.

HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR RELATIONSHIP SO COOL?

MEGAN: Being friends as well as sisters. Some of our friends are the same and our boyfriends are good pals too so going out in a group allows us to be better friends and inevitably better sisters. We both love a good drink, a good meal out, a boogie and a gig, so we tend to do one or all of the above most weekends.

DO YOU THINK YOU’LL ALWAYS LIVE IN MANCHESTER?

FAYE: 10000000%

MEGAN: HELL YES!

FAVOURITE THINGS ABOUT MANCHESTER?

FAYE: The fact you get change from a fiver when you buy a glass of wine.

MEGAN: The relaxed and friendly attitude, the architecture, the music scene, our family & friends and the fact it’s never too early for a pint.

DESCRIBE BFF/SIBLING CHARACTERS YOU GUYS ARE MOST LIKE?

FAYE: There’s probably a Mary-Kate & Ashley film from back in the day that I could compare us too.

HOW DO YOU BOTH STAY IN SHAPE?

MEGAN: We go to the gym, we both love Legs Bums & Tums classes. But tbh I’ve slacked off big time lately but I know my body and I know when it’s time to cut back on the pints and potatoes and when it’s time to move a bit more.

FAYE: We go to the gym together a few times a week, or at least we try to. But, if I want to stay in and eat pasta and chocolate then I’ll absolutely do that.

WHAT’S THE AGE DIFFERENCE?

MEGAN: 21 months. I am the oldest and therefore the wisest

DO YOU OFTEN/HAVE YOU ALWAYS HUNG OUT IN GROUPS TOGETHER?

MEGAN: We’ve always had separate friendship groups but always been super inclusive with one another even when we were tiny, so naturally as we’ve gotten older and the age gap has seemingly gotten smaller our friends have merged.

CAN YOU TELL EACH OTHER EVERYTHING?

BOTH: Absolutely everything!

WHAT TRAIT OF EACH OTHERS DO YOU WISH YOU HAD?

FAYE: I would love Megan’s confidence. She has amazing confidence in her work, and is so amazing at what she does, whereas I second guess everything I do, and talk myself out of almost everything.

MEGAN: I wish I was as confident and ballsy as Faye can be.

HAVE YOU EVER DISLIKED EACH OTHERS BOYFRIEND?

FAYE: I hated Megan’s first boyfriend, but the rest I’ve got along with really well.

MEGAN: YES! Most of hers tbh, until now.

ARE YOU ALWAYS HONEST WITH EACH OTHER?

FAYE: Always, Megan more so, she’s the most honest person I’ve ever met, and it’s something I really adore about her.

MEGAN: I would say yes, we never want to upset one another so it’s often a shit sandwich situation.

HAVE YOU ALWAYS HAD SIMILAR INTERESTS AND TASTE IN MUSIC?

MEGAN: Almost always, particularly when it comes to indie and rock music. But there are exceptions to the rule, Faye loves music such as Paramore and Taking Back Sunday whereas I do not. Faye also loves pop music like Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift which I really don’t enjoy. Similarly I love jazz and classical which isn’t Faye’s bag.
We liked the same bands growing up such as McFly, Busted and the Spice Girls but our biggest difference was I was A1 and Faye was Westlife…

FAYE: Kind of. We’ve always liked similar music, particularly now, we’re always going to gigs together. But back in the day, I was an emo kid, whereas Megan was an indie cindy.

IF YOU COULD PLAY ANY INSTRUMENT WHICH WOULD YOU PICK?

FAYE: Piano! I used to play when I was younger, but gave it up, and I really really regret it. I can still read music, so I could probably pick it back up fairly quickly if I tried.

MEGAN: The drums!

Thanks so much for reading, if you have any further questions for us do leave them below and we'll answer them for sure.

Lotsa love

x M&F

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROSIE BUTCHER