With millions of subscribers — Jenn Im and Ashley/bestdressed are taking over the space by creativity and their taste for life.
For once or twice, you may have seen their faces on your YouTube page, labeled as “recommendations for you”, especially for those who are interested in beauty, Vlogs and outfit suggestions.
Jenn Im and Ashley (aka Bestdressed) are both Asian American YouTubers that run channels with fans and subscribers from all over the world, till now, they have not only been powerful YouTubers but also successful entrepreneurs (p.s. and they happened to be good friends, what a coincidence!).
So, let’s jump right into all their stories — initiatives, struggles and inspirations!
“It’s crazy to think that a hobby has turned into a full-time career.”
Jenn started her channel in 2010 named “Clothes Encounters” by sharing her love and interests in beauty, makeup and fashion tutorials. She now owns more than 2.5 millions of followers on YouTube and 1.7 millions on Instagram.
Identified as “digital star” and “Vlogger” by Forbes and ranked as the top influencers in fashion in 2017, Jenn went further on her career — she not only kept her subscribers in stable growth, but also started her own brand Eggie and cooperate with lots of other fashion brands.
In addition to all her enthusiasm in fashion and styling, Jenn develops her video content carefully and strategically. “Seasons are a big factor,” she said, as asked by Entrepreneur over her way of coming up with video themes. “But there’s a lot of evergreen content where the timing really doesn’t matter.” She also adds that “The important thing is to be fast, before it(the trending on YouTube) dies out.”
No distant at all, words of wisdom and being sincere —
Besides all the fashion videos Jenn has made, she also films lots of “crucial convos” videos (as she named them like that) over the themes of friendship, relationship, reading suggestions and more.
Interviewed by ELLE and was asked over her relationship with the subscribers, she replied “…our relationship, it’s a close one. I try to be as engaged as possible… I learn what they want to see, because I ask them, and I listen to them. They always keep me in their world, and I’m so grateful for that.” There are some YouTubers that people really want to befriend with after watching their works, and Jenn is definitely one of them.
Audiences could also find Jenn’s video very clear, vivid and bright, just like her personality showed on the platforms, yet she does not shy away from being honest about her flaws and weaknesses (e.g. her video “All My Flaws”). She surely holds various traits that keep loyal viewers and appeal new ones.
“ I grew up watching Jenn Im and Michelle Phan, so it was accepted that people who looked like me were already dominating the space.”
Ashley is the smart, funny, organized yet talented Asian American YouTuber who just graduated from UCLA film school in 2019. She started her channel “bestdressed” in the age of 17 (which is 2015) and has more than 2.4 millions of subscribers now.
Often called as the “older sister” of her millions of subscribers on YouTube, bestdressed is a channel began with Ashley’s love for fashion and films, followed by series of interesting video themes including discussion over sex questions, relationship stuff and film school stuff.
The reason why Ashley named her channel as “bestdressed” was because she won the “best dressed” superlative in her senior year of high school, but her passion for fashion was sparked when her sister made her watch the TV series xxx,
Something unique about Ashley is that her outfit and styling suggestions aren’t like any other YouTubers or bloggers, she dedicates in “thrifting”, which is giving/selling her old clothes away and also find other vintage pieces then turn them into fresh looks with her mature-girly-mixed taste.
She now develops her own website bestdressed (since 2018) selling jewels, clothes and shoes.
The bestdressed video presenting stlyle —
First of all, please keep in mind that Ashley is the film student who attended the top 3 film schools in the U.S. and graduated within 2.5 years, so her video style is what makes her successful as well.
The hand drawings and writings that she inserts in her videos make the watching experiences outstanding. Take the photo above for example, the screenshot is taken from Ashley’s vlog “A WEEK WITHOUT A PHONE”, with the drawings, her video seem to be more aesthetic and creative than other videos.
Furthermore, since she knows the theories, knows the differences and skills that filmmakers would apply when shooting videos, her videos are often taken from unique angles, quoting from StudyBreaks, “resemble to the cinematography of a short, indie film rather than a simple fashion vlog.”
Going deeper into their racial identification, struggles, visions and suggestions —
For Jenn, there are more identification crises encountered growing up. She and her brother are the 1st generation in her family as Korean Americans because their parents got green cards and moved to the U.S. after getting married. Jenn made a whole video (“Growing Up Korean American | My Struggles”) talking about the struggles she went through.
Jenn told all the viewers about the difficulties of her own as well as the stories that happened on her mother when she was younger, “the parents have to take on the shitty jobs, they have to work in the dangerous locations, they have to work at the convenience stores…and they did all these because they want to give us better lives…so whenever I feel unmotivated or just feel like I can’t do it…I think of that, and it just fuels me to push harder.”
Calling out in the video that she felt super proud of being a Korean American, she thought the status quo is the best of both world. Jenn successfully transfers all the unfairness in the past into momentum by running popular YouTube channel Jenn Im and building her fashion clothing brand EGGIE.
“You could spend your entire life being prepared, but when a stroke of luck hits, you have to just have to run with it.” Jenn told Entrepreneur.
Doubtlessly, her story is a touching and an exhilarating one.
Ashley’s thoughts on being an Asian American influencer —
As for Ashley, she talks less about the struggles she has with her Asian American background on YouTube, however, she still shares her idea over how being influential and prevailing has become easier for younger YouTubers like her in interviews.
“I think on social media there have been so many girls before me who had set a precedent that paved the way for me.”
On the 9th annual GenerAsian Womxn’s Conference held by Asian Pacific Student Programs (APSP), Ashley was invited to talk about the theme “Flourishing Femmes!” and when asked about if her racial identity ever brought any difficulties for her in respect to the YouTube job, she said the people (aka the other Asian American YouTubers in the field) had paved really great road for her cause the YouTubers ahead had made audiences feel normal and without biases over YouTubers of different racial backgrounds.
But in the film industry, Ashley said there are more discrimination against people of color because others will expect them to write certain types of screenplays while “our writing can be about anything just like anybody else,” she said.
Thus, I believe when it comes to creating — in any forms — no double standards should be set for people of color, since creativity is all about the minds. People are going to miss out tremendously if they neglect the fact that people come in different racial backgrounds could actually be more inventive and diverse, not restricted.
Empowerment from the Internet and social networks—
“YouTube was filled with Asian-American creators telling their stories long before Hollywood became invested. “— Teen Vougue
As YouTube keeps growing and developing its influence over the world, we also see how various opportunities are provided for people of all kinds. In 2018, Crazy Rich Asians turn the tide of the world by shaking Hollywood with its Asian centered storyline, showing how Asian representation is profitable and popular, however, before that, the rise and popularization of the Internet enables a group of Asian American females to “show their creative liberty on the video-sharing social network.” (Teen Vogue)
Asian American YouTubers have their own styles of narration and editing, which are what highlight and distinguish them from other content creators.
There are lots and lots of pioneers in respect of Asian American YouTubers, for this article and I’m glad to introduce the two talented, creative, ambitious YouTubers Jenn Im and Ashley/ bestdressed, who are at the same time, still seeking for ways ahead of the YouTube world and their own future development.
No successes come in easily, especially in the constantly changing world dominated by the Internet, hence, staying keen on all the new stuffs and being humble enough to accept diverse comments are important, not just for the influencers, but for all the rest of us as well, since lots of us are digital natives*.
Hope you can all take something away from this article and please share your ideas or reflections with me if you have any (wink)!
*Digital natives are those who grow up with the Internet and are used to two-way, de-centered communications, moreover, digital natives like to share their lives quickly and frequently on social media.
2020/02/11, Evelyn Yang
