10 Tips to Thrive on Polyvore

Morning of the Ball by me (Won 1st place in contest 'Dresses for the Ball')

What is Polyvore?

For those of you who don't know already, Polyvore is a website on which you can design sets, mostly of fashion. The sets are basically like collages. It's a good place to sharpen up your design skills and get inspiration from others. Click here to check it out.

1. Be yourself. Design sets that are "you". Never do it just because that type of sets is popular. I've always believed that if your heart's not in it, it's simply not going to work.
2. Don't be shy. Remain active in the community by adding and commenting on other's sets. And when others add you as a contact, make sure you add them back.
3. Create regularly. Create new sets constantly, that way, you'll improve your design skills and gain more "likes". Practice makes perfect!
4. Be creative. Try out different styles of clothes or design layouts, this will help you to find your strengths and weaknesses.
5. Join contests. Contests are fun and they motivate you to keep creating in case you get the "designer's block". Also, if you win one, well, then, it's all about the publicity isn't it?
6. Absorb. It's always worthwhile to explore others' sets and collections for inspiration and techniques. But..
7. Never steal. Being inspired is OK, but copying is not.
8. Be helpful. Go to the Ask section and answer some questions, you'll get a best answer icon on your profile if your answer was voted as the best, and if not, you'll always feel good for your act of kindness. But please don't do it to promote your sets, which doesn't really work and is annoying. Instead, put yourself in the askers' position and think, "what would I really do?"
9. Don't over-do it. Never go around advertising your sets in comments or adding contacts whose profiles you haven't even seen. This won't make you extremely popular.
10. Be patient. It's OK if you don't win a contest the first time you enter, or the second, or the tenth... Just remember, eventually you'll have a crowd of friends who will admire your style, whatever it may be!

I hope this helped! Do you have any experience you'd like to share?