Fashion blogger and social media influencer Rita Dahdah who also goes by the nickname Riri Dada rose to fame due to her fashion lifestyle blog that is quite different from others. Riri’s social media presence has been on fire, juggling between blogging, attending meetings and events, photo-shoots, and so much more. Whoever said that being a blogger was an easy job needs to think again. We chatted over morning coffee about the fashion stereotypes she wishes to break.
Tell us more about yourself and your blog
My current blog has recently been launched and it comes after I started blogging six years ago. But then the market trend was moving away from just writing and more towards fashion and lifestyle. I also have previous experience working as a fashion and lifestyle editor. I also studied styling in New York. So I decided to combine all this and launch the blog. Since my Instagram page has a big following especially in the region, I decided to enhance it with a blog. My blog currently covers my reflections on life, and on relationships. It’s a light philosophical way of how I look at things and people respond to it a lot. I also talk about fashion, style, tips such as how to wear new trends, how to shop my looks, what inspires me to wear a certain outfit. I also cover health and beauty and share my tips with my readers. I have a section of food and travel, which is something I’m very passionate about. These will all be written in a way that it’s not about me; it’s more about my reader and how they could benefit from what they’re reading.
What sets your blog apart from the others in the Arab world?
I think it’s basically my personality and I put that into everything I do. Everyone has their own unique personality but in my sense maybe in the region people have to be filtered and have to very careful about what they say and what they do and how they dress and who they talk to etc. They mostly look upon themselves as say public figures or maybe kind of like a celebrity type of persona but in my case I want to maintain that entire idea that I’m a normal person. This is the approach that I have so it makes me very relatable, very real, and very confident. The tagline to my blog is The Blog Next Door. I don’t want to be a fancy perfect image of a woman that no one can relate to or made up to be worshiped. I think what makes me different is that kind of reality factor that many people lack today on social media and not just bloggers and influencers.
What is the best thing about being a blogger?
It is definitely when people tell me you positively changed my life or you helped me realize what I want to do. It’s kind of like feeling that I’m a mentor for people who need that in a world where everyone is pressuring you to not be who you are like to have fuller lips or smaller nose or longer hair and I’m kind of pushing them to love exactly who they are even if they have for example a crooked nose then they need to embrace it. That to me has been the reason why I’m doing what I’m doing. It’s not for fame; it eventually turns into work which is my job now. The very core is just inspiring and empowering others.
Take us through a typical day in your life.
So a typical day recently is that I wake up at around 10 in the morning. I have about two hours of answering emails and phone calls. My meetings usually start at noon so I usually have three to four hours of meetings plus the traffic in Beirut. It [Beirut’s traffic] is actually crazier than in Cairo. When I don’t have meetings I usually have photo shoots that two to three hours as well. Then after that I usually have freelance copywriting work. And recently I’ve been also blogging and each blog post would take me like two to four hours because I’m responsible to direct a proper concise post to the people. I’m also planning my wedding so in this time I have a lot of meetings for my wedding as well. It’s kind of a whole mix between personal and professional. My day usually ends at around 10 p.m. and if I have extra work then it ends at around 2 a.m.
Congratulations, you are soon to be married! How are the wedding preparations going?
A lot of people are asking especially about the dress so the dress is a source of pressure. I also have a lot of collaborations with some nice names in the region and worldwide. So it’s an opportunity for me to provide brides-to-be and the wedding industry with a perspective of how you can recreate classics because Lebanese weddings have kind of become a cliché and have become an extravaganza. So I can show them another way of doing things where you can still be chic and still use classic elements but in different way. The dress is such a different aesthetic than what any bride has ever seen. I’m excited and I’m super worried because it’s that different and people are either going to love it or be like what is she wearing and what is she thinking?!
Who/what has impacted you the most in your professional career? And how?
My partner has been a big support through everything and has always been there. People think that you become popular or known – I don’t like the word famous because I feel it’s very pretentious – and you’ve gain a certain status and people think she so lucky what does she have, she just wakes up and looks pretty and takes photos. But it’s not it, like there are days when you question yourself. I’ve been working so hard and there are people who have popped in the scene the day before yesterday and they cheat their way into the top through nepotism and that fake it till you’ll make it attitude. When you’re a hard worker it kind of puts you down a little so my partner has always been there to remind me of who I am and to push me. They say when someone loves you so much and sees you so amazing, you start to feel the same way and love yourself. He’s been a great source of inspiration and motivation. It all goes back to my readers and followers. They are the ones who count at the ending of the day. They are my biggest support and motivation. I know I inspire them but they inspire me everyday. I owe it to those people because it’s no longer about me.
Have you ever visited Egypt before this time? What do you like the most about it?
This is my third visit to Egypt. My first vacation was with my friends to Cairo and Sharm El Sheikh. It was such a big deal for me at that time because I had only traveled with my parents in the past and my parents were a bit strict. I was in college the first time I came to Egypt. It was so much fun. My friends and I were supposed to come for four days but we ended up staying for ten. I have this kind of soft spot for Egypt because it reminds me of a very innocent time in my life where everything was big and impressive. Being back here makes me super happy and makes me feel like I’m connecting more to my past. There’s something novel about it.
How do you see the fashion scene in Egypt?
It’s developing in such a fast rate. Weirdly enough, people have stereotypes and associations they place for certain cultures. And because Egypt is the birthplace of the belly dancers, people automatically tend to associate fashion to that. All the Egyptian designers I met till now and through Maison Pyramide have this incredible view and taste levels as designers. It’s incredible. I fell in love with their unique aesthetic and it’s something that you don’t see anywhere else. If these designers channel their creativity with a right business sense and right direction, they can go global and show the world what the Egyptian fashion industry has to offer. I think now maybe they are having a bit more courage to show their unique identity instead of just showing what people may want to see. I think a few years ago people worried about fitting in than standing out. You can see this trend developing in the whole region that I want to stand out. There is a lot of women in Egypt as well that are on top which makes me feel very happy. The whole industry as whole in Egypt is developing. In the past year, I saw many designers brought up that are all young talents. The Egyptian market needs more business savvy people like Maison Pyramide to kind of connect with those artists to direct them.
What are your lifetime goals?
First and foremost, to be a mother and a good wife. Family to me is very important and I’m a very career oriented woman but it will never get in the way of personal life and my family. To eventually write my book. Instagram isn’t my final destination. And I also want to start my own collaboration with designers and maybe one day start my own line of something that is not necessarily in clothing or open my own concept store. I want to become a public figure that will be a voice for women in a sense but not in a way that I’m famous and gorgeous; I don’t care for that. Long after I’m gone, I want people to remember me and say she left a footprint. I want to be remembered because I made a difference.
How important do you think is fashion in our daily lives?
It is very important. People tend to look at fashion as something very shallow. I tend to disagree because whatever job you have, the first impression anyone is going to get out of you is the way you look. You owe it to yourself to be the best version of yourself in everything you do but not in the way society wants to see you but in the way you want society to see you. Fashion will tell people who you are without you having to speak and that’s actually your sense of style than fashion. For me, it is style that is more important because fashion at the end of the day is clothes on racks. We can all get the same t-shirt but it’ll look different on each and everyone of us. So it is important to make the statement that you want.
