Dressed 
for Success

She may be pint-sized, but this Dubai-based blogger can give any seasoned fashionista a run for her money

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Published: Fri 12 Oct 2012, 8:34 PM

Last updated: Sat 4 Apr 2015, 7:45 AM

NAME: SAANIEH MIRZA

JOB: STUDENT, BLOGGER, ENTREPENEUR

As a fashion blogger, you can never know who you’ll inspire. That was the case with British-Iranian resident Saanieh Mirza two years ago when she came across The Man Repeller aka Leandra Medine, a fashion blogger known for her seriously offbeat high fashion choices. The discovery made her want to start her own blog after her twin Alizey introduced her to the concept — and PintSizedFashionista was born.

At five feet tall (in case you’re wondering about the inspiration for the blog’s title), Saanieh may be ‘little’ but her knowledge about all things fashion can easily stand her a head above the rest of her peers. The twins eventually combined their blogs to create an online fashion diary where they put up fashion posts everyday — an excellent collaboration considering their personal style is as intriguing as it is unique. For while Alizey prefers to keep her outfits classic, simple and comfortable, Saanieh believes if something is uncomfortable, it probably looks good. (Go figure, she insists it’s true!)

It has been only two years since the blog’s inception, but it has already skyrocketed this pint-sized fashionista bang into the middle of the Dubai fashion scene, where she’s doing projects a lot of fash-school graduates can only hope to do. A student by day, Saanieh has recently ventured into fashion consulting and styling, is currently working on her own little YouTube reality TV show, is in the midst of a collaboration for a breast cancer charity event, and is an on-set stylist for a major local television channel, where she does a fashion segment every Thursday.

Apart from that, the little lady is currently working on re-inventing the blog (which will now cover the UK and the UAE), along with her twin to make it a glossier online magazine with new sections such as PSF Recommends (places to eat, shop etc) and Style Hunter — where they will be scouting for regular girls with a great sense of fashion, among other things. The twins have a collection of leggings — with prints inspired by big names like Versace, Cavalli and Pucci, among others — that will also get their own online store, and you can expect exciting collaborations with other designers as well.

Saanieh let us have a little peek into (half) her closet (since her twin has the other half in London), and we were astounded first by her interesting and rather mature choices, and secondly, because she has over 50 white T-shirts! The 16-year-old, who loves to layer and spice up a pair of black leggings and a white tee in unique ways, explains her soft spot for unappealing clothes. “No one is going to pick them up anyway, and I’ll be the only one wearing them,” she laughs.

It’s easy to see why she gets asked for style advice all the time, when she demonstrates how she transforms her “ugly” pieces to make them seem chic and unique instead. The trick, she says, is layering. She loves to build an outfit around her shoes, and may even use a bra strap as a belt if it comes down to it! A lover of vintage pieces, she borrows her mum’s Chanel jacket when she wants to feel glam.

With everything working for her the way it has, she is still an enthusiastic teen who dreams of helming a fashion line of her own soon. Her expertise in draping aside — something she honed during an internship with local designer Essa — Saanieh plans to study fashion design and business marketing first before she can hope to start her own business some day in the not-so-pint-sized future.