She left us with a note saying she was off to Stockholm for a long weekend. That was almost a month ago. Were it any other blogger, you might say “oh… they probably ran out of ideas”, or “they just got sick of blogging”, or it’s just a lot of work with little returns… but Agathe, aka Stylebytes is different. She’s been at this for almost three years pretty much blogging daily. Sometimes she’ll take a break for a couple of days… or the frequency may slow down a little but a month? I was worried.. apparently I’m not the only one, and finally yesterday Style Bubble broke the silence, we’re all a little worried.
If it weren’t for WendyB I’d probably worry in silence… but she encouraged me to let you all know that on May 17, Agathe confirmed me as a friend on Facebook. I’m guessing she’s still alive, and this photo I found in her profile posted by one of her friends on May 4 tells me she didn’t get kidnapped by gypsies.
Back to Agathe, where is she? Why did she suddenly stop blogging? In the last few months Stylebytes have become even better than ever. Her and her husband have been taking loads of beautiful and inspiring photos. She’s been getting tons and tons of comments, features in magazines and newspapers… all of this is just thrilling for a blogger. So why stop?
Negative Comments?
For some time, I’ve noticed in her comments that some people have been giving her a hard time about her weight. That she had some kind of eating disorder, etc. I don’t know Agathe personally, but I’ve been reading her blog daily for about 2 years and I’ve never noticed anything strange about her weight. I think I have more demons surrounding body issues than she does. Whether or not she has issues doesn’t stop negative comments from getting troublesome. Maybe they got out of control?
Hackers
Maybe someone got hold of her blog and email and is holding it for some ransom? Little do they know, unless you are some high powered fashion blog like Manolo’s Shoe Blog, there isn’t a whole lot of money. Well, there is but you pretty much have to give up your analog life, and maybe your first born son. Either way, I’m pretty sure Agathe isn’t about to hand over any of the above. After all, I’ve watched enough suspense thriller movies to know that the first rule about ransoms is to never hand over the money.
The Pig
Maybe little Molvin is sick. Maybe Agathe came home and her husband accidentally … you know… what most people do with pigs, well, not the Jews, the Kosher Jews.
Maye she came home saw the pig was gone, causing obvious problems with her husband, and that’s why she’s not posting. I would seriously break up with Rocky if….
Personal lives can have a huge effect on one’s blog life. When traumatic things happen, it’s hard enough to trudge through the vital functions of life, let alone the extra curricular things like blogging. Some extra curricular things are easier to take up during tough times, like drinking, but again, that inhibits blog time.
Sick of Blogging
Occam’s Razor is the principle states that the explanation of any phenomenon should make as few assumptions as possible, eliminating those that make no difference in the observable predictions of the explanatory hypothesis or theory.
In layman’s terms, the simplest explanation is usually the most likely truth. Blogging is hard. It takes a lot of time. Doing the photographs, doing the research, keeping up with all the other blogs. It takes time. Agathe does Stylebytes purely as a hobby. Maybe she just got a taste of civilian life and is now enjoying her analog evenings. Wow, what a concept. (middle finger pic from Stylebytes Phiary)
Stylebytes was the first fashion blog I read (the second blog only to Pink is The New Blog). If it weren’t for Stylebytes not posting every second of the day I’d probably still be a reader and not a blogger myself. The thing I like about Stylebytes is that it continues to evolve in a genuine way. Rather than resorting to gimmicks (which I may start doing for kicks) she’s shared with us her thoughts about her sense of style. It’s helpful, really to all of us.
Well, here is a few pictures I pulled from her site that stick in my head as points of inspiration in my own personal style. I do hope she comes back, because I’m not sure blogging would be the same without her.
UPDATE: Stylebytes.net has been taken down… here’s a post from Style Bubble about it.
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What a detailed analysis… my guess is probably that she has gotten sick of blogging… that it has gotten in the way of her life… I’ve had thoughts about packing it all in too…
I agree though that in recent months, the quality has zoomed up…. maybe she wanted to go out with a bang?
Or maybe she is just taking a really long break… a month in reality isn’t a long time at all…
i know i need to get a life.
Has it really been a month already?
Sometimes it’s difficult for me to gauge my blog reading, as I’m never entirely certain what is up or down (or how long things have been).
she could be pregnant? she did say they were planning a nursery…
but i guess the fact is, whatever the right answer is, why hasn’t she posted about it and confirmed her break? i really do hope this is solved soon, it’s worrying! maybe we should set up a blogger support line just encase this happens again!
I worried the first week, I blogged about it the first week of may, It’s nice that us bloggers look out for each other.
Ha! Jennine, this is a brilliant post. I like your investigative work and I’m glad we can rule out gypsies. I must say, her pictures have really become works of art — the quality is going up all the time — and you chose some of my favorites.
Style Bytes is one of my favourite blogs! Those are big shoes to fill.
Yeah, I’m really missing Style Bytes too! I’ve been checking it daily to see if she’s back. Glad to hear that your cunning interweb detective skills have deduced that the gypsies didn’t get her!
But I do miss her blog. Don’t blame her if she’s taking a break though…I can never figure out how you very dedicated bloggers manage to post daily or even a couple of times a day…a couple of times a week is good for me!!!
We miss you Agathe…come back to us!
oh my god, only two days ago i talked to alex about that! (he was like style-who?)
i have to admit i am also a little concerned!
Thank you for mentioning this! I read Stylebytes religiously and was getting worried as well. It’s a wonderful blog that had introduced me to your blog as well. I hope this isn’t the last we see of Agathe.
What a thorough analysis/investigation! As already said on Style Bubble, I hope Agathe knows that we all eagerly await her return, if she chooses to return to Stylebytes. I can see if she just wanted to break too. And you guys are right that a month really isn’t that long. From readers’ perspective, especially those of a fabulous and active blog like Stylebyes, it does seem like forever, but from the blogger’s perspective (as many of us can attest), days fly by without posting when life comes at you from all directions or you just want to take a break from all things related to interweb. I’m really touched to see all the support and care that exist among fellow bloggers.
I keep checking back but never thought to worry anything was really wrong other than a little burn out.
A very thoughtful post–I hadn’t noticed the negative comments and would be very sorry if that was the motivation to stop.
oh yes… thanks to google reader, i’m alerted anytime any of you post… and i don’t know why i notices stuff like this, but i do
@selena…PREGNANT??? wow.. i must have missed the nursery thing.. but yeah wow. this is the year for fashion bloggers to get knocked up.
@fenke… haha at least your bf doesn’t go, ‘you mean the norway girl with the pig?’
@wendy… i like you’re euphemistic use of the word ‘investigative’ most people just call me nosy.
@minjae you’re right a month isn’t that long, but like punky said it’s nice to know we’re looking out.
I’ve been doing part-time work as a private investigator (for real). The fashion blogosphere should band together and send me to Stockholm to investigate the disappearance.
I think she’s okay. She is wrote a recent blog on myspace.
ha! really? that’s so funny! then you would know how to do it properly…
she wrote on myspace? wow…
Apparently, she wrote comments on someone’s myspace. I was mistaken about it being a blog on myspace.
Check my latest post for a “where is agathe?” round-up.
Also, I’m going to have to nod in the direction of the pregnancy rumor. In the same comment section where it talks about her weight, she also says that soon she won’t be able to fit into the skirt – implying that there might be weight gain in her future (coughbabycough). That’s all I’m going to say about it though. I might be totally off-base, but that comment really stuck out to me.
oh yeah… hmm… i don’t know if that’s a reason to not post all the sudden.
i mean bits and bobbins totally incorporates her bit in the bobbin to the blog. maternity style!
True.
Apparently Julie Frederickson, of Almost Girl and Coutorture notoriety, has seen Agathe online as well. So, there is no doubt she is alive, but there is doubt to whether she is well. I don’t know why she would stop so abruptly with such a gigantic following and with things happening that are, as you pointed out, thrilling for a blogger.
I don’t mean to beat a dead horse, but I have been one among the many who has sincerely missed her posts.
The strange thing is she stopped blogging without previous notice.
I just join in with everybody to say that I really miss Agathe, too. And I also hope she just took a break. I remember she wrote something about throwing her tv away – maybe she got tired of blogging as well? But then again, could she be so tired that she didn’t even write a good-bye note? Hope she’s alright…
Maybe she’s planning a huge re-do of her site, to make it more professional and exciting etc and people being curious is amping up the suspense and publicity for her? Like the Gabbo thing but with more mystery?
Atleast, that would be a great idea from a marketing perspective
Or maybe she’s just got other stuff going on. But I don’t know, she’s blogged when she’s been sick.
I know this may seem harsh, but she has ads on her site, so in a way it’s like a business (even if it’s hobby esque and doesn’t actually pay her, she’s still getting publicity and enjoying the attention which most people would kill for) so I say – if you don’t want to do it – shut it down – just be honest about it!
I miss her so much!!
I’ve been worrying about her too… I just hope that she’s alright. Maybe just taking an unplanned break?
I miss her sooooo much she was the first fashion blog i ever read .. she inspire me to do my blog, then i left my blog because i had a lot of work.. but i still check out her blog.. and its really sad not to see their beautiful style..
She is totally irreplasable!
I don’t think she’s pregnant. I just checked out that comment thread mentioned above and the very next comment from her said:
# Agathe Says:
March 2nd, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Thanks guys!
Rose, I have lost too much weight lately but I am finally starting to put it back on. While weight is a sensitive issue for most, I could never really let it get to me. From people who thought I had an eating disorder when I was younger to my photographer exboyfriend who thought I was getting a little chubby (he was used to working with models). I will always eat what I want anyway.
So, she’s just trying to gain a bit back.
I miss her blog too, I hope she get well soon
I also miss Agathe! Her style and blog is so totally indispensable! Do you believe I’m actually go less shopping these few weeks she’s gone? I know she’s fine cause people has see her in the park and she’s online on facebook etc, but is she so totally sick of stylebytes she even want to leave a goodbyenote anymore?
i’m glad that i’m not the only one who continually checked in to see if she would post something new. she was literally the first fashion blog i read everyday and it’s funny how you feel like you get to know someone through their posts
I’m glad to hear there is some proof that Agathe is well. She was one of my very first blog friends back in 2005. She has such great style and she is a total doll.
But you’re right, blogging is HARD. I’ve been sick for the past 3 days and didn’t touch my computer once. Ya know what? It felt kind of good.
I am so glad people are finally recognizing her mia status. Stylebytes is one of the first blogs I ever read regularly and is still on the top of my bookmark lists.
When she didn’t show up I snooped around her husbands sites [I know again kind of stalkerish] and since there didn’t seem to be any signs of alarm surrounding him, I figured she was ok and just taking a sabbatical.
I’ve just come across StyleBites and am obsessed with it! She’s so stylish! I hope she comes back to blogging
I might go with the hacker or something like that idea or that it’s just not working because I’ve seen posts concerning her absence on 3 differenet blogs, people def miss her, but the “40 comments” from her last entry has stayed the same..of course those need to be moderated and if she’s decided to break from blogging she could just be ignoring them.
I’m so glad other people are worried! I check in everyday hoping for some news. If she did decide to stop blogging I wish she would post a note about it.
going through my massive blog list each day for the last month I guess, ( time flies!) and i keep asking myself where is stylebytes? I hope she’s fine that’s all
Yes!
I’m notthe only one who is really worried, so!
She was my muse, the first thing that i do every day at work, after checking my mail, is going to see “Stylebytes”.
We miss u Agathe!
I also don’t think it’s pregnancy, at least not planned pregnancy, as she answered the baby question with ‘someday’. I also ran over all the option which you mention in this post, and could only think of one more: a bet? Maybe she lost a bet or a dare and has to stop blogging for a month? Tomorrow it really will be one month. God I miss that blog.
She had a large following. If you’re sick of blogging, it’s not that hard to post that you’re taking a break or else clothes down the blog. But kind of childish to leave people in the lurk.
I really hope she comes back soon, I miss her posts! Her blog is one of the mean reasons I started blogging myself!
Her blog is a real inspiration!!!
does anyone know norwegian? i just befriended a friend of agathe’s who wrote on her wall on facebook, and SHE REPLIED ON MAY 19th!!
”
Dro dere med toget? Vi shoppet 12 par solbriller og masse annet stæsj på marked! “
Agathe Bjørnsdatter Drageset wrote
at 2:07pm on May 19th, 2008
Japp, skal se om jeg får tid til å fikse det i ettermiddag!
i just realized she also tagged her in two more pictures dated may 17th and her husband is on them as well. so we know she’s safe and back in oslo.
The wall-comment says:
Yup, I’ll see if I can fix it ths afternoon! Did you go by train? We shopped 12 pairs of sunglasses and loads of other stuff on a market!
The message in norwegian reads “Yeah, I’ll see if I have time to fix it this afternoon. Did you go by train? We bought 12 pairs of sunglasses and lots of other stuff at the market.” Nothing revealing there, really… At least, it seems she is continuing with her usual activities such as shopping at second hand markets! Norwegians love it when spring arrives with warmer weather, and everybody just wants to be outside after the long, cold winter – so maybe she just doesn’t want to be stuck inside posting.
hmm… i tried one of the online translators, and it didn’t really work out. if i had to guess, i’d say that “shoppet” is probably “shopping.” i find it so alarming and out of character, for her to know how many people are freaking out about her disappearance, and not showing any sign of life on her blog, or elsewhere.
hmmm… well it sounds like she’s ok… she’s probably just sick of blogging, which makes me sad that she didn’t let us know.
Hi! It’s amazing to see how many people are looking for her- I first of all thought it was just my computer going crazy and not letting me access her site properly. I really hope she’s ok. It’s great that people have seen her out, and on Facebook. Has anyone been able to ask her what’s happened? It seems so unlike her to stop blogging.
I guess she is just fed up by blogging? If not something bad has happened. Yeah, I wish she would tell us that she’s taking a break.
I think, she doesn’t like to post anymore. At her first blog she also said: “18.03.03-
In a few days I will be back on the net!”
Be patient!
(http://www.geocities.com/caiproska/moi) …and she never came back. So it’s perhaps just her way to say goodbye.
wow, how did you find that???
amazing… so yeah, maybe it is her way to say goodbye. hmm…
I also think when you have fans the polite thing to do is just tell them you are taking a break. Its rude to have them worry.
Agathe posted in a recent blog on her personal myspace about her trip to Stockholm.
Then she wrote “Problem #10: The trip made me realize that I need to change my life. I need to get all kinds of shit done.
Solution: I have spent the last few days completing old plans. Less TV. More fun and more projects. I am feeling wonderful!”
So it looks like she’s just taking some time out for herself. Which before anybody says, ISN’T selfish. She’s entitled to her own life.
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