About Me

High End Hippie started many years ago as a tumblr. I had started the page as an outlet for creativity and a place to go for inspiration. I basically treated it as a mood board for my life. To my surprise I acquired a large following and when instagram and bloggers started getting bigger and bigger I started an instagram as an extension of the brand. I would link back to the instagram from my tumblr to migrate my following there and eventually started posting my own pics and outfits to instagram (instead of tumblr quotes and pictures). From there I started this little baby you’re reading right now. Here I share my thoughts, personal style, travels, and passions while hopefully providing some inspiration for others. I had zero idea what I was getting myself into when I started this but I’m so glad I did.

I had come up with the name High End Hippie when I was describing my style to someone and it stuck with me. I’m the queen of contradictions so I felt this name kind of encompassed that. I like to splurge on designer pieces and other nice things but I also have a very laid-back “hippie” style and outlook on life. I’ve always been into bohemian style clothes but even when I’m not wearing something that would be portrayed as such I still bring the effortless hippie feel. And even past the obvious interpretations of the word hippie I related to the true definition of the word. A hippie is someone “who rejects the mores of established society”. Which is what i’m trying to convey; an alternative lifestyle. One where you follow your dreams and go where it takes you. I want to inspire people to take that leap and commit their life to what they love.

Now about me! Kristen Ritchie. The star of the show! JK. I may have a blog dedicated to myself but I’m not conceited, swear. You see this was merely my way of getting into the fashion industry. After my babysitting days were behind me most of my jobs were in very business and corporate positions. On top of that I studied Business in college and got a degree in Business Entrepreneurship. All throughout college I had all of these amazing consulting and sales internships, one even taking me to South Africa for a summer. This set me up pretty well for the real world and since I had minimal experience in fashion, I went for the money and took a consulting job in Dallas. I knew if I followed my passion for fashion (hate/love that those two words rhyme) I would be taking a big pay cut and practically starting from the bottom. After about 4 months of wearing ugly work clothes and figuring out how much the real world sucked, I started the instagram and shortly after launched my website. This was my side hustle for a good 3 years. I got up early, stayed up late, worked through lunch, shot on the weekends, etc. After convincing the company I was working for in Dallas to let me move to LA and work remote, I quit 6 months later and started doing the blog full time. Now I’m working on expanding my experience within the fashion world so I can open even more doors than this little baby already has.

Thanks for being a part of it! XO