[softgrey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by peachyfashion People should give fashion bloggers a break. Granted there are loads out there who are practically clones of each other that are really boring to read - and maybe I'm one of them in some people's opinions -but there are loads out there who offer a unique and quirky view on life and fashion. Plus, in my opinion, a blog full of only pictures is a fairly repetetive thing to look at and will only get boring quickly if there is no commentary to go with the pictures to explain why they are significant or special.

if you need to explain why a picture is significant or special...
then, imho, it probably isn't much of either...

a picture is, after all, worth a thousand words...

...

[PonyShow]

I use my blog mainly as a way to document my family's life, plus I throw in beautiful pictures of things I like - fashion included. I don't have a "style" blog where I take pictures of myself in fancy outfits with my self-timer. I just appreciate fashion and good photography!
Edit: Also, to draw attention to New Orleans so people don't forget about us down here!!

[Zazie]

I'm rather fatigued by fashion blogs - at first, they came across as fresh, somewhat like street fashion brought to the internet, with an original point of view, but there is now serious saturation and of course most of them are "bought" by the designers they worship, becoming mouthpieces for them in return for rewards like junkets and freebies.

The truth is that they are in the end exercises in narcissism, especially the self-photographed "Look at me! Look at me!" ones, without much depth except to "ooh" and "aahh" over some outrageous outfit they bought or freebie they got from both branded designers or etsy designers.

The only thing worse than this display and parading of self is their adoring idiot fanbase. This isn't any better than the "reality tv" junk out there, it's another form of escapism/mindless consumerism.

[JunyaSchick]

I also have a fashion blog (I write about other things related). I had just restarted writting there because for a while I have been quite disappointed about the whole atmosphere at fashion blogging (or blogging in general). As someone pointed out before, Internet is too crowded these days and blogs and similar features (like twitter) emerge without real control (which it's indeed the base of Internet, complete freedom and all that stuff). But for some reason it seems that (agreeing with editors, I guess), everyone can write about fashion despite not having any background on the subject. and it also seems that all opinions are equally valid. at the same time there's the "blogger independence" with all the gifts and promotions brands offer (don't they do the same with editors/classical media?)

However, thinking twice, the phenomenon of fashion blogging is quite recent and it's still evolving, hasn't matured yet and changes are more than expected in the area. the 2.0 user is giving space to the 3.0 user and here there's probably the key of the survival of blogging. the good ones will stay while the others may fade away.

In addition, as it has been also pointed out, many fashion bloggers are in their teens or early twenties... and these people changes a lot and varies its opinions and tastes very fast.

I'm willing to see what blogging is bringing in the next few years... 2009/2010 has come with a huge step for fashion bloggers, including them in front row and etc... I agree that not everything is accurated (I have been very critical about Tavi becoming a fashion guru...) but challenges are coming.

[JunyaSchick]

I would also like to add that streetstyle blogs are already saturated as the format is very limited and doesn't offer new and exciting things. Showing the pieces of your closet, how you style them and pictures of people you stop on the street (in main big cities) isn't enough today, we all have access to that in one or another way. Moreover, these are based on too personal opinions that get diluted by the mainstream trend at the moment.
Here, even the top 1, like the sartorialist or Tommy Ton are looking for new alternatives.

[Squizree]

It's VERY easy to dismiss bloggers as "kids who don't know what they're talking about". BUT as Softgrey said earlier, it IS about Survival of the Fittest" I think. The useless blogs will eventually filter out and only the ones with talent will keep going; this is how it is with many things. "Natural Selection"

I'm a blogger myself but I REALLY hate things like street style, celeb style and shopping oriented content simply because it's so redundant. "Street Style" and shopping is available for anyone with a neighbourhood. Why do you need a blog to see what other people are wearing? Why do you need a blog to tell you where to shop? Go out and do your own research. It's very stupid to me.
I try to only put things in that are inaccessible to the general public like photography, runway, news, personal illustrations and some economic-based news.

[iluvjeisa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squizree It's VERY easy to dismiss bloggers as "kids who don't know what they're talking about". BUT as Softgrey said earlier, it IS about Survival of the Fittest" I think. The useless blogs will eventually filter out and only the ones with talent will keep going; this is how it is with many things. "Natural Selection" I'm a blogger myself but I REALLY hate things like street style, celeb style and shopping oriented content simply because it's so redundant. "Street Style" and shopping is available for anyone with a neighbourhood. Why do you need a blog to see what other people are wearing? Why do you need a blog to tell you where to shop? Go out and do your own research. It's very stupid to me. I try to only put things in that are inaccessible to the general public like photography, runway, news, personal illustrations and some economic-based news.

Yes, that's a common misconception about evolution. You will only get as fit a population as the selective pressures command. What are the selective pressures? None. Anyone can have a blog....so, hence, there is going to be neutral evolution not adaptive.

I also try to put things on my blog that I happen to have access to that I also think might inspire others. I don't mind streetstyle etc as long as it's an intuitively good photographer. Beauty is everywhere, you just have to find it, see it and capture it.

[Zazie]

Hmm..., sometimes I wonder if it's not more like "survival of the lowest common denominator"? I mean, ANTM is also the most popular reality tv of its kind, media darlings like Jessica Simpson have their own billions of fans, etc., they don't have to be of any particular quality except to attract huge quantities of admirers. A combination of being richer, more privileged, opportunistic and self-obsessed not to mention willing to put oneself out there to be photographed to death in as ridiculous outfits as possible would qualify for a shot at fame these days, so honestly, I don't even see these as creme de la creme of the beau monde. As for their protests that they only get $$ and not $$$$$ like the fashion editors, well, at least magazines are upfront about their advertising. Bloggers insist they are independent, authentic, original, etc., so it's fair to point out their own compromises. They do inspire hope amongst millions of impressionistic teens that similar fame, recognition and being feted by important people are within their grasp, if only they'd heed their once-obscure-geeky idols, splurge, play dress up and blog. That's where the problem lies - I don't care much for the bloggers, but a whole generation is being dumbed down and their learning years wasted on slavish following of mindless fashion blogs, worse, starting their own imitation "style" blogs, My Space, Facebook, Twitter and all manners of net trivia, in addition to long hours of gaming and TV. Ugh... so if you do blog, I hope you'd put up contents you feel will advance art or fashion knowledge, startling images or meaningful experiences that will make all that difference. Something above this relentless catablog of vacuous mindlessness.

[quimby]

When blogs first started coming around, they were fresh and exciting.
They were like zines--
an individual and very personal labor of love to share ideas and viewpoints among like-minded people.
I think blogging still has that potential.

And while I don't like criticizing anything that allows different perspectives to be heard and shared,
I feel like the rampant advertising that has infected so many of my favorite blogs has changed the overall feeling of blogging.
It seems more cynical.

I mean, I have no problem with anyone who talks about a brand that they like.
But when they profit off that discussion, I feel a little used in that transaction.

[tigerrouge]

Sometimes I see it mentioned, in articles that attempt to forecast the future, that eventually there will be people (or companies) doing the specific job of guiding others towards 'worthwhile' content on the internet. That sounds like the natural evolution of another layer on top of what we've already got - instead of people wasting their time sifting through a mass of content, they turn to these hubs which assess or promote sites (like blogs) on whatever criteria the future has decided is important, no doubt riddled with strongly commercial interests.

[ultramarine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squizree I'm a blogger myself but I REALLY hate things like street style, celeb style and shopping oriented content simply because it's so redundant. "Street Style" and shopping is available for anyone with a neighbourhood. Why do you need a blog to see what other people are wearing?

No, darling they are no redundant at all ... arent streestyle blogs from Spain completely different from the Tokyo style? And I can guarantee that what costaricans seem to wear mistakingly thinking of it as high fashion are so farfetched (i know this because yes, I run a blog and I post streetstyle pics).

And to answer the q and why do we need what do they wear ...

We all know nowadays fashion is born in the streets ... not like before with haute couture shows ...
and on top of that I like being ahead of the curve and appreciate the details and creativity on other people ... even I get inspired by them.

[chloehandbags]

Quote:

Originally Posted by softgrey me too... but in general... i would just like to see the streetstyle of many more stylish people... not just teenagers and early 20's... i mean...even when i was IN high school... i was looking for style inspiration from people who were older, more experienced and had more money than i could ever hope to have from my part time job ... and then i would be creative and try to put together some version of that for myself... with my own style added in... i can't imagine that if i was a teenager that i would really care about other teenagers all that much...i was always looking farther ahead.. but maybe that's just me???... ...

No, it's not just you and in fact, even before I was in high school (i.e. even when I was as young as 4 or 5 years old - but especially by the time I was 8 or 9) I used to look at glamourous 'older' women (30s/40s/50s normally) and admire their clothes.

I had a very glamourous next door neighbour and she wore a lot of, what I now know to be, Missoni and I'm sure I saw plenty of people in Chloe and I am now finding myself thinking of these women's dress sense, then, in terms of what I want to wear now!

[chloehandbags]

Quote:

Originally Posted by softgrey i think it's getting worse... to be honest... ... maybe the ones that aren't very good (most of them) will eventually fade away and die out...? *survival of the fittest, cream rises to the top...choose your fave cliche... but yeah... i agree with everything that luluposh posted...

Yes but, like many things, it's often not so much about being the best, as a combination of luck, knowing the right people and self-promotion, is it?

Being controversial, in some way, probably helps too, I'm guessing?!

There are probably some excellent fashion blogs out there that practically no one knows about...

[chloehandbags]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zazie As for their protests that they only get $$ and not $$$$$ like the fashion editors, well, at least magazines are upfront about their advertising.

Well, they are with their actual advertising, but they're often (in fact, usually!) paid to say they like certain things in articles; even though they don't readily admit to it!

I think you could say that they're on a par with bloggers, from that POV, because (if they're lucky!) bloggers have their banner ads, which are the equivalent of magazines' full, or half page, ads and bloggers have their posts, which may be (openly, or secretly) sponsored by a company and therefore, are the equivalent of most magazine articles.

[Luxx]

The idea of selling out in fashion is kind of ridiculous. How can you even sell out in an industry that doesn't exactly pride itself on legitimacy, the business model of most major magazines is all about ad sales so it is not as though they present some claim to authentic commentary. Everyone is in the pocket of everyone else...

As for bloggers, I agree that you can't lump them all together. Every blog is different, every blogger is different - some people come directly from the industry and speak with a degree of authority, some are just young people who are very excited about fashion and their perspective can be interesting too.

With regards to which blogs will last, it all depends on a variety of factors. I don't think it is survival of the fittest as much as it is simply a crap shoot. Personally, I think the bloggers with the most specific subject matter often survive given that their readers know exactly what to expect from them. There have also been some good blogs that die out simply because people don't have the time to update them. Given that blogging isn't always a "job" and might just be a hobby, I wouldn't apply the rules of survival of the fittest to this. Sometimes people just want a break from the online world and sometimes people who really have no business blogging are the ones who update every single day...

It all depends.