Thoughts on Fashion Bloggers

[quink]

I don't there is any credibility to her words. As you say bloggers like Susie bubble actually think about what they posts etc, Alexa's comment dismisses bloggers like her.. even though there are blogs that exist just for people to show off, I don't think Alaxa can dismiss an entire form of media and say they are all the same. It would be like comparing Vogue to a tabloid magazine.

And I guess that's the problem with blogs, some are like Vogue others are even worse then a tabloid magazine.

I like reading blogs and I'm always looking for a new blog that interests me. Unfortunately there are so many bad blogs (I'm sorry but it is true) I just get tired of looking through them.

 

[rosiecheeks]

And I guess that's the problem with blogs, some are like Vogue others are even worse then a tabloid magazine.

I like reading blogs and I'm always looking for a new blog that interests me. Unfortunately there are so many bad blogs (I'm sorry but it is true) I just get tired of looking through them.

I don't think you can compare blogs to things like Vogue and tabloids. Obviously you're referring to the quality of writing (which has to do with the research and consideration in producing an 'article' or post) and in that case you're right.

Personally I believe that blogging used to be more en bloc than it is now. You have those who refuse to be commercialized, like thisisnaive.com, and those who happily work with companies, like seaofshoes. Whereas before, bloggers would be this independent, anti-trends, we-do-what-ever-we-like thing, it has now become a field for marketing and commercialism too. On one hand I regret that, it takes out a little bit of the honesty, on the other hand, there are plenty blogs who still remain lovely (like cupofjo or garance dore) or those who refrain from doing so like jeanasohn or wit+delight.

Full on popular fashion blogs, like the cherryblossomgirl, stylescrapbook, sea of shoes etc. etc. have kind of lost their independent identity, which has stopped me from following them. They're also, as referred to before, incredibly focused on the blogger. All you see is pictures of the blogger or her view on things. The blogs I mentioned above tend to have guest posts and have a considerable amount of photos which does NOT include them, posing awkwardly with their feet in weird positions (lookbook anyone?).

 

[Lela London]

I love seeing real women interpreting style, but only in unusual ways. Personal style blogs become mundane - in my opinion - when you see everyday fashion.

 

[JunyaSchick]

the flip side of this discussion on bloggers would be thoughts on fashion blogging.
it's very strange, for me anyway, to find myself motivated suddenly to start a blog. the first one i ever did (4 years ago) was very spontaneous. the original one, and then the successive blogs were all sort of project-oriented. i will limit myself to a 34-piece wardrobe, i will post a daily fashion question, i will illustrate my favorite items of clothing, i will examine this or that. once i am satisfied with the project, i end the blog. in that case, the blog is really for myself i suppose. but then i value reader response and participation. and i guess the readers that a blog attracts are satisfied. there is really a blog for everyone, if that one person is the author. when people blog as quasi-editors, evaluating fashion shows, commenting on trends, that rarely grabs me. that is just doing what magazines already do. so i suppose i like fashion blogs if they are in the form of personal style blogs (and the person's personal style resonates with me), or if they are fashion obsessed blogs, where the person has an aspect or angle of fashion they want to focus exclusively on (like the tomboy style blog, for example). i use both of these approaches for inspiration personally, and if a blog doesn't offer that to the reader (inspiration, i mean), then i don't know how they hold readers.
i wonder what does hold a reader. some blogs really develop large audiences, and they are rarely the ones that click with me. but at any rate, i'm a big fan of fashion bloggers, and i enjoy discovering new ones that i will want to revisit.

Agree with you. As you have said Mass blogs (and bloggers) doesn't appeal me in particular. I check the sartorialist and Jak&jil regularly, but I'm getting fed up of both (they haven't really evolved). I'm not loyal to anyone.

I have a blog myself: As you do, I don't end up a blog when I think I have conquered an objective, but I do work by objectives, I change from time to time and take moments of break (sometimes for months, as it has just happened). I think breaks are good to clarify your purposes and to see things in perspective, found out what you really want to comunicate.

At the same time, I concived blogging (even fashion blogging) as keeping your own diary or scrapbook of things to like, live, think and love... my way of express myself. I don't feel the responsability of fulfilling an audience with new and fascinating contents all the time, it's something for myself.

if I get people's attention or their intereaction (for a while my blog was quite active for the kind of blog I own, until I decided to stop) is great and very positive because you get orientations, criticism and another point of view.

 

[HPrince]

Being a blogger myself I'm obviously biased on this particular subject...
That being said, I loathe blogger oriented fashion/style blogs. I'm much more into mood boards than personal promotion! Freebies are cool but you lose your personal identity when you become contractually attached to some brands/stores, and then you're just another cute blogger with great clothes but limited (expressible) opinion. History repeats itself, this time not with magazines but with blogs. "Advertisers" ruin everything!

 

[Kayote]

Being a blogger myself I'm obviously biased on this particular subject...
That being said, I loathe blogger oriented fashion/style blogs. I'm much more into mood boards than personal promotion! Freebies are cool but you lose your personal identity when you become contractually attached to some brands/stores, and then you're just another cute blogger with great clothes but limited (expressible) opinion. History repeats itself, this time not with magazines but with blogs. "Advertisers" ruin everything!

So I take it you dont get any income out of it? It must be hard to maintain a blog (with reg. updates) & not be earning any significant amount of it...

 

[rosiecheeks]

So I take it you dont get any income out of it? It must be hard to maintain a blog (with reg. updates) & not be earning any significant amount of it...

Maintained as a hobby it's really not that hard I imagine. If you like to do it, it's not too bad that you don't get paid big $$

 

[HPrince]

I guess I've never faced blogging as a money earning activity... Not this kind of fashion blogging anyway! But who am I? Those were just my two cents! I need to figure myself out before I can judge whatever it is!

 

[MimiV]

One of the things that hit me early on when reading fashion blogs is that there is a category of fashion blogs that aren't so much about the bloggers style/clothes as the beauty/looks of the bloggers. This is normal in the way that fashion and beauty often go hand in hand, and fashion bloggers "model" what they are wearing in there photos.

Personally, however, if all I want to do is see pictures of a pretty girl, I'll click on to a modeling agency.

 

[adrianadior]

2:31
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxpEi2hGQok
**it might be just me and my prejudice but i really don't like most of the bloggers and for sure don't take them serious and nothing they say about anything when it comes to fashion.some people need to educate themselves properly before they start talking about something(perfect example in the video) and they should definetely start from the scratch because judging by how eloquent or should i say non-eloquent they are i can see their knowledge is quite poor.

 

[Ives927]

^ Explain to me what's so special about that chick? Went to her blog and it's the most generic thing ever, just posts of her outfits. Those blogs seem to get the most comments, too, which I suppose attract PR companies based on their "readership" (viewership would be more accurate) to invite these airheads to the shows, making their egos even bigger. Her style is nothing exceptional, generic like her blog.

I love blogs that have something to say and offer, that's why I love Hapsical and DeadFleurette. I have no interest in blogs that only consists of daily outfits and a few sentences about what they're wearing, they bore me to tears. Why would I be interested in their style when I can just go to Jak&Jil for real inspirations from credible fashion insiders?. These wannabes offer nothing to the fashion industry, but clutter it even more. It's rather sad luxury companies feel the need to invite these useless people in order to further promote themselves.

 

[FrenchCactus]

^^ I totally get your point and I agree, but the bloggers you talk about are not the ones to blame in priority for this situation. Fashion houses and the media are the ones who value their opinions as if they had a lot of credibility and invite them front row.

 

[rosiecheeks]

2:31
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxpEi2hGQok
**it might be just me and my prejudice but i really don't like most of the bloggers and for sure don't take them serious and nothing they say about anything when it comes to fashion.some people need to educate themselves properly before they start talking about something(perfect example in the video) and they should definetely start from the scratch because judging by how eloquent or should i say non-eloquent they are i can see their knowledge is quite poor.

But lots of magazines are exactly the same nowadays. They are the Cosmopolitans and Glamours and Grazia's of the blogosphere and obviously attract lots of attention because it's so simple (not in a good way!) and easy for the common people who just like to be entertained by fashion.

 

[SylviaMR]

I totally agree with RosieCheeks, they dress a little better than the average woman who likes fashion but that wouldn't understand what happens in a real fashion show (and I don't pretend that I do). They have a view on fashion, clothing and everything about it that is really different from what you see in Vogue etc.. because it's what I would/could wear on a daily basis if I go to school or to work or just to hang out with friends. And their view on catwalks is not as analytical as what you would expect from a fashion journalist who has a real insight because they've been in the business for years. It's more like they talk about their own feelings, and I find that quite interesting, though at times when it's just "I post an outfit and tada", it is only to find inspiration and I tell myself "oh that's nice, I could wear something like that". But I definitely don't expect a analysis in depth of a catwalk show. So maybe one can say bloggers don't have a lot of objectivity nor lots of knowledge but they definitely don't pretend to be doing so (except for a few who are good at it like Susie, Garance Doré or Géraldine Dormoy)

However I must admit that the comments that Chiara made where a bit strange, she talks about "checks" and i thought it was weird, because the prorsum collection is very different from the usual Burberry. And even though they do checks sometimes, to me, it definitely isn't the trademark of that line. But maybe I'm wrong

 

[HiHeels]

Readers really create the beasts though. The reality is that readership goes way up when I post personal pics, and it's quieter when I write about style, etc. People want to see pictures of bloggers, and blogs that satisfy that do get a ton of readers.

I think its a little silly to write about fashion and the clothing that people have to choose from because I don't think consumers should be told what to like, and I'm not entirely clear on why people listen to that stuff (or read it) at all. But a discussion on conscious consumption, or dealing with the wardrobe you already have" or something useful like this, I do value. Reviewing the clothes that are for sale? No!

 

[primad]

Excuse my cynicism, but fashion bloggers are going to produce things that the general public wants to see. And the general public is a lot dumber (baser, more superficial, simpler minded) than this thread seems to crediting.

That said, some of these more established bloggers like this Chiara girl and at times, Tavi, are ridiculous. Tavi clearly has some growing up to do (her teenage angst seems SO familiar - I'm sure many of us discover elements of ourselves in her drabble about high school conformity and hypocrisy), and I really wish people would just let her do that instead of pushing her opinions into the limelight. If history repeats itself even just a little bit, she's going to regret all those Courtney Love/My So Called Life/Virgin Suicides references in 5 years.

I can't decide if I should cut Chiara a break, since English is clearly not her first language, but one would think she would've picked up some adjectives that are better than "nice." Also, did she say "ethno-chic?" What is that supposed to mean?

 

[Katnani]

To be honest, Chiara's style tends to bore me. But I'm biased, I love a blog that brings something different, unusual and fresh and gorgeous photographs! Anyway, her speech was quite mediocre, but hey!, she's not american neither british and maybe she got caught up by surprise and didn't enjoy the collection that much and didn't know what else to say...

 

[JunyaSchick]

So I take it you dont get any income out of it? It must be hard to maintain a blog (with reg. updates) & not be earning any significant amount of it...

well, that's the initial spirit of having blog.

I keep mine just as a hobby (like most of the people do), I nourish it and I get nourished by it, that's all.

 

[Kayote]

I do follow I think three fashion blogs but I rarely read them as most of the posts are not relevant to me.

However, its very positive that the fashion news is getting more spread. Fashion magazines had far too much power over the public perception and this desperately needed to change. Hasnt anyone noticed how the fashion magazines are always trying to kiss up to the labels just so can be invited to the launch events.

Fashion bloggers have their own say and own opinions, if I dont agree with 100 of them, hopefully I'll fine another 100 who I will agree with. All of this means, more diversity, more creativity, more style and more liberty

I hope!

Best,

 

[Les_Sucettes]

That said, some of these more established bloggers like this Chiara girl and at times, Tavi, are ridiculous. Tavi clearly has some growing up to do (her teenage angst seems SO familiar - I'm sure many of us discover elements of ourselves in her drabble about high school conformity and hypocrisy), and I really wish people would just let her do that instead of pushing her opinions into the limelight. If history repeats itself even just a little bit, she's going to regret all those Courtney Love/My So Called Life/Virgin Suicides references in 5 years.

Gosh I thought i was the only one, reading Tavi's blog is like stepping into a parallel world where every single one of your stupid teenage thoughts is given validation by a big group of sycophants that form her readers.
But it's not her fault really, the ones totally responsible are the ones that made her believe that her opinion matter in any way.
Actually i'm really glad that where no such things as blogs, or internet for that matter when i was a teen. It is the stuff of my nightmares having the verbal diarrhoea i sprouted at that age to haunt me through the ages.