Thoughts on Fashion Bloggers

[iluvjeisa]

I like Tavi's taste. Not sure about everything she says other than what pertains to her taste, but hey she's a teenager and that's her right. Her blog is beautiful and at the end of the day, that's why it works.

 

[JunyaSchick]

I have always been a big detractor of Tavi's blog as the ultimate fashion opinion... her blog is fine for a 15 year-old girl who loves fashion and experimenting and struggles with High School issues while dreaming on becoming a fashion journalist or whatever she wants to be; but she can't be considered a fashion guru...

 

[Lapin de Lune]

I agree with iluvjeisa, Tavi's blog is just fine. I guess it's the media hype, the attention that becomes lavished upon particular bloggers (which is responsible for labeling them 'guru's' in the first place) that creates the stir. I have a feeling that Tavi would still be blogging her little heart out to this day in much the same manner even if she had never gained notice or popularity.

I come from a background of art and craft blogging, which is connected to my online business, and find that over the years I have never witnessed such a furore over popularity or what constitutes 'quality' in the art community in the way that I have seen it unfold in the fashion blogging world. Perhaps this is because it is a larger, more viable target for marketing and media? It's direct connection to buying, selling and advertising (even for those of us who merely begin fashion blogs for personal musing and fun) probably has so much to do with our mass perception of what motivates the bloggers themselves.
And there is also the personal element: whilst many bloggers on all topics may divulge elements of their personal world through their posts, there's something instantly recognizable about a fashion blogger - images of themselves wearing outfits, collections of inspirational items, showcasing campaigns, etc. It would be difficult to find something wholly original to discuss, but personally I like to see what each individual brings of themselves into this homogenous gloop! I like to hear different people's takes on age old ideas, new perspectives, etc.
I am not a subscriber to Tavi, but I have clicked over there on occasion out of sheer curiosity - she is a wonderful writer, and although we have nothing in common, it is fascinating to hear how someone so much younger than me perceives the world around her.

But I have fallen prey to finding myself irritated by fashion bloggers every now and again. I think that if you simply don't gel with one person's attitude or approach to style, if you consider them vapid, vain, clueless, or feel that they are desperately grasping onto the bumper of the bandwagon, it is probably best to just click away. Fashion is ultimately about the self, about a certain level of indulgence, luxury, abandonment...so it makes some sort of sense that this will grate on people's nerves every once in a while. It's contradictory, sure, but we seem to hail from a culture which encourages us to indulge ourselves at the same time as instilling us with this weird kind of guilt for doing it.

 

[senorgemma]

A friend was recently telling me of a blog she had visited in which the blogger had posted their daily outfit photos, but that days was set in a cemetery. Yes, my friend said, the images looked really cool, but she couldn't get over the disrespect of that some blogger had gone into a cemetery, set up her camera and started posing in the middle of a cemetery, showing complete disrespect for those there who were visiting deceased relatives/friends/etc.
I used to subscribe to every single blog I found. They were all pretty boring come to think of it. Now I follow seven blogs (300+ on tumblr, but it's not like I visit every single tumblr blog daily, and I am so happy with the 300+ I follow on tumblr, and really they're just images on my dashboard) on Google Reader, and that's all I look at (oh and The Cut, which is really fantastic but I'm not sure if it's really considered a blog?). Those seven blogs are ones I find extremely interesting, other blogs I really couldn't care less what they are saying and skip to the pictures, but these seven blogs are ones that I feel are perfect for me.
Yes, blogs are growing and will continue to. So many people from my high school have made a blog, and when I see their blogs I sort of cringe as they are all just pictures from weheartit and girls in denim shorts and sometimes an "i loved this burberry collection!!! i would totally buy it all if i could ". If only we could weed out those blogs and just have a small amount of really great blogs.
On the subject of tumblr, I am a regular user of it. I think it's a really fun way of blogging, and there are four tumblrs I check daily which are really inspiring and fantastic. A lot of people (myself included) delete text posts made because it just looks better. Tumblr isn't for collection reviews or even outfit posts, it's more of a mood board. There are a LOT of not so great tumblrs but there are a lot of great ones too. I think more people have to learn how to credit properly though lol, why people put their own tumblr as the source of a picture of an editorial image they neither photographed or scanned is beyond me. (IMO Tumblr's also ruined crediting on TFS, I see so many photos here with credit being somebodys tumblr, who I am 99% sure didn't make the image)
And on the subject of Tavi, I preferred her blog a lot around December 2008 (her archives are interesting to go through) to about maybe early 2010? I can't remember when I started disliking it, but at the moment I really am not feeling it, simply because every post takes up the whole page and is just screencaps of Hole videos and "witchy vibes" and 80's teen movies. Everything she posts has to give her some sort of "vibe" or it's irrelevant to her. Obviously her interests have moved on from just fashion, and that's fine, but it means that I've moved on from her blog too.
I'd really like to begin a blogspot, as although I really like how my tumblr is at the moment, I would enjoy writing proper posts and things, I just don't know where to start!

 

[TheRedDot]

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...

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.

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?

I'm Italian too but thank God I don't speak English like that. I'm writing my own blog in English and Italian just because I know that I am able to write in both languages: it's not perfect of course, but at least I am understandable. I would never pretend to write in English if I had the same knowledge of the language as Chiara does, I would just write in Italian.

I think it's part of her being so sure of the fact that she's a goddess in everything she does: she thinks her English is perfection so she doesn't even try to improve it. Sometimes her Italenglish is so embarrassing that I am ashamed for her.

I'm not saying that everyone in the world should speak proper English (even though I think that in 2011 with a Bachelor Degree in Economy you really should), but at least, if you don't, avoid to show it to the world. I mean, it is a matter of decency... But she's not a champion of decency and taste so it's just expectable from her.

Anna Dello Russo has a terrible English too but at least she's very funny and she knows what to say (aka she seems to have a brain)

Chiara was like: "it was less fashion and edgy than women's shows" (??), "it was nice" (OK we agree with you. But like teachers say of your compositions when you're in school: articulate your thoughts more, please)...

And the icing on the cake: "there were less checks than usual, it was less Burberry" (!!!???)

It would be OK if she was just a normal girl on the street, but should we consider her a fashion expert and an opinion leader?? Please...

(sorry the harshness, but I just hate the hype around her for her style and beauty when there are much more beautiful and stylish bloggers out there that get 1/100 of the success she has)

As for Tavi, she's so cute but I don't understand the hype either. She's an adolescent with adolescent tastes and problems, it's true that she's very smart but I knew many teen-agers like that when I was younger too. It's normal to be creative when you're 15 I think, but I surely don't blame her for this sometimes questionable hype around her, it's the adults around her.

Sometimes it seems like all these designers and brands are exploiting her like a circus phenomenon and this is a little bit sad.

And also, I don't like the fact that sometimes the term "Fashion Bloggers" is used only to describe those girls that throw clothes on them, take a picture and then barely can comment what they show.

Fashion Bloggers are much more than that and personally all the bloggers I read and admire could compete with a fashion magazine for their insight and knowledge in the field, their talent and for the quality of their articles.

 

[Repelsteeltje]

Bloggers that Copycat each other? or is Fashion all the same these days?

Do you think some bloggers are just playing copycat of eachtother?

For example, Afterdrk (http://www.afterdrk.com, a well known and paid dutch blogger) imitates Elin Kling (http://stylebykling.nowmanifest.com/) quite a lot as you can see below. Even the lay out looks supsiciously the same as the one of Elin Kling. And yet, she is getting paid and seen as a professional blogger.
To me, it seems very easy this way.. Just imitating a stylish blogger and being paid for that.
What do you think?

Elin Kling:

Afterdrk:

Elin Kling:

Afterdrk:

Elin Kling:

Afterdrk:

Elin Kling:

Afterdrk:

Elin Kling:

Afterdrk:

sourse: http://stylebykling.nowmanifest.com/ and http://www.afterdrk.com/

 

[silentblue]

Honestly, this is the reason why I stopped following fashion (outfit) bloggers. They all have the same style, they all follow the same trends, and it's really boring and annoying. Theblondesalad keeps copying other bloggers too, especially leblogdebetty and thecherryblossomgirl. There are some interesting bloggers but really the majority of them are just boring copycat.

 

[McClaire]

I'm so indifferent to a lot of them. But, I do hate the way they photograph themselves a la paparazzi style for me it speaks more to their ego than anything else and that's a turn off no matter how great their style is.

 

[softgrey]

i never heard of that elin kling chick until about a minute ago...
*ok- two days......

but i think that everyone is right...
the big complaint most people have is that most people who do personal style blogs don't have any actual 'personal style'...
they all have on what is supposed to be the latest trend and they all start to look the same...(so much ACNE!......they must be getting gifted)
which obviously gets boring...
even if they look decent...
it's just not that interesting after awhile......

individuality is interesting...
authenticity is interesting...
everyone says it repeatedly...

and that is what sets tavi apart, for example...like her or not...
*i don't really...
but...you know...it's nothing personal...
i don't like kids in general...
.........

 

[xjessiex]

Softgrey, I was told by an Acne employee that a lot of these bloggers buy tons of Acne stuff to gain attention from them. But they aren't very interested.

 

[Drusilla_]

the big complaint most people have is that most people who do personal style blogs don't have any actual 'personal style'...
they all have on what is supposed to be the latest trend and they all start to look the same...

Ha ha, so true . It's fine if someone's style is not everyone's cup of tea, as long as it's their own style and not just lifted out of the season's trend reports.

 

[softgrey]

Softgrey, I was told by an Acne employee that a lot of these bloggers buy tons of Acne stuff to gain attention from them. But they aren't very interested.

very interesting...

i def believe that...
acne is already a cool and covetable label...
they don't need to hang their stuff on a would-be fashionista in order to garner attention or sales...

good to know that ...
thanks for sharing!

 

[PrinceOfCats]

The yellow circle-people holding flowers live on I see.

Fashion magazines, in common with lots of other kinds of magazines, contain a lot of 'churnalism' where someone copies and pastes things from a copyright library or press agency or press release and adds mindless captions. Blogs allow people to get this kind of content for free with less glossy photos (as in photos that are less glossy, not confusing quantity with number...). Presumably, if bloggers get good enough at providing this stuff, fashion magazines might have to do some journalism in order to distinguish themselves from the freebies.

 

[PrinceOfCats]

I had no idea Susie was such a big celebrity now; I remember her posting in WAYWT. More power to her though.

 

[Frenger]

Repelsteeltje: Regarding the layout, if you're referring to the blog design, I can assure you that Elin Kling is part of freshnet.se, I think she owns that network site so it's no wonder that her and afterDRK's layouts are similar.

 

[shoegal87]

Repelstetje I'm sure you will find this amusing https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.115286175229475.24198.115261531898606

 

[Petit Lucille]

OH DEAR!!! Do they have time to do the reserch? How embarrasing! The worst thing is that as every plaggiarism, the copier only gets the superficial, and miss the escence. They do not copy STYLE, but try to re-create outfits!!! This is just sad. This ends up in the beggining of the most popular complaint: if you don't have a clue, don't make a blog. You cannot make a PERSONAL STYLE BLOG with some other's outfits!!!!

 

[Mrs.Smith]

Frankly speaking in my opinion everyone’s entitled to having the sort of blog he or she wants to have. When someone’s merely posting their random daily clothes and h&m purchases I’d find it strange to call it “fashion blog”, but apparently there’s no rule about what’s allowed to be called fashion blog, and what’s not, and obviously there are a lot of people who love to “read” this sort of blogs.
I just find that pretentious way, in which many bloggers are presenting themselves, ridiculous. Like the paparazzi inspired outfit shoots – gooosh, how can you be so full of yourself?? Frankly speaking any “my boyfriend is an ambitious amateur photographer” pictures are a total turn-off for me. And how they all look the same….
Especially afterdrk IMO (not following her regularly though) is trying to come across as that all individual, minimalist aesthete, then copies that other girl. LOL. And today she added the final “twist” to a minimal shirt-shorts outfit by leaving the top buttons of her pants open. Seriously impressive….

I also totally don’t get Chiara Whatsoever. I don’t really feel attracted by how she’s presenting herself, and she doesn’t look like someone who has a lot to say (see ethno-chic ).

But what annoys me the most – as it’s already often been said here – is the reception these vain bloggers get by the fashion world. I know it has a lot to do with marketing and PR, but actually one shouldn’t have a high opinion of a designer who invites Chiara to sit in his front row and give an “interview” after the show.

I must say I like anything that comes with some content and an opinion. I don’t expect a top knowledge in fashion (which I myself def DON’T have); simply find it interesting to read what other people are thinking. therefore I prefer blogs which aren't only about fashion but thats not really on-topic here...

Actually one of my least liked blogs is our German no. 1 “Les Mads”. They might be useful as an information source, but IMO collecting news about a creative business doesn’t turn you into a creative person, which they’re trying to come across as (btw isn’t there only one girl left?). I always missed an opinion on their blog, apart from “loving” anything, since they are so big. after having seen an interview with them (when they were still two) and having read a lot of reviews of their book, I’m quite glad they don’t have one….. They didn’t look as if they could contribute to a discussion, but pretty full of them selves and stuck up instead – as people normally do when they’re trying to be something they are not. Hmmm I actually didn’t want to sound THAT harsh, tbh, maybe one’s just more critical when it comes to one’s own country’s things… anyway, I'm feeling better now

 

[Susanna-Cole]

... I’d find it strange to call it “fashion blog”, but apparently there’s no rule about what’s allowed to be called fashion blog, and what’s not ...

This is the truth! I'm strangely on the opposite end of a falsely labeled "fashion blog" ... I don't write about fashion, and the photographs I include with my writing are not "fashion" images, least not in the literal sense (they're not from fashion magazines, fashion editorials, they weren't shot with "fashion" in mind) ... needless to say, I'm surprised and confused when people refer to my blog as a "fashion blog". It's gotten a bit better in recent times, as I've veered sharper and sharper from anything directly fashion (years ago, and I do mean years, I used to post fashion editorials sometimes and occasionally talked about it, that's it.)

My readers wouldn't what to know/see I was wearing every day ... if I'm not going out, I stay in my pajamas until dinnertime. And I'll wear my favorite clothing to rags! I have a very sparse wardrobe, as I don't like to have a lot of clothes/any material things.

 

[cologne_rocks]

^ Yes same with my site. They call it a fashion blog while I only post digitals of new faces...