Thoughts on Fashion Bloggers

[tigerrouge]

I do not have a blog. I live in that supposedly out-of-date universe where people get paid to produce content for public consumption (so last century, I know). No matter how creative it seems and how much of myself I invest in it, the output I produce is a relatively impersonal service - and that's the level on which I interpret the reaction to it.

The response of a readership to my output is a serious matter for me - it's my career - therefore I cannot take it personally, there's no time to get offended or to presume the audience feels inferior to me. I have to process criticism in a way that allows me to make the most of it on a practical level.

Now, I can see how a blogger might be more subjective about the reactions they receive, because what they're producing is more of a personal expression, and chances are, they're seeking an emotional payoff, rather than a financial one (it's nice if that happens, but it's often not the base motivation).

But I think the great thing about blogging is, it allows everyone to go through the process of developing a relationship with an audience, and how best to rationalise what happens.

Speaking generally, I would add the thought - if blogging isn't giving someone the type of response they want, that may simply mean that some other form of expression will suit them better. Everyone seems to have a blog, but that doesn't mean you're obliged to have a blog. You're not going to be left behind if you don't have one, even if you're led to believe so. The internet is important, but there are plenty of ways of making your presence known to the human race.

 

[softgrey]

seems like this topic is incredibly timely...
everyone is talking about it everywhere...

here is a video interview with scott schuman of the sartorialist speaking to this very issue and the viability of certain types of blogs...etc..
quick but he hits a lot of important points...
very good...

http://jcreport.com/jctv/

 

[Tondo]

"less about you, more about fashion" is a good general mantra. that is, i like it when writers keep in mind that they're writing for an audience.
i'd like to read more from bloggers interested in theory.

 

[luckyme]

seems like this topic is incredibly timely...
everyone is talking about it everywhere...

here is a video interview with scott schuman of the sartorialist speaking to this very issue and the viability of certain types of blogs...etc..
quick but he hits a lot of important points...
very good...

http://jcreport.com/jctv/

nice to see him rise to the occasion with such clarity. i think the whole blogging format will shake out so that the cream does indeed rise to the top. there is a reason that the photo format blogs with original content are getting positive recognition and ad revenue. their work also translates well into print which is still valid and not kaput (see c. horyn nyt times aritcle...so good). if you blog you should ask yourself if its genuinely imaginative or an awkward stab at meaningful content.

 

[Zarina]

I wouldn't mind so much the bloggers if it wasn't for the fact that they to a great extend are competitors to the established magazines. They can't and the shouldn't replace them, but I am afraid that is happening. The magazines look more and more like blogs and they even feature some of the bloggers on a permanent basis. I really miss professional, critical fashion journalism which hardly excists in my country.

 

[JunyaSchick]

I would like to point out that in some working environments having a blog means something on your CV, no matter if you have followers or if only your mother reads it... it gives you like an status in order to get promoted or to obtein a better job... it means you are interested in the environment around you, in what's happening, that you are creative and that you have other interests... but that's all!

only in the fashion business having a blog gives you a certain power that to many may be overrated and out of place.

for instance, internet consultants or R&D consultants.

 

[micahslope]

Have any of you visited the blog, Le Petite Echo Malade? It's so cheeky, it takes the piss out of all of the fashions blog that are just seemingly dedicated to people who take pictures of themselves in trendy clothing, in pretentious situations.

source:Le Petite Echo Malade

 

[MulletProof]

Obviously parodies had to follow- and that blog is one of the most brilliant things I've seen in a while, his version of 'A month in fashion' just has me on the verge of tears .
I think this type of criticism might be healthy for certain bloggers to understand how they're really being perceived by those that tend not to care about what they present and are merely just watching.
Only turn-off is that his friend is one of the girls that should be parodied..

 

[Katie123]

is it too soon for a backlash? after reading this thread, i do agree that blogging as we know it, as maybe, in some cases, making it a way of living, is only starting to settle down now.

but when there was the episode with tavi wearing a massive hat in the dior hc front row, i felt there'd be a minor backlash and questioning of the whole system, but that didn't seem to happen, only a couple of articles here and there and case closed.

what does everyone think? is it to early for a backlash and will there ever be one?

 

[softgrey]

Obviously parodies had to follow- and that blog is one of the most brilliant things I've seen in a while, his version of 'A month in fashion' just has me on the verge of tears .
I think this type of criticism might be healthy for certain bloggers to understand how they're really being perceived by those that tend not to care about what they present and are merely just watching.
Only turn-off is that his friend is one of the girls that should be parodied..

they did do louise as well...
it's one of the earliest posts...
and if you check their 'friends' list...
it's ALL of the bloggers they are mocking...

like i said in another thread...
it seems the bloggers don't mind at all...
as long as people are paying attention to them...
that's all they care about...
and i guess it's good if they have a sense of humour about themselves as well...
i mean- that's healthy for all of us, right???

 

[Katie123]

but do they have sense of humour as well or do they just go by the motto of 'any attention is good attention'? because if they do, then it just shows immaturity and an even bigger desire to be noticed.

i suppose no popularity or 'fame' comes without the people that'll criticize it. the bloggers that are in it for the spotlight must come in knowing what to expect. you can't just be loved all the time!

 

[indepwe]

Is it bad that when I look at these blogs, I only look at the clothes and photos?

 

[mousquerader]

^Haha, I do that, too. I don't usually read fashion blogs, but then again, maybe it's because many of the ones I've come across don't write anything, or if they do, it's a little blurb, or something completely uninteresting.

 

[shockalika]

I must confess, my opinion on the subject is veeeery serious. How do we know a real fashion blogger? There are some pretty simple people out there who simply get a white blog on an easy platform, and start to post pictures every now and then. Usually pics from catalogues, maybe last season (year?!), podiums if they're lucky. And they post it without any particular order or serious purpose at least. The only reason they do it is because they find the term "fashion blogger" very hip and think what they are doing gives them the right & evidence to go and say - hey, I'm a fashion blogger! B) Only they are not.

Take Tavi for example. Only recently she began to add text to her blog, which I look at pretty irregularly as there is loads more interesting (and truly professional) blogs out there. She got popular because she was one of the first ones who took fashion blogging so sreiously - and quickly progressed to a certain wide audience of readers. The designers, knowing this, invite her to their shows, give her gifts and all that in hope of her writing a goooood report on her blog for a few thousands to read. So what happens? Tavi is just a little kid who can't say "no", she doesn't have any qualifications (does she even have secondary education yet?!) and her trying-to-stand-out-of-the-crowd style has gone horribly, horribly WRONG. I am not saying that a person of a young age is forbidden to show talent, but I do not tolerate unprofessionalism. Therefore, Tavi cannot give a professional opinion of ANY of the collections she sees, and neither can she say anything bad about the designer now, for he/she has invited her to the front row. Result? An unobjective opinion and false reports to blog.

 

[Mchunu]

I think that fashion blogs are much more convenient for looking at a review of a show, versus looking at style.com slideshow or waiting for HQs to load on another website. I haven't read many fashion blogs, but for those that I have read, I find it hard to believe that anyone actually reads them-and find it disheartining how many followers some of them have. It's disheartening to know that someone who puts no drive into their entries and gets the story first because they happen to be a member of a very resourceful website can be so popular-just imagine how the followers think! I don't think you have to speak so intelligently and profoundly about a collection to be a stand-out, but I do think that typing the way you would instant message a buddy is pushing it.

I think it's difficult to find a middle ground. If I were someone who blogged about fashion, I wouldn't want to talk as if I were writing a pretense essay-or reporting about fashion like the weather (the absolute wooorse!), nor would I want to talk like any other teenager who blogs about the same thing as I. I think that the reason that some fashion bloggers are more successful than others is most likely because they have more character and personality.

I don't know much, but this is just my 2 cents..

 

[PonyShow]

I blog about fashion, things that interest me. I present the topic and pictures, and then put a quick sentence of my opinion. I'm not about to go into some really long essay about what I think about this and that and this and that, because frankly, I know people are just looking at the pictures anyway. Hahah... It's not that serious to be honest. Yes, I spend a lot of time updating my site, but it's fun! Fashion is FUN to me, not taken so seriously.

 

[iluvjeisa]

I blog about fashion, things that interest me. I present the topic and pictures, and then put a quick sentence of my opinion. I'm not about to go into some really long essay about what I think about this and that and this and that, because frankly, I know people are just looking at the pictures anyway. Hahah... It's not that serious to be honest. Yes, I spend a lot of time updating my site, but it's fun! Fashion is FUN to me, not taken so seriously.

It should be just fun, it should be passionate....all of those things. You can be serious and sincere about image composition as well.

 

[Kaki]

I must confess, my opinion on the subject is veeeery serious. How do we know a real fashion blogger? There are some pretty simple people out there who simply get a white blog on an easy platform, and start to post pictures every now and then. Usually pics from catalogues, maybe last season (year?!), podiums if they're lucky. And they post it without any particular order or serious purpose at least. The only reason they do it is because they find the term "fashion blogger" very hip and think what they are doing gives them the right & evidence to go and say - hey, I'm a fashion blogger! Only they are not.

Take Tavi for example. Only recently she began to add text to her blog, which I look at pretty irregularly as there is loads more interesting (and truly professional) blogs out there. She got popular because she was one of the first ones who took fashion blogging so sreiously - and quickly progressed to a certain wide audience of readers. The designers, knowing this, invite her to their shows, give her gifts and all that in hope of her writing a goooood report on her blog for a few thousands to read. So what happens? Tavi is just a little kid who can't say "no", she doesn't have any qualifications (does she even have secondary education yet?!) and her trying-to-stand-out-of-the-crowd style has gone horribly, horribly WRONG. I am not saying that a person of a young age is forbidden to show talent, but I do not tolerate unprofessionalism. Therefore, Tavi cannot give a professional opinion of ANY of the collections she sees, and neither can she say anything bad about the designer now, for he/she has invited her to the front row. Result? An unobjective opinion and false reports to blog.

I've been blogging for YEARS, since I was 10 years old (when I began designing websites), which means I've watched trends rise and fall in the blogging world for over ten years. Fashion is honestly just one of the more recent ones. I think people are taking it seriously because it's so far turned out to be one of the more profitable trends, and that's okay.

A fashion blogger is someone who blogs about fashion, simple as that. We can choose to separate good from bad fashion bloggers, serious from recreational fashion bloggers, but it is what it is. There is no "real" or "fake." I don't think any elitism should be attached to the term, because blogging, in the end, has always been about expressing personal opinion on an open forum. There are no "rules" to blogging, and there never have been. There is no minimum word count, minimum photo count, or age requirement. Posting runway photos from three seasons ago does not disqualify someone as a fashion blogger, lol.

I am sure that designers know what risks they are taking by giving a young girl front-row access to their shows. Perhaps the designers see her as qualified because she takes fashion risks, dresses insanely for someone her age, and most importantly, loves fashion (whether or not her definition of loving fashion is the same as yours.) Their "qualifications" may be separate from yours.

Rather than scoffing at a young girl who is propelled into fame for keeping a blog, I think we should all see what great opportunities blogging can provide. When I see someone who dismisses these things at trends and approaches blogging with an elitist attitude, I have to wonder how new they are to the blogging world, because honestly this is just a cycle that is replaced every few years by something new (at one point it was travel, then it was photography, then it was food, etc etc).

It has never been easier to be an artist or writer since the age of the internet, and rather than trying to latch on to the elitism that previously prevailed in creative fields, I think we should let go of it.

 

[spottie]

I agree with some and disagree with others with respect to the comments already posted.

I like that blogging allows us "little people" to contribute (as we see fit) to the world of fashion (or whatever a person chooses to blog about). Personally, I'm a little tired of being dictated to by the powers that be. Blogging brings power to the people.

As for the post about if you "put yourself out there", you should expect (embrace?) criticism -- nope, no way. To me, that is the equivalent of saying that unless you are perfect, you should hide yourself away from the the world. *Everyone* deserves to have the freedom of using the blogging platform. I would say that it is OK to constructively criticize, but since almost no one IMO has mastered the art of tact, I no longer think that even "constructive criticism" is OK. Besides, who has the right to judge others? And no one has to read what they don't like, as has been already posted.

I have a ps blog and don't expect anything from it -- no merchandise, no trips, etc. Mostly it is a hobby and, to a lesser extent, a way for my family and friends (who live far away) to "keep up" with me somewhat.

Are bloggers narcissistic? Maybe. Confident? For sure.

This was a very good idea for a thread topic and is quite enjoyable reading.

 

[entirely officia]

Blogging has democratized media, so you vote with your mouse. If you don't like a blog or think its unprofessional or fake, don't click the link.

I blog, I'm not a writer by trade, I'm nowhere near a teen. I have a professional career but want to develop my skills in the off chance that with time perhaps I could do it professionally. If that never happens, fine. But you never know until you try.