Thoughts on Fashion Bloggers

[Lapin de Lune]

Surely all of this is subjective? I have a list of favourites in my sidebar, but if I listed them, how many would appeal to others? There are certain quirks of personality that I go for, even if the blogger's style isn't of great interest to me. Some are just wonderful to read, or else funny, in depth, etc. Perhaps a 'good' blog, in subjective terms is one that you are excited to catch up on when they write a new post. But I suppose if we are judging professional aptitude and knowledge our approach might be entirely different.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I still wonder what it is that encourages such vitriol towards fashion bloggers (perhaps vitriol is too strong a term, but hopefully you get my point). Is it because they most often feature images of the blogger themselves (especially if the photo's are repetitive, replete with expensive acquisitions)? Or could it be because many bloggers make money this way? Are fashion bloggers exacerbating the culture of 'want', peddling a sort of mindless consumerism? I know that my Tumblr dashboard often strikes me this way, this endless stream of coveted items and luxuries. (sorry, I've wheeled off at a tangent here..)

It's true though, we cannot help being subjective, and whilst I rarely judge bloggers on a super personal level, some certainly irritate me simply because of their attitude. Maybe the things that irritate me the most might actually please other people? There are a handful of blogs that I occasionally take a peek at simply because I am puzzled by the hype surrounding them.

And where does the hype originate? I am amazed (to be honest) at how some of these girls keep it up whilst under consistent scrutiny and expectation. Of course they chose to create a public blog, yet I still wonder how they don't crack under the pressure (for I sure would!). Take tavi, for example, and FashionToast: I follow neither of them, but I have to admire their commitment to what they do.
Does fashion blogging always have to be synonymous with mindless self indulgence? I'm not at all sure, personally. Once the pressure is on, I wonder if it takes away a certain element of fun and spontaneity.

I'm rabbling at random now, but this thread always gets me thinking.

As for The Sartorialist, I can't say that I am impressed by anything that I have read about the man himself, but I have to admit his work has value, although it tends to restrict itself to a very specific set of values: class, body types, location, etc.

Do people generally resent his success, or do they feel he deserves it? Or perhaps his legendary modesty just gets in the way

 

[Thefrenchy]

Can You Trust the Editorial Integrity of Personal Style Blogs? A Closer Look at How Bloggers Make Money


Once the provenance of earnest fashion fans on the fringes of the industry, blogs have evolved into legitimate media sources and, more importantly, big moneymakers. Just look at today’s WWD story highlighting “hot fashion bloggers” like Bryan Boy and Susie Bubble. The feature goes on to detail how each notable blogger makes their money, how many monthly page views their sites get, and presents an important question: “Bloggers sitting front row have become commonplace—as have partnerships with leading brands and fashion houses that often blur the nature of what they do: Reportage and criticism or marketing and promotion?”

Whether it’s by partnering with brands, styling shoots, receiving payment (or free product) for writing posts or getting commission on the sale of items they post about, some bloggers are seriously cashing in on their influence. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with making money. These bloggers work hard, are dedicated to their followers and add a unique voice to the fashion dialogue. “Bloggers produce original content; they have a unique talent [whether it be photographing, styling, writing] and it’s obvious,” says Karen Robinovitz, co-founder and chief creative office of Digital Brand Architects, an agency that reps “top tier bloggers.” “Why would you, for instance, hire any stylist when you can hire just as talented a stylist but one that also has 75,000 followers?”

But as blogs make the transition from personal style diaries to profit-turning businesses, some readers have begun to feel that original and unbiased content, once the keystone of what made blogs so relevant, has taken a hit.


READERS READJUST THEIR EXPECTATIONS

“At the beginning of the fashion blog uprising I loved the rawness of it all,” Fashionista commenter Kathryn McMorries Heller recently wrote beneath a post in which Cathy Horyn advised bloggers not to be “shady.” “Responsible and active readers have always had to keep in mind who owns/sponsors/advertises any print or TV media. Now, you should keep that in mind with many blogs as well.”

Another Fashionista commenter, Andrea Stark Ratner, agrees, writing, “Now, for many of the “top” bloggers, they are “sent” clothing, shoes, accessories, etc., flown and sent to events all over the world, with everything paid for, and then there is a blog post about the “gift” or event and a link to where the reader can purchase the item or get in on what is happening…This practice takes the ‘pureness’ out of blogging…the blogger is no longer doing it for pure love of fashion, but is now a shill for a brand.”

Of course the practice of receiving free swag isn’t exactly a secret: Most bloggers disclose what products they were “gifted” in their posts (we get swag and tell you when we write about it). But not all of them do. Moreover, some bloggers feel pressure to wear or write about a certain product in order to maintain a good relationship with a brand, in hopes that either more free product–or a paid gig–will come their way as a result. One popular blogger we spoke with, who wished to remain anonymous, told us, “Right now, all brands are doing the same thing: They’re sending free product to bloggers or to online fashion publications and having them feature the product. It’s a slightly vicious cycle of bribery.”


BLURRING THE LINES

So when is writing about a product, received for free, a form of paid endorsement–or even an advertisement–and when is it merely a review?

For some bloggers the answer is fuzzy. The same anonymous blogger maintained that she preserves her blog’s editorial integrity, but also said that she usually sent copy to brands for approval before posting. “[On a recent project] I sent copy for approval and they were adamant about me including two buzz words in the title, so I made that change for them,” she told us. For the post in question, she did not disclose that she was receiving payment, and, as a practice, she says she does not reveal if a product was given to her for free “because whatever I’m wearing are things that I would’ve purchased anyway.”

Leandra Medine of Manrepeller isn’t coy about making money off her blog. “I don’t do work without getting paid,” she told us. “I feel like asking me to write something or style something without paying me is like asking an accountant to file your taxes without paying them.” However, she makes sure she only partners with labels that “jive” with her brand saying, “I won’t partner with designers if I know that I don’t like their brand. I tell anyone who is sending me clothing that I may or may not post it. I definitely don’t want to lose my credibility in that capacity.”

For Kelly Framel of The Glamourai, editorial integrity is rigidly maintained. Framel always makes a point to disclose whether or not an item has been gifted and makes it clear to her readers when she is being paid by a brand. Like Medine, she says she’s wary of partnering with brands that don’t align with her sensibility. “I’m very adamant when I go into a brand relationship about making sure that I have [editorial control],” she told us. “I recently walked away from a sizeable offer from a brand because they wanted to dictate what the verbage was and how I presented their product. They were assuming that we could have the same relationship as they would have with an advertorial.”


THE RULES

While Framel passed on the deal, other, less scrupulous (or uninformed) bloggers may not. And, as it turns out, such deals, if left undisclosed, are in direct violation of the Federal Trade Commission’s guidelines which state: “The post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.” However, even the FTC seems fuzzy on the issue, saying, “decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis.” In an email, Betsy Lordan, a rep for the FTC, added that, “The [FTC]’s revised Guides governing endorsements and testimonials are guidance. They are not rules or regulations, so there are no monetary penalties, or penalties of any kind, associated with them.”

In other words, there is not necessarily any incentive for bloggers to disclose whether they are receiving free product, commission on a sale (which one blogger admitted to doing undisclosed), or even payment for featuring a product. Some of them might be content on cashing in on their audience’s attention, while others might just be ignorant of the proper practices, and the repercussions of their actions. Keep in mind that, unlike in the print and traditional media world, many of these bloggers did not study journalism, or have work experience and they don’t have any corporate guidelines to follow. (WWD pointed out that “Besides her blog, [Rumi Neely of Fashion Toast] has never had a job that’s lasted more than a month.”) Which is probably why the FTC says, “We’re not monitoring bloggers and we have no plans to…If law enforcement becomes necessary, our focus will be on advertisers, not endorsers.”

But penalties and rule-breaking aside, how has the monetization of blogs affected the quality of their editorial content? “If it’s done properly [integrating ad content] won’t ever impact editorial integrity,” said Robinovitz, who reps Framel as well as Sea of Shoes’ Jane Aldridge and Jamie Beck of From Me To You. “Every single blogger that we work with, before we even discuss what the opportunity is, we do a litmus test for their passion for the brand and for the content because if it’s not something they would have done organically to me its not worth doing just for money. We tell our clients that just because they love a brand, doesn’t mean they have to do that exact opportunity if that opportunity doesn’t feel like the best fit. You cant rush into things, you have to be very careful. I think everyone can tell when something is inauthentic.”

There was one thing everyone we spoke to agreed upon: Blogs, once hailed as the democratic voice of fashion, have become brands themselves, questions about their authenticity and originality have rightfully been asked. How these questions will be answered is, for now, up to bloggers. What sort of guidelines do you think they should follow?

- FASHIONISTA.COM

 

[loladonna]

I've given up on the personal style blogs. Most have become parodies of one another. People wear mix-matched patterns/proportions of designer mixed with Zara while standing pigeon-toed in a park or wherever trying to look like they were caught off-guard by their own auto-timed camera. Everyone's all dressed up every single day to go where? Barnes and Noble? McDonald's? Starbucks? The contrived nature of style blogs makes them unbearable. It sucks that the only ones that come to national attention are the ones featuring rich kids modeling designer clothes their parents money bought.

 

[Jungla_Juana]

It sucks that the only ones that come to national attention are the ones featuring rich kids modeling designer clothes their parents money bought.

very true. I feel the blogosphere is overrun with rich kids buying the latest season's must haves in bulk, no sense of innate style, no distinct personality, just buy buy buy buy... "oh look what I snagged the other day"

When I used to subscribe to a lot of blogs I would see the same godforsaken items being purchased all across.
And then they are so quick to defend their "integrity" and their "brand"...


dime a dozen

 

[indygo]

I've given up on the personal style blogs. Most have become parodies of one another. People wear mix-matched patterns/proportions of designer mixed with Zara while standing pigeon-toed in a park or wherever trying to look like they were caught off-guard by their own auto-timed camera. Everyone's all dressed up every single day to go where? Barnes and Noble? McDonald's? Starbucks? The contrived nature of style blogs makes them unbearable. It sucks that the only ones that come to national attention are the ones featuring rich kids modeling designer clothes their parents money bought.

You took the words out of my mouth. I try to ignore how staged they all look focus on the fashion... but it's hard to ignore. And I totally agree about many of them being parodies of one another: they are about 3 or 4 bloggers whose looks are easily interchangeable. They must be aware of each other's looks and I often wonder if they worry about originality - not to say that 1 might be copying the other but they have about the same method of mixing patterns and silhouettes (and Karen Walker Sunglasses)... haven't they realized by now that they're almost clones of one another? I honestly keep expecting them to create their own sub-group of fashion bloggers and give it a name... and maybe linking to one another's blogs through identical navigation bars.

Anyway - forgive my ranting. I do enjoy visiting they're pages and I actually use their blogs for research. I run a retail ecommerce website, w/ hopes of expanding, and I visit their blogs daily to see what new style trend, "it" shoe, or "it" bag might be catching on. Someone, earlier, mentioned that these fashion blogs have value - agreed! I just wish their posts hadn't gotten so hard to swallow.

 

[Lolaa]

Something that bothers me a little is the fact that a lot of bloggers get free stuff so in turn they wear them and promote them.

It's not bad at all to receive free clothes (hell I'd love to receive them as well ) but somewhere along the way the lines get blurred: is it really your personal style or a style influenced by all the free samples you must wear in order to promote?

 

[softgrey]

Is it even possible to have a style which is entirely exclusive of all others?

the answer to that is simply-
YES...
we just don't see it often enough, but it definitely exists...
i promise you that when i go anywhere, i do not look like the rest of the people there...
it's authentically me...
not just something i am wearing because i thought it looked good on someone else...

of course, by the next time i see some of those people, they are wearing what i had on the last time because they saw me wear it and thought it looked good...
but i have usually moved on by then, so i still don't look like them,even when they are copying me...



now-
all of my friends and i have some sort of 'overlap' in our personal styles...
but we each add other elements that are personal to us...
so that, ultimately, we each wind up looking like ourselves and not like clones of one another...

that is what personal style is all about...
it's about being yourself---
it's the physical manifestation of who you are on the inside...

 

[Petit Lucille]

The thing is, style is, as soft said, an expression of something within. Very often, I'm asked, "you like design, right?". And it's not somehting you do entirely consciously, but it runs in you. What makes your style personal is your unique point of view, about everything. If you think like a clone, most likely, you will dress like one too.
It is possible to talk about this viewpoint without going into details as in "I went to buy a cup of coffee today and it was nice" and taking 1000 pictures of you "looking preety" (I am very tired of all the girls trying to look spontaneous-if you TRY to LOOK spontaneous, you're already NOT). That can only mean that they are what they do-posers. When you see that the blogger is authentic, and really has a personal way of feeling things, fashion being just one of them, it makes it engaging and not tiresome at all.

 

[IsabelMarantBoy]

Something that bothers me a little is the fact that a lot of bloggers get free stuff so in turn they wear them and promote them.

It's not bad at all to receive free clothes (hell I'd love to receive them as well ) but somewhere along the way the lines get blurred: is it really your personal style or a style influenced by all the free samples you must wear in order to promote?

I get what you mean, one of my friends (not super close) started out as a fashion blogger and is now getting emails left and right from companies wanting her to promote them in her blog.

I looked at some of the companies who were promoting her and I can see why they did, they're clothes are very similar to her style. I think if I ever did anything like accept offers from companies to promote their products I would only do it if I were getting clothes I could easily integrate into the style I already wear

 

[RaisinBoy]

I've just joined this forum, so maybe my two cents might have been discussed already, but the main thing why I generally dislike bloggers is that they are not professionals and many of them lack the eye for the real art of fashion (or maybe they are not even interested); they just wear clothes and create hype.

In general, I think they have came a short way from being internet's democratic voice of fashion to walking ads.

 

[Drusilla_]

.. haven't they realized by now that they're almost clones of one another? I honestly keep expecting them to create their own sub-group of fashion bloggers and give it a name...

Already been done, if the site called the Delightful Dozen is anything to go by.

Most of the bloggers in that circle not only dress similarly, they actually had some giveaway/sponsored thing going on once where they could pick a dress from the modcloth catalogue to "gift" to another blogger as well as getting a dress for themselves too.

 

[neonsprinkles]

I get what you mean, one of my friends (not super close) started out as a fashion blogger and is now getting emails left and right from companies wanting her to promote them in her blog.

I looked at some of the companies who were promoting her and I can see why they did, they're clothes are very similar to her style. I think if I ever did anything like accept offers from companies to promote their products I would only do it if I were getting clothes I could easily integrate into the style I already wear

....Very true. Fashion bloggers are much cheaper forms of publicity than hiring an ad agency or an independent contractor to hype up publicity....When it comes down to it, people interact with each other moreso online/virtually than they do physically....

 

[John_M.]

I can say that a vast majority of blogs I follow are fashion blogs, and mostly feminine fashion blogs. The one thing the blogosphere tells everyone is that not everyone is all into the styles presented at fashion shows and such. Not everyone is all awe-struck over the latest fashions. Sometimes, what I enjoy most about reading fashion blogs is in seeing real style by real people (as opposed to the runway scene). Some into fashion mostly share their personal style, mostly discuss certain looks and styles, and some even just talk about fashion on a taboo basis. A few even highlight on certain fashion shows and items presented in those fashion shows. There are even those who review certain garments. A garment or look may be all the rage or fun, but it means nothing if that look doesn't fit well or is of great-enough quality to the person wearing these garments.

Whatever the case, fashion blogging offers a side of fashion different from what most major publications offer. Some of the blogs I follow on Blogger/Blogspot were from mentions from publications like Teen Vogue. Regardless of whatever blogs you follow- Keiko Lynn, Fashion by He, The Sartorialist, or whatever- you are getting fashion from the perspective of whomever is presenting it. Doesn't mean you have to agree with the person(s) or agree with his/her/their assessment(s), but they are at least speaking about fashion and expressing in ways different from most publications and websites. The constant remains that we all love fashion, and our thoughts on fashion vary from person to person. Why let the publications share their perception of fashion while we're the ones soaking up fashion news like sponges? After all, we're the ones buying the clothes and putting looks together- shouldn't WE be the ones dictating what is fashionable to us rather than have some company or publication report on what's hot?


This is at least how I've perceive fashion bloggers. I am not going to look at this at the perspective of what bloggers wear as opposed to what is being worn "just for show." I am not looking at any extremes or anything here. It is more about real people sharing real style. That's not to say that other people are fake; just that these are everyday folk people who chose to showcase their real style in their own way. Again- I won't dabble with any extremes; all I am doing is just talking about fashion blogging the way I perceive it, from a casual perspective.

 

[soulphisticated]

Just because some of the bloggers out there don't have professional qualifications within fashion doesn't mean they don't have the gift for it. There are so many different types of fashion blogs around it's unbelievable.

Though I don't have any educational background within fashion, I have my own blog, reason being is i need an outlet of my thoughts/opinions. Mine may consist of outfit of the days on occasion in the future, but i need more than that. At first all i wanted to do was put up dresses that inspired but since designing my blog over the weekend it's turned into more than that, it's turned into reviwing fashion shoots, looking at different designers and their use of colour in each collection, finding magazine covers i'm drawn too... it actually reminded me how much i really loved fashion and everything that comes with it.

I do follow fashion bloggers out there and none of them have the same style, each female has her own individual taste which i appreciate.

 

[wild roses]

I have started following one fashion blog, and while I like her tips, and her style in general, two things always annoy:

1. The fashion freebies (and because she runs another blog concerning a big fandom, she gets freebies for that too and she posts about those as well as on her fashion blog)

2. Acting as if designer fashion is cheap and affordable to everyone. And, while she may be on a budget, she's a a far more lavish budget than some (most?) of her readers.

I wish, she and other fashion bloggers would remember we're in recovering from a recession, not all her readers have her type of budget, and to limit the "yippy-do-da" posts about her freebies.

She's a nice person, so I hate to critique her, but while I do enjoy her blog for the tips its give (cause I'm a petite, curvy person and fashion, high and low, likes to pretend people like me don't exist), I can only visit the blog every once in awhile due to the things mentioned above.

 

[softgrey]

my least fave is people who can't write...or even spell 1/2 the time...
but go on and on...
...

really---
i think it is true what was said earlier in the thread...
it's pretty easy to figure out who has a clue and who doesn't...
there's little risk of someone who is clueless getting a lot of attention or rewards for their antics...
even in this thread i think it's easy to tell who might have something interesting to say and who's blog i can skip right over...
...

what is sad is that some bloggers who might actually have a clue might be passed over or just be invisible because there are just too many people out there shouting all at once and it's tricky even for quality info to get noticed by anyone these days...

the other thing that is true of fashion is that it's very 'of the moment'...
fashion is fickle and we get tired of things really quickly...
and that includes people---
there is always a designer of the moment, a photographer of the moment, a magazine editor of the moment, etc...
bloggers are no different...

it's easy to be the flavour of the moment...
the tricky bit is to stick around...

 

[Lapin de Lune]

I am wondering what 'having a clue' means, though.
I guess it might depend entirely upon the blogger's particular outlook and reason for keeping a blog. Should those who wish to document a passion for fashion/clothes/style really have to possess 'professional' training or knowledge? To expect this could be as problematic as demanding that a passionate watercolourist should only maintain an art blog if she/he has been schooled in the arts. But of course, it's a grey area, I know.

I personally like how style blogs cater to all tastes, even those which irritate me, or which I cannot remotely relate to. I've said it before, but I am always intrigued by the amount of criticism targeted at fashion bloggers. Perhaps it is the same with any media or passion online.....this sense of elitism? I don't know. I just love to read blogs that cater to a similar aesthetic to my own, regardless their knowledge of the profession itself.

Maybe it is the more commercialised, super popular bloggers who bring this into question? Bloggers who seem somehow undeserving?
I just know that the small few that I prefer to bookmark tend to be somewhat 'niche', blogs which often question the nature of style blogging itself, which really fascinates me. I am more interested in a blogger's personal/internal relationship with style, their thoughts concerning ethics, consumerism, etc. Sorta like a 'thinking person's' fashion blog, yet without the necessity of having to be 'in the know'.

 

[softgrey]

having a clue- *read my signature quote*
if the blogger is a thoughtful person...
then one would assume that person has a clue...
not just about fashion/style, but about the world at large...

and if someone can't even write a decent post here in this thread...
i would assume that their blog is going to be somewhat painful to read...
wouldn't you?...
in that case, i would rather they not write anything, but focus on some great images instead!...


from vivienne westwood...

"All that self-expression has just created a generation of morons,
hooked on an endless appetite for rubbish"​

more...

"I think it is terribly important to have opinions, and to think.
We live in a world of action without thought"​

*there's a great quote from her about intelligence as it relates to style...
but i can't find it now...
basically-- she asserts that there can be no style without intelligence...

i actually found a couple of outfit blogs yesterday that looked good...
basically...just pics...very little writing...like a tumbler...
but the main thing is that i did really like the way the girls on the blogs dress...
they both have really immaculate taste...
*even if it's not exactly the same taste as me, i can still appreciate how good it is...
and the photos were really big and really nice...

of course, i have no idea what they were now......

 

[Lapin de Lune]

Softgrey, you make sense. Thanks for elaborating.

'...an endless appetite for rubbish' I wholeheartedly agree with this. And yet I feel somewhat inadequate to judge. One person's trash is another person's diamond. But yes, thoughtfulness definitely is a priority for me. And then I do have a weakness for tumblr....but I call this eye candy

 

[softgrey]

sometimes trash is just trash, though...like the emperor's new clothes...
and it's actually good to have an opinion and say so...

(that's the second quote i posted...)