I have just gotten home (my actual home that I go home at the end of the week) from my Saturday classes and I have yet to catch up on a week's worth of sleep, so excuse me if this post doesn't make as much sense or show as much insight as you expected.
Somebody tweeted a link to this Philippine Star article entitled "A Fashion Blogger Reality Check" and of course I just had to read it. I have yet to find a local "fashion blog" that I enjoy reading (in their defense, I don't really go out searching for any) for reasons that will probably make me sound like a complete snob (but I'll tell you about them anyway later on). So of course, I was very curious to see what people, who are intelligent enough to write for a national paper, thought about "fashion blogs."
Alright, before all that, I just want to explain why I keep putting quotation marks on that term. Everyone considers fashion blogs as the blogs where the majority of the posts are of the blogger's outfit of the day. Some famous local "fashion bloggers" are Camille Co, Tricia Gosingtian, Patricia Prieto. Even one of my closest friends, Cristina Decena, runs a very successful fashion blog. I, personally, think of these blogs as more of style blogs, rather than fashion blogs. To me, fashion blogs are blogs that talk about the fashion industry or blogs that show style, but not so much one's own. I guess I see the blogs of the "fashion bloggers" as leaning more on personal than for the sake of fashion, but that's just how I see it. Some of my favorite fashion blogs would be Coco's Tea Party or STREETFSN, just to show you the difference. So I want to make clear that I'm not putting quotation marks on the term to mock anyone; it's just that it would confuse me to use the term without them.
On to the article. Gabie, the writer, talks about how blogging was so different back in her day (Has anyone ever read an article on blogging that does not talk about this?). She says that she has a Tumblr, but does not consider herself a blogger. I, too, have a Tumblr, and even though I don't think it's as much of a blog as the fashion bloggers' blogs are, it's still a blog, so me using it makes me a blogger. But, again, that's just how I see it.
The first jab she makes at "fashion bloggers" is when she says that her blog is "all [her], and [she is] in no way trying to turn [herself] into [her] own movement with sponsors and free hooch." I don't have a fashion blog, but the only thing that would motivate me to make one is all the "free hooch" that I would probably get. (In fact, I was just having a conversation with my blockmates about this. They insisted I make a blog so we can all benefit from my "free hooch.") First of all. it's a blog. I don't see why you would target the integrity of a blog, especially one that has Jeffrey Campbell shoes as the highlight (This is my own jab at Jeffrey Campbell). I don't think any "fashion blogger" considers her blog as sacred and above receiving free stuff for. I'm sure the readers definitely don't mind seeing a stupid ad for lotion on their favorite blogs, so it's really not a big deal.
"I find that the blogs I tend to enjoy are the ones that aren’t really
all about the person who runs the blog in question. It’s about the
different street styles you’ll see in different cities, where the best sales are, or how to make the best of this week’s basil." I agree with her on this, because I think you learn so much more in those kinds of blogs than in "fashion blogs." I do sometimes browse the latter, but mostly because they are usually the first ones to post about new products and stores that open in the Philippines. (See? Using your blog to attain free hooch can actually get you more readers!)
The writer quotes this line from Easy A: “I don’t know what your generation’s fascination is with documenting
your every thought, but I can assure you: they’re not all diamonds.” I find that it doesn't actually apply to fashion blogging, but more on tweeting, which I admit, I am very fond of. I am extremely guilty of documenting every thought I have on the internet, but I always think that if people don't like what they see, then they can very easily choose to ignore it. Not all my thoughts are diamonds, sometimes they're just rocks, but also sometimes they are rocks that have diamonds inside them when you mine them, and in this case, mining is writing about them. Wow, that metaphor got away from me. What I'm saying is that some thoughts seem really idiotic at first, but writing about them help develop them, and sometimes they turn out to be actually pretty great ideas. Like this blog post, for example. (I'm just kidding, I know this is a load of shit.) So please do not be discouraged to develop your ideas!
Like Gabie, I also tried my hand at documenting my outfits (Don't attempt looking for my Lookbook.nu account because I have deleted it.) I never got a large enough audience for my posts to be able to refute or confirm what she says about blogging affecting and changing your personal style. Although my friend who has a popular fashion blog just says that it motivates her to dress her best, which I don't think is such a bad effect. In fact I, especially, admire bloggers for the dedication to their personal style, because it is something that I know I can never have. I enjoy fashion very much. It is what I think about all the time. But you can never tell that my love for fashion is actually of that magnitude, because I don't show it in the way that I dress. Someone once said that fashion is the greatest form of art, because you can wear it and it presents itself in your everyday life. I agree to an extent, but personally, I love fashion because of the fantasy in it. I guess that's why I love high fashion. There's the sense of escapism. It's less of a self-expression to me. The kind of high fashion that I enjoy nowhere near presents itself in the life of a 19 year old middle class university student, so I have very little interest in dressing myself.
"But as it stands, the idea of being highly photographable pulls focus
away from making more sartorial choices and keeps it on staying trendy.
The fashion being blogged about becomes homogenized, because everything
falls in line with some exaggerated interpretation of trends." I don't know why these bloggers all dress the same way. I don't even know that they do (because I don't pay much attention to them). But the thing with these blogs is that people view them as a source of inspiration, so, of course, taking inspiration from them means there'll be the chance you'll look similar to them. Or maybe that's really just their style and it just so happens that that very style is what readers find appealing so, naturally, they become the most-read bloggers. The Philippines is not fashion forward, that I can say with no hesitations or second thought. Just think of all the people who actually think monogram bags are fashionable and you'll see that I'm right. The fact is that high fashion trickles down to us and, in the process, is altered to fit the tastes of the masses until they all look practically the same. And who would your readership be if you wore Rick Owens or Margiela (or even inexpensive clothes styled in a weird way)? Probably only a handful of Filipinos. In my opinion, the only "fashion bloggers" we see are the bloggers that the readers can relate to and understand, that's why they all look the same. (I understand how this makes me sound very snobbish and pretentious, but just think that if I talked this excessively about One Direction or laptops, nobody would think I was a douche. What makes fashion so different from other people's interests?)
There's a part in this article that made me chuckle (not to be a total cunt). "There is a vast sense of entitlement that lingers, wherein because
bloggers are so much more accessible, they are given the same amount of
reverence as those who have curated the course of fashion history.... And so it stands that there is a clear question of
how far out of context fashion has been placed, especially where it’s no
longer models and editors pushing an aesthetic, but “real people” on
their blogs." Maybe in the minds of the majority, "fashion bloggers" are revered and maybe even considered the pinnacle of fashion, but, do their opinions really matter? Accessibility does not get you reverence in fashion. So much of the imdustry is based on elitism. It is not "real people" who push an aesthetic, it's always been the editors and designers and the fashion industry. Let me, also, put in a quote from a fabulous movie, The Devil Wears Prada: "But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not
turquoise. It's not lapis. It's actually cerulean. And you're also
blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a
collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves Saint
Laurent... wasn't it who showed cerulean military jackets?... And then cerulean quickly showed up in the
collections of eight different designers. And then it, uh, filtered down
through the department stores and then trickled on down into some
tragic Casual Corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some
clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and
countless jobs and it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a
choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're
wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this
room from a pile of stuff." So just like Anne Hathaway in this movie, these bloggers clothes all come from whatever Carine Roitfeld or Raf Simons said was fashionable. The way that I see it, it is not the "real people" who dictate trends and aesthetics, because it is the editors and designers that dictate it, even if it is indirectly.
The misunderstanding of the fashion industry is understandable (in fact I am only operating from my own guesses), but what really rubbed me the wrong way about the whole article and what had me write a whole blog post about it is that the writer has such an issue with how "inappropriate" someone's clothes are for the occasion. She writes,"it turns life into a runway that is so far out of touch with reality, it’s mind-boggling.... What is especially irritating are bloggers who post outfits to appear as
though they approach life like they’re headed to events 24/7,... Real talk, sister: that’s not being ahead of the curve." It reminds me of all my friends who would roll their eyes or snicker or mock some girl in school who walks by in five inch heels or a girl who wears make-up to the gym. It's mean and uncalled for. Me wearing acrylic nails to go jogging will not affect anyone but me, so it's nobody's business but mine. If someone feels better when they wear long gowns to the park, then more power to them. Here's some real talk too: fuck real, wear whatever the fuck you like. That's punk! That's fashion!
Anyway, babes, please continue to blog about your clothes and show everyone your style and don't be afraid to experiment and develop, and don't let anyone tell you fashion is stupid and superficial and don't be discouraged!
(Sorry if I seemed sinister to the writer of the original article! I tried my very best to be polite while getting my point across)
