Blogs vs Fashion Magazines

smart casual over 50

The same old…

I bought this jacket a year ago, and have featured it on the blog no less than 5 times (HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE). And now, in the spirit of shopping my closet, I have styled this jacket in two different ways: casual (which I’ll show you in another blog post later) and smart casual.

Yes, I really like this jacket… But it’s not just that. I don’t want to buy multiple items for the same purpose. I mean, what’s the point? I think it makes more sense to buy a jacket that you can wear with any outfit than wear several more or less similar jackets to wear with different outfits. That’s just smart budgeting. Buy less but buy better, that’s my motto.

Blogs vs Fashion Magazines

I also resent the current trend of (some) bloggers featuring clothes they’ve been lent by designers, very much the same way fashion magazines borrow clothes for a photo shoot. In other words, (some) fashion bloggers seem to be copying the format, style and content of  fashion magazines: producing (no doubt high-quality) commissioned  editorial content for sponsors, styling borrowed clothes to promote the latest trends and new collections. Yet, far from democratising fashion, this simply makes bloggers cheap imitators who do the same work as fashion magazines for less money.

Now, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with getting paid to feature and review products, not at all. But there’s a world of difference between a fashion magazine and a style blog, and that’s a good thing. Fashion magazines are pure fantasy: the outfits are often unattainable, usually impractical, and unashamedly aspirational. Bloggers, on the other hand, live in the real world. And  when they collaborate with sponsors, they incorporate gifted or sponsored items into outfits in ways that reflect their own styles and take into account the demands of their busy lives.

Of course, every blogger is a model, stylist and editor all rolled into one. But we must ask ourselves whether we see blogs as some sort of cheapo versions of fashion magazines, with the same old agenda and content, and the same old disregard for what is relevant for the average woman. Or could blogs provide something more approachable, something more real? Perhaps bloggers should not aspire to compete with fashion magazines at all but realise that they have a completely different mission.

As far as I’m concerned, if I want to see the latest trends, I buy Vogue, InStyle etc. But I often find fashion magazines very disappointing: identikit teenage models in outfits that have nothing to do with real life. Or my life, anyway… And if bloggers start producing content similar to fashion magazines, featuring an endless parade of new clothes, then what’s the point of reading blogs anymore?

No, what I want from bloggers is inspiration and fabulous outfits accessible to women of all shapes and sizes and budgets. I want to see bloggers demonstrating how they style the same items again and again in new ways, making use of their limited wardrobes and showing ingenuity in stretching their budgets. And I want to see the personality of the blogger reflected in their outfits, and how their lifestyles and surroundings affect their clothing choices. Vogue and InStyle can’t give me that.

over 50 blogger

down jacket

Outfit details:

jacket: Beaumont (old) / shirt: Marks and Spencer / 

skirt /KappAhl (old) / bag and sunglasses: Chanel / shoes: Clarks
location:Katariinankatu, Helsinki

What can blogs give you that fashion magazines can’t?

Tiina

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Not Dead Yet StyleElegantly Dressed and StylishGaray TreasuresHigh Latitude StyleSydney Fashion HunterThe Pleated PoppyStyle ElixirGet Your Pretty OnHappiness at Mid-LifeA Labour of LifeDoused in PinkCurly Crafty MomFashion Should Be FunRachel the HatSincerely Jenna MarieMore Pieces of MeColor and GraceThe Wardrobe StylistNot Dressed As LambStyle NudgeCoco et La Vie en RoseFashionably Employed,The Fabulous JourneyLiving on Cloud NineA Well Styled LifeElegance and MommyhoodPosh Classy MomNancy’s Fashion StyleSheela WritesShelbee on the Edge Over 50 Feeling 40 A Pocketful of Polka Dots 

25 Comments

  1. Connie
    12 October 2016 / 12:16 am

    I am right there with you, Sister. Authenticity!!!!!

    • Tiina L
      12 October 2016 / 2:31 pm

      Thanks, Connie!

  2. Shybiker
    12 October 2016 / 3:55 am

    You're exactly right. Blogs can and should be more "real". Compromising one's integrity is a bad choice.

    • Tiina L
      12 October 2016 / 2:34 pm

      Real is what empowers bloggers, and women in general. Style is not something dictated to us by magazines but something we create ourselves.

  3. Nancy's Fashion Style
    12 October 2016 / 10:47 am

    But I also love to get inspiration by bloggers who are wearing Chanel!

    • Tiina L
      12 October 2016 / 2:35 pm

      Me, too. Provided it's the blogger wearing Chanel and not Chanel wearing the blogger…

  4. Patricia Sasso
    12 October 2016 / 11:59 am

    And this is why you are my favorite blogger!

    • Tiina L
      12 October 2016 / 2:37 pm

      Thank you so much, Patricia! What an incredibly sweet thing to say, I'm so honoured.

  5. Emma Peach
    12 October 2016 / 3:27 pm

    I prefer blogs to magazines because I like to see affordable clothes on real people of different ages, shapes and sizes. Magazines have become a bit boring for me, and they are full of adverts. Bloggers are more relatable and tell you something about what they are wearing that magazines never would.Emma xxx http://www.style-splash.com

    • Tiina L
      14 October 2016 / 5:43 pm

      Exactly! I find magazines boring, too. I want to be able to at least imagine wearing the outfits I see in pictures, or think one of my friends could wear them. Bloggers are so much more relatable.

  6. Suzanne Carillo
    13 October 2016 / 2:19 am

    You manage to make a puffer coat look chic and for that I applaud you.bisousSuzanne

    • Tiina L
      14 October 2016 / 5:43 pm

      Thanks, Suzanne.

  7. Rena
    13 October 2016 / 6:05 am

    I agree with you as well and applaud you taking a stand on the issue. I'm also put off by bloggers who don't show their face in posts or just rely on flat lays and story boards. I want to see real life, not make believe.Renawww.finewhateverblog.com

    • Tiina L
      14 October 2016 / 5:44 pm

      Yes, let's keep it real. Fantasies are fine every once in a while, but in the end we all have to live in the real world. And it doesn't hurt to make the real world a bit more appealing.

  8. Sheree Ho
    13 October 2016 / 6:29 am

    What a great food for thought, I personally think that bloggers are real people with different sizes and shapes and heights and not just the standard stick figure in fashion magazines which is why we are more relate-able to our readers. Plus, not every one can afforad $3000 designer coats and $500 jeans, bloggers can find thrifts and steals yet still make it look fashionable.~ xo ShereePosh Classy MomInstagram~ xo ShereePosh Classy MomInstagram

    • Tiina L
      14 October 2016 / 5:47 pm

      I also appreciate seeing women of all ages, shapes and sizes looking fabulous. Style doesn't have to cost a fortune, but you can't have style without personality.

  9. Mummabstylish
    13 October 2016 / 7:35 am

    I believe fashion bloggers are in the real world, for real women/people. Great blog read, thanks for linking up. Jacquiwww.mummabstylish.com

    • Tiina L
      14 October 2016 / 5:47 pm

      Yes, it's about time real women get a say in what is stylish, don't you think?

  10. Nicole Mölders
    15 October 2016 / 2:27 am

    Thanks for linking up to Top of the World Style.

  11. Fashion Fairy Dust
    15 October 2016 / 6:52 pm

    Your thoughts are right on the money! Some of the bigger blogs seem to be emulating fashion magazines and while it may be pretty to look at, that's not what I'm looking for when I visit a blog. In my opinion reality is the foundation of most blogs that I enjoy reading. If I do a sponsored post it is almost without exception a product review because how can I vouch for something that I've never tried? Debbie http://www.fashionfairydust.com

    • Tiina L
      16 October 2016 / 9:05 am

      I think there's no point trying to replicate what magazines do when we can give a more personal view on style. And product reviews on blogs are also more interesting as bloggers have a more realistic view of what to expect and what might work for their readers.

    • Tiina L
      20 October 2016 / 6:00 pm

      😉

  12. Melissa Convertino
    19 October 2016 / 12:27 pm

    Love this! I agree in everything you said! Bloggers truly gives us inspiration on real life fashion :)Thank you for linkup with weekend wearxoMelissa

    • Tiina L
      20 October 2016 / 6:01 pm

      Yes! Blogs are democratic: they let all of us be the stars and celebrate true style.

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