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.
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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Linking up with:
Not Dead Yet Style, Elegantly Dressed and Stylish, Garay Treasures, High Latitude Style, Sydney Fashion Hunter, The Pleated Poppy, Style Elixir, Get Your Pretty On, Happiness at Mid-Life, A Labour of Life, Doused in Pink, Curly Crafty Mom, Fashion Should Be Fun, Rachel the Hat, Sincerely Jenna Marie, More Pieces of Me, Color and Grace, The Wardrobe Stylist, Not Dressed As Lamb, Style Nudge, Coco et La Vie en Rose, Fashionably Employed,The Fabulous Journey, Living on Cloud Nine, A Well Styled Life, Elegance and Mommyhood. Posh Classy Mom, Nancy’s Fashion Style, Sheela Writes, Shelbee on the Edge Over 50 Feeling 40 A Pocketful of Polka Dots
I am right there with you, Sister. Authenticity!!!!!
Thanks, Connie!
You're exactly right. Blogs can and should be more "real". Compromising one's integrity is a bad choice.
Real is what empowers bloggers, and women in general. Style is not something dictated to us by magazines but something we create ourselves.
But I also love to get inspiration by bloggers who are wearing Chanel!
Me, too. Provided it's the blogger wearing Chanel and not Chanel wearing the blogger…
And this is why you are my favorite blogger!
Thank you so much, Patricia! What an incredibly sweet thing to say, I'm so honoured.
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
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.
You manage to make a puffer coat look chic and for that I applaud you.bisousSuzanne
Thanks, Suzanne.
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
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.
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
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.
I believe fashion bloggers are in the real world, for real women/people. Great blog read, thanks for linking up. Jacquiwww.mummabstylish.com
Yes, it's about time real women get a say in what is stylish, don't you think?
Thanks for linking up to Top of the World Style.
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
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.
The bag. http://www.rsrue.blogspot.com
😉
Love this! I agree in everything you said! Bloggers truly gives us inspiration on real life fashion :)Thank you for linkup with weekend wearxoMelissa
Yes! Blogs are democratic: they let all of us be the stars and celebrate true style.