Gala Darling has written a compelling post today about fashion blogging and how important it is that fashion bloggers represent real people going about their daily life with their (somewhat) limited budgets. It is supposed to spread a body positive message because if clothes look great on people with a non-mainstream body type (and of course, ironically those with a so-called mainstream body are quite rare), then the viewer thinks that clothes could look great on them. Therefore, fashion blogging, if there is enough diversity in the genre, could become a powerful tool in impoving the self-image of people generally.
This is true and I think fashion blogging is an important niche, or at least could be an important niche, for this reason. Yet, I they are not necessarily for everyone. These reasons are why I don’t really read fashion blogs and why I often find them boring. Not always, but often.
Firstly, I dont really have that much money at my direct disposal. I am doing fine, but I cannot just walk into a department store and buy something because it looks pretty. Sometimes, I would like to do things like that but it is not for me. And really, lord knows I do not really need any more clothes than what I have anyway. So, fashion shopping and clothes shopping are not really actions I take part in.
Secondly, I get inspired from websites like etsy, not from fashion bloggers. I understand that fashion bloggers have their own sense of style which tends to be quite different from mine. I do not like things like animal prints or tribal prints which tend to perennially popular. I like creativity a lot, but I also like understatement, which to me seems to go against the spectacle that fashion blogging actually is. It is just a taste thing, really, I do not feel as though I can or should be very influenced by the way other people put clothes on in the morning.
Lastly, I do not really think about clothes very much. I do not wear cosmetics or make-up at all. The things I worry about are the projects I am working on, on ideas, on ethics, on what things mean. I worry about the working conditions throughout textiles and garment factories around the world, I worry about animal welfare around the world. This does not necessarily make me somehow deeper than the fashionista, and indeed new moves toward ethical consumption and carbon footprints and such have been incorporated in fashion for many. But, with my interests and values, I do not really focus on fashion that much and I am certainly not interested in reading the top 100 tips on applying eyeliner by whoever out there in cyberspace. I feel that my interest in art is compatible with appreciating fashion, but I do not really find fashion as compelling.
That is not to say I am not fashion conscious, indeed I buy jewellery on etsy quite often and I am usually around when there is a huge (online) sale. But I would say it does not really play a huge part in my life and I don’t really think that looking at fashion blogs will make me feel better about myself. My path is a different one.
