The Fame + Fashion Bloggers
I will preface what I'm going to say with the bloody obvious: this is my blog and I can say whatever I want so, if you think you'll be offended, please feel free to press the [x] in your top left or right screen corner and/or leave me a comment.
I've been particularly disgusted with what I've been seeing in the fashion blogger world. From fashion bloggers becoming "celebrities" to legions of young women and men, trolling behind a vapid, fame-whoring, aspiring model. I just don't get it. For me, fashion blogging is about sharing with the world my thoughts, images and ideas. The fact that there are 300+ of you that care about what I have to share at all impresses me every day and I am extremely thankful for that. However, I can't imagine posting, day after day, endless photographs of the 'cool and amazing' outfit that I scripted for a photoshoot in a trendy setting, thanks for my aspiring photographer boyfriend/best friend for thousands of people to drool over. Where's the fun in that? What do I gain from idol worship?
Wait, those last two questions were completely stupid -- I know precisely what one stands to gain from mindless idol worship: F A M E + M O N E Y. And maybe I'm just bitter because I don't have piles of cash pouring into my bank account for representing brands I either loathe or don't know anything about because I'm a poor law student with shit-to-do but it is still something to marvel at.
I mean think about it for a moment: who the hell has time to post every single day, photographs in a field of tall grass, underneath some abandoned bridge, in front of shops in Meatpacking/Soho/insert trendy shopping area in NYC here, without being independently wealthy? Like I separate the obviously wealthy bloggers from those just "trying to make it." In the former class, you have the girls who pretty much buy every single thing they see in Vogue, wear the looks almost precisely as they appeared on the runway or in an ad and hire some photographer to snap them looking as incredible as ever in their new duds (for that particular day). In the latter class, however, they tend to shop at these so called "vintage" stores that also carry deplorable brands like Forever21, pile on the accessories and essentially mimic whatever the Olsen has done before them. Goodness! Sounds like I've generated a formula for instant fashion blogger success! Well, let me add a few more necessary requirements:
1) You must be tall and thin if you want to be explosively famous in the fashion blogger world. I've only come across ONE blogger that isn't at the very least thin (and am ever impressed at her success considering how insanely superficial the fashion world is).
2) You must be the general standard of beauty. You know, anglo-esque features, long hair, perfect skin. The goal is to be what the vast majority of your readers are not, therefore, they worship you like a god.
3) If you can't afford to buy the help, date him or her. One cannot have a successful blog without some budding sartorialist in the bedroom. And if you can't shoot the magic realism, make yourself familiar with the fabulous world of photoshop (you know, because everybody's doing it).
4) You can't have proper employment. You need time to spend searching for the perfect location, lighting, meaningless activity to be documented "doing." There's nothing fashionable about having a proper 9-5 like the rest of the commoners.
5) You must shop until you drop. What I find most impressive I think about these explosively famous fashion bloggers, is their insatiable appetite for clothing consumption. Granted, the vast majority of their possessions are gifted to them by press hungry companies but for the remainder of their freshly acquired wardrobes, dolla-dolla bills y'all are being spent. I mean, we're having a fucking recession and I see brand new Alexander Wang bags popping up all over the place like they are raining from the sky.
And these women will get front row seats at all of the exclusive shows not because they are personal style mavens, as the vast majority of them not. They will get the seats because they have thousands of small-minded people lusting after the "this is not real life" lives that they lead. Lives that are afforded to them because of these very fucking people. And the vapid with beget the vapid, further disassociating from whatever self that may have ever existed. I don't get it. Or maybe I do but it sure as hell frustrates me. Whatever -- I'm ovulating and crabby because I have a tuition bill to fret over.
