What is a Fashion Blogger Anyway?
I’ve searched for the definition of a Fashion Blogger, and the results are pretty awesome.
Here’s what I would consider a Fashion Blogger to be in the most traditional sense…
Someone with a website, reporting on fashion and the fashion industry from their own unique perspective. We typically view this person as trendy and usually provides useful tips and information.
Here’s a scenario description from the book, “Fashion Design Course” by Steven Faerm….
A 32-year old woman who recently got engaged, is a well-known fashion blogger and is aspiring to become a more global presence on the Internet. Appearance is key, since much of her job involves attending social events so that she can research what’s new and feature it on her blog. Having worked in public relations for several fashion designers prior to launching her blog, she’s highly adept at networking and getting access to private parties. Her style allows for easy mobility yet must showcase her very latest trends and collections, as she must stand out as an authority on current fashion. Her favorite labels are Marni and Jonathan Saunders, because the houses’ silhouettes transition easily from day to night, and the bold graphic patterns never fail to get her photographed for the latest newspaper’s society and fashion section. As a fashion blogger, she knows that she is her own brand.
And a comical one from Urban Dictionary…
Fashion bloggers are a kind of species of fashionistas that dedicate their lives to their fashion blog, a place where they post pictures of the latest runway trends that no one can ever afford (including themselves) or pictures of themselves in slutty poses wearing things they considered fashionable, such as a fur coat with neon green booty shorts and high heels.
Fashion bloggers come in different personas, the most common cases include the stupid 14 year old rich girl, and the 25 year old single girl who can't afford shit.
Can’t forget this one…
A person who steadily collaborates photos of people who are thinner and cooler than them, hanging out with people cooler than their friends, in places cooler than they've ever been. This person doesn't really commit themselves to the trends that they copy out of russh and oyster mags, but lets their 'blog do the talking' about their unique style.
They then intersperse the photos that they have taken of their sisters/friends/from google with commentary that is largely irrelevant or self-righteous, and not a lot more than what everyone else has been saying. Seems to think other people give a shit.
Lol, wow. I don’t really agree with urban dictionary but I thought it was funny and let’s be honest, it’s not 100% false.
I’ve been asking myself this question for a couple of months now. I recently was talking to a friend, and I mentioned that when COVID hit I lost my job and applied to and was accepted for unemployment and food assistance. She was shocked! She said to me, “so you’re on Instagram wearing all Dior (and being a “blogger”) but you’re collecting food stamps from the government? You fraud!” It was a light hearted comment and we were laughing, but it totally got me thinking, what do people think Fashion Bloggers do? Who do they think we are supposed to be?
I tried to ask people on Instagram through my stories, to see if I could get an idea of what other people in the industry thought the definition was, but no one responded (lol). Actually, one girl responded and I think she said something along the lines of, “someone that has a better fashion sense than me.” Thank you to that one girl!!
All of this prompted me to look and think into this topic a little deeper, as it seems everyone is an influencer or a blogger these days! And I know those are two different things …
When I first decided to get into fashion blogging, I definitely had the thought, why are people going to care what I have to say? And right now, I don’t think anyone really cares what I have to say lol and to be honest, I don’t really care what other people have to say… and I mean that in the nicest way because I think women are trying to not put so much energy into “the latest trends” and what the celebrities are wearing or what the runway looks are (because I agree, it’s not like we can even afford it), but rather wanting to beat to their own drum and just be themselves. From my view, people want to portray authenticity and wear whatever they want whether it’s trendy or not. Its hard to even want to emulate the hottest trends because there are so many brands producing the same things and people wearing the same outfits. I mean god, if I saw one more person wearing that Gucci belt I was going to lose it. At least for me, going into fashion, I just wanted to do my own thing. And I’m still trying to figure out what my own thing is. I don’t have a curated closet I didn’t know what my style was going into this. I had never defined my style in any way so I didn’t know what exactly I was going to be writing about but I knew I wanted to write. I knew I wanted to get thoughts out whether no one read it just to get it out of my head for AT LEAST the benefit of myself.
So if a fashion blogger is supposed to be reporting on the latest trends and fashion news or attending the hottest social events around town, but isn’t (and definitely isn’t with COVID happening), does that make them a fraud? I don’t think so. I mean we all fall for it, consciously or unconsciously. We’re not completely blindfolded to what’s going on around us. Like buying bell bottoms again in 2020. That didn’t just pop into our minds out of no where. Or biker shorts or the thick gold hoop earrings everyone is wearing right now. And I love those looks! But only after they I saw them more and more and I warmed up to them. So does that discredit me as a fashion blogger if I fall into the “early majority” or even “late majority” on the Lifecycle of Fashion graph instead of a being the “early adopters / leaders of fashion?” I think fashion blogging has become less of this socialite persona and more of this freedom to express yourself and your own style. I don’t think it has to be all about the trendsetter anymore.
I love talking about this with my boyfriend just because he’s a little removed so he has a fresh perspective on things. He always knows how to put my feelings into words in the best way. I asked him, am I trendy? What even is trendy? He said, THE TREND IS CONFIDENCE, and that’s what you want to wear, Gianna. I was like…PREACH!!
We also talked about the word ‘confidence’ and how it’s thrown around so much. I see Instagram bios like.. “Confidence Blogger” and “Blogger promoting self-confidence and self-love.” Like what? How? By posting pictures of ourselves in outfits that we purposefully pick out in poses we purposefully practice in pictures we curate and purposefully choose to put up on Instagram or on blogs? We can use our platform to write motivating captions all we want, but that doesn’t eliminate the person seeing the visual and wishing they could change something about themselves.
And listen, before Republic of G, I wasn’t confident to post a selfie or even a photo of just myself in it - like, hey take a picture of me and don’t be in it – just me. It was so weird to me. I didn’t know if I was going to be judged by people that knew me. I could hear them in my head being like “omg what is she doing? She needs to stop.” And that scared me because no one wants to be judged! So there is credit that needs to be given to those slayinnn on Instagram because it’s not easy!
I take 100’s of photos and I choose the best (maybe) 3 that I like. So everyone is talking about confidence but we’re all choosing our best most flawless photo, most of the time. So sometimes it’s hard to see anything but confidence. And that’s fine! We’re all doing it. That’s why I feel like this blog post is so important. There has to be a deeper conversation.
So how do you achieve that confidence? The conclusion that we came to is – confidence comes from doing the things you say you’re going to do.
And there’s different levels to that shit.
For example, when you say to yourself, “from now on, starting Monday, I’m never going to eat a carb again!” And then a week later you’re eating carbs because carbs are fuckin awesome, you can sometimes feel shitty about yourself, like you’ve failed or you’re not good enough or you don’t have what it takes.
When you set realistic, small goals (you can go back and read my previous blog on pairing habits to get a better sense of where this is coming from) you become the tortoise from the Tortoise and the Hare. And the tortoise wins at the end! This is what can help you achieve the confidence you strive for. Let me explain…
Christian and I try to wake up by 5am and go to bed by 9pm. We feel we’re more productive in the AM. That’s just us. We feel like we want to do the stuff for us first. After work I feel drained and just want to sit on the couch and do nothing so in the morning we feel this is the time to put our energy towards something that benefits us and then we can give energy to others. So we try and wake up by 5. And it’s fucking hard. We’ve failed a bunch, but we’ve also succeeded. And the last time we failed he said, I’m just gonna get out of bed and put ice on my face (it feels great and wakes us up) so its like, all I have to do is just get to the kitchen. Whatever happens after that happens.
Meanwhile, I’m over here creating a huge schedule like, at 5am I’m going to meditate at 6am, yoga at 6:30, working out then practicing Spanish then catching up on Instagram… and he’s like whoa, why are you putting so much pressure on yourself? Take baby steps. Just get up and get to the kitchen. And if we can do that consistently for 5 days then we can add meditation after and just build.
I didn’t really remember the story of the Tortoise and the Hare. Slow and steady wins the race, that’s all I knew. The story is basically about the rabbit who thinks it’s impossible for the turtle to beat him so he speeds ahead then takes a nap and doesn’t wake up in time. Moral of the story? Some of us are too caught up with instant gratification. We want to lose weight now. We want more money now. We want more followers and more brand deals now. We want to win the race now.
And that’s being the hare. But the hare burned out and had to take a nap. Burning out can have its set backs. Maybe you don’t feel like you after a while. Maybe you lose site of why you started to begin with.
But when you go slow and you do things with intention and set attainable, reachable goals, the end goal doesn’t seem so scary. When I do get up at 5am and walk myself to the kitchen, I did what I said I was going to do and I feel good about it. Then multiply that x5 and accomplish things that benefit the body, mind and soul, and the energy that is brought to the next phase (a job) is so different than the energy driven from getting out of bed at the last minute and rushing. You feel better when you accomplish things for yourself. I can’t deny it makes me a happier person and in an overall better mood!
So, that allows me to have conversations like this which turns into an important blog post.
Truthfully my thoughts are way more important than any photo I post on Instagram. This is where my confidence comes from. Doing things for myself and beign conscious of my thoughts and intentions and what I’m actually putting out into the world. I still want to provide style inspo for petite women around the world no matter how long it takes me to get there. And that’s okay, I’m having fun, getting in front of and behind a camera, tapping into creativity, learning new things, learning about fashion, working with a bathing suit company and taking a sewing class. I’m doing things for me. When you do things for you and actually go through with them it’s so much more rewarding than just posting a photo on Instagram and being obsessed with the reactions. At that point your doing something for others. The energy is misdirected.
So what’s a fashion blogger? I guess the definition can be a little loose. I want a blog about my own journey on finding my style and how I obtained the confidence to wear it. I want to optimize my life, my every day and my every hour. Then I want to share my successes and my realizations. I want to be honest without being fearful of making a mistake or saying the wrong thing and being labeled. I’m learning and I want to continue to have fun while I do it.
If people like what I put out then great! If they don’t, then great. Take it or leave it. I try not to care about the likes so much but rather focus on doing what is best for me and hopefully that inspires someone else to do the same for their own lives.
That’s the type of Fashion Blogger I want to be.
With Love,
G
