Style blogs and freebies

[FallonColby]

Is it just me or does anyone else get annoyed with the amount of freebies style bloggers get. For example, one blogger was berating the fact she had nothing to wear to an event, unsurprisingly she was then contacted by a company who gifted her a dress. I am sure this was not the bloggers intention but I am annoyed at seeing blogs I have previously enjoyed turn into a constant advert. It just takes the reality out of it.

[MrsCampbellBlack]

Oh lovely - am very tempted by the navy one! Its very Marant

[theladylovescupcakes]

I enjoy fashion blogs, especially Poppy's Style, Susie So So, 40Bum, All Worn Out, SGS and a few others I check daily weekly. I think if you're putting yourself out there, on a blog, you're probably confident in your style and what you're wearing. There are some outfits where I think "oh dear", but they're not dressing to please me, but themselves. But I really wish they'd come up with another pose rather than the pigeon toed one we're all bored of seeing. I also notice that certain items seem to do the rounds amongst some of the blogs, which kinda defeats the purpose, doesn't it? If everyone's wearing the same thing? I also like clickable links, so I can shop if something takes my fancy. And disclosure too, when being "gifted" stuff.

[libertychick]

That's what WIT said - she has featured half a dozen or so Mango items that she says will give you the Marant look . I am really hoping it fits will be horrified if the large doesn't fit but alas it has been known to happen to me in Zara so assume Mango could be the same

[WipsGlitter]

I agree with theladyloves they all got 'gifted' the seven boot lane boots and that was a bit tiresome seeing it popping up over and over again and they were mega expensive as well!!

[MrsCampbellBlack]

Those seven boot lane boots were vile - there's a shop in Bath, not that I've ever seen it open but they all look horrid.

I did laugh a little when I saw the next freebie jacket posts yesterday

Liberty - I've got the same Etoile Marant jacket as WIT from last year and its very very similar.

[BelindaAllWorkedOut]

Liberty - I have indeed been in Mango lately! I am a 10, and wear S in Mango jackets. I think they make some fabulous stuff. Plenty of nasty tat, but some lovely pieces, hiding away in amongst it. Those jackets look great!

[libertychick]

Thanks Belinda. That's good - hopefully they should fit then in the medium. I will report back...

[Fabulousfashionista]

What did you think of the Next jacket posts then? They did say they were gifted to them. I think it is a fair soft option for this trend.

[WipsGlitter]

I thought the "jacket" itself was pretty hideous. A zippy sweatshirt cardi??! Hardly the height of fashion!

[wools]

I agree that the jacket itself was horrid and therefore a difficult item to style - difficult for any of the bloggers to make look good.

[dexter73]

I wondered if they had given the jacket away as it wasn't selling so they were hoping to boost their sales a bit. The jacket itself was alright but I didn't like either colour.

[SecretSquirrel13]

Which blogs did it feature in? I haven't seen any.

[princessdave]

School Gate Style, School Run Style, Poppy's Style, What Lizzy Loves, Avenue 57 & apologies to the 6th one, I forget.

[CambridgeBlue]

Actually I have just ordered that jacket so Next giving away freebies may have worked in their favour! I saw it on SGS and thought it would fill a useful gap in my wardrobe - I need a jacket that's comfy and not too smart and it looked a good option although it may well be awful on.

[StyleOverSubstance]

This has been an interesting thread, lots of people making the same sort of comments about not liking the obvious gifted items that a blogger is suddenly writing about - where it is a brand they have never previously looked at or a style that is not one usually associated with the majority of the posts. A lot of people like to see a variety of items on the same theme to compare, even if it is something that doesn't work for the blogger. Most readers don't seem to want too much information on the bloggers family (but then a lot of people read blogs as a form of escape from family life and have their own children anyway) but like a bit of the lifestyle info and will often choose a blogger who has a similar lifestyle/bodyshape to themselves.

Think most blogs have a limited life cycle, like a business, they have to keep growing and evolving to keep people interested. but there seems to come a point where the 'uniqueness' of it that first attracted readers is lost as it tips over from being a personal opinion to being influenced by 3rd parties interested in promoting their products as the blog becomes more successful and can attract revenue from advertising and the readers are very quick to spot it and will either stay with it or lose interest. The most consistently liked seem to be the ones which don't evolve into a business, but stay true to their roots as the blogger is free to follow their own tastes.

Have looked at some other blogs I hadn't previously known about and will now follow, thanks to comments about likes and dislikes of other posters.

[MrsCampbellBlack]

Good summary styleoversubstance

[FallonColby]

Well said Styleoversubstance, I've found it interesting too, my friends don't read fashion blogs so it's been good to be able to discuss it with others.

[StyleOverSubstance]

Why thank you, ladies.

Just shows though that blogs and that form of instant media are very fickle as people are very savvy and very aware of content. I suspect that quite a few who have become very successful may find that it is a short lived thing as they will lose followers as quickly as they gained them if the blog is perceived to lose its integrity and just become a form of selling.

I have noticed a huge amount of seven boot lane, next and boden being pushed on certain blogs and they are not brands I would particularly associate with that blogger - certainly not in the volume that the blogger is implying.

Not to mention the ebaying of the clothing that they supposedly couldn't do without, wore lots and recommended when it is listed as 'worn once or twice'.

One of the blogs I follow has recently changed its format as it has become more successful and now seems to be basically a shop with a couple of posts attached and the layout website itself is not particularly user friendly - very bitty and fragmented with lots of adverts dotted all over, so I have a feeling I wont be dipping into that one for much longer.

[foxysocks]

one blogger is now selling the seven boot lane boots she was presumably gifted...... for £90! cheeky. gone RIGHT down in my estimation.

[Mignonette]

Yes I have now unfollowed nearly all of them over the last few days.

I stick to Tales of Endearment now- Natalie Joos voice and taste is authentic, her fashion knowledge is vast and contacts impeccable.

I am not interested in reading all about the latest promo visit to whatever shop or a bloggers kids or home life. I don't want posts that are running commentaries of said visit to shop/promo interspersed with photos of items the PRs want us to buy.

I want location and a sense of location scouting and thought put into. I want writing that knows about fashion, understands history, reference and technique and assumes a level of knowledge in its readers. I want quirkiness in word and idea not writing that reads like copy from a shop website.

I'm sorry but I don't want to read about what Mum wore today to school/office etc. I guess that makes me not the demographic that most of the blogs on here are aimed at. I want imagination, fantasy and need to have my game raised not kept bumping along with the rest of the herd.

Does that make me sound snobby? Maybe. It isn't about the designer end though. Many of the writers I like mix vintage with closet shopping with High St with Designer. Many of them definitely have a life that doesn't revolve around shopping- indeed the best bloggers don't focus upon this at all. There is an absence of acquisitiveness and a spirit of pleasure and enjoyment in all aspects of art and culture of which fashion is one part.

[AmberNectarine]

I guess the beauty of it all is that there are so many blogs out there that there will be something to suit everyone :)

I think there are two main camps, those who want high-fashion, very aspirational blogs with breathtaking photography and those who really do just want something that will translate into their lifestyle neatly and don't really mind if it's snapped on an iPhone.

[Mignonette]

I liked your Adidas post today Amber. Was that a Stella design for them as she did the pineapple thing in an early collection? I have one of her pineapple vests.

[CambridgeBlue]

Update on the Next jacket all the bloggers were wearing the other day - I look crap in it! Feels really soft and comfy but makes me look frumpy and a size larger, probably due to the quilted jersey fabric. Going back.

[AmberNectarine]

No it's a collaboration with a Brazilian label called Farm who do awesome prints. There is another print in the collection which is loads of tiny Toucans which I think is awesome!

[Mignonette]

That sounds so cool Amber. Getting on board with all things Brazilian is a good commercial decision I imagine. Will go have a look.