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Original poster

Style blogs and freebies

361 replies

FallonColby · 27/03/2014 09:47

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.

OP posts:
Vickiyumyum · 01/04/2014 14:02

jumped, I've had this too. Saw a dress on a blog, it had sold out online and in store, stalked ebay for it. Found and bid on it, won it, it arrived smelling of deodorant but still had tags attached, so I tried I on and washed it. was only a month or two later I noticed the real name of the blogger and it was her ebay dress. She too had claimed that she loved the dress and had worn it several times since!

nipersvest · 01/04/2014 14:13

i bought a top in the sale last summer which i really liked after seeing a style blogger rave about it, went back to the blog and left a comment asking about how it had washed, response back was that she hadn't actually worn it since trying it on and photographing it for the blog. doesn't make that much difference to me as i liked the top regardless but it does make you wonder how genuine some style bloggers are.

LordPalmerston · 01/04/2014 16:28

I once sold something to noddyholder from here on eBay

MrsNoodleHead · 01/04/2014 18:46

I have followed the twentymumthing blog from the start, and have to say that I despair whenever there is a sponsored blog post. Amber's style is so individual and strong the rest of the time that my heart sinks when she suddenly starts raving about twee pieces from The Dressing Room.

TheJumped · 01/04/2014 18:55

Without realising LP? You must both have equally awful great taste Grin

LordPalmerston · 01/04/2014 19:34

it was a pair of jeans

then I saw her name and address and emailed " you could have just texted me you know" HOW we lolled

Myclosetisbiggerthanyours · 02/04/2014 19:03

Isn't it a bit naive to think these bloggers do it for nothing? I imagine it's quite time consuming. They may not start with the intention of making money but if it is successful and people read why not? We are too quick to begrudge success in the Uk instead of applauding entrepreneurship. No one is making us read or buy - we can choose not to if monetized links or sponsorship is offensive. I personally think SGS is doing amazing to create a business from it - regardless of what you think of her style (and I am pretty different) - I think it's a good read with great tips - good for her I say!

Myclosetisbiggerthanyours · 02/04/2014 19:06

Oh and PoppysStyle is promoting stuff and trying to sell stuff today - I still love to see what she is wearing though and she shared a code! poppys-style.com/2014/04/02/arm-candy/

Fabulousfashionista · 02/04/2014 19:28

Where is the solidarity here ? The bloggers that you are all banging on about are Mums, doing what they love, and, BUGGER ME, some of them might (just might) be getting some revenue from it. So what. Do you really think that this is a bad/horrendous/unreasonable idea? As long as they are being truthful. I would have an issue if it was totally insincere. Just to let you know I blog but I do not make any money from it. I am not doing a blog for that reason but it may evolve and, in time, I reserve the right to change if it works for me. Blogs take a good deal of time to do and you can always remove them from your' Bloglovin list if they jar with you THAT much. How fantastic that the internet allows people to start up businesses this way. Especially if you are a Mum, at home, with talent that is, potentially, being wasted. LIGHTEN UP PEOPLE.

Kudzugirl · 02/04/2014 19:35

I have no problem with it as said earlier because the fashion press is even more beholden to whatever freebie, jaunt or schmooze the PR companies, fashion companies etc have sent them on or given them.

The idea that bloggers are somehow more partial than the fashion and beauty press is a joke.

dexter73 · 02/04/2014 19:58

It's not the making money out of it that I have a problem with. For me it is that someone is promoting something they have been given for free rather than what they have chosen themselves. Do they really like it or are they just saying they do? From the posts about stuff being ebayed or never worn again it would appear that some just say they do.

MrsCampbellBlack · 02/04/2014 19:59

I don't begrudge anyone any money they make from a blog but once they start doing endorsements, I lose interest really.

But SGS seems to be doing really well so all power to her.

BelindaAllWorkedOut · 02/04/2014 20:03

Some of the blogs that have been mentioned on this thread are, in my opinion, great, and perhaps what makes them so is that the blogger can justify spending the time necessary, as it brings them some income.

Hopefully these blogs (and my workwear one Grin) can generate income and also keep their readers happy. There are obviously some fairly clear views as to what does and doesn't achieve this.

BelindaAllWorkedOut · 02/04/2014 20:04

Oops. About 4 cross posts.

daisy40ish · 02/04/2014 20:17

I have to say I disagree with a lot of things said here (this is not the first time) - I take these blogs for what they are and (for me) that's inspiration. If I don't like something or someone then I don't read. Why do You?

Drywhiteplease · 02/04/2014 20:21

I often see things on blogs I wouldn't wear anyway, I'm not idiot enough to buy stuff just because they like it, so it makes no difference to me how they get hold of the stuff....

AmberNectarine · 02/04/2014 20:22

Interesting comments. To clarify what I said above, I don't do 'sponsored posts', though I do accept the odd freebie. Someone mentioned upthread my relationship with The Dressing Room, and while, yes, they do give me the odd item, a lot of the posts I do for them, I do because they are a UK independent retailer and I think it is hugely important to support that sort of enterprise. I dread the day these retailers are driven off our high street for yet more mass produced sweatshop tat. I do, indeed have a very distinct style, but I do also really enjoy dressing up in the clothes they send me (which I return) to promote their sales, because I do think one can become too firmly embedded in one's comfort zone. No, I probably wouldn't buy that multicoloured kaftan but I enjoy the experience of trying it and the challenge of trying to make it work with my existing wardrobe.

However I don't agree with the need for us all to be sisterly and never say a bad word about another mother's blog. I welcome all feedback, positive or negative, and I've been really interested to hear what people think on the subject. I'd rather people posted comments to say they didn't like something than just hit 'unfollow'.

LordPalmerston · 02/04/2014 20:23

women? Solidarity?

NAIVE!

LordPalmerston · 02/04/2014 20:24

i like amber best in her work stuff - you suit a tailored Hepburn look imo better than the ripped jeans.
I would love more of that ( but NOT resorting to shitty viv of holloway shite) in your casual clothes

daisy40ish · 02/04/2014 20:24

Most bloggers I know CHOOSE what they want to blog about so they do get to choose the clothing/footwear.

What I can't stand is the fashion blogger blogging about random things like hose pipe extensions or back yard clearance services - really?????

daisy40ish · 02/04/2014 20:31

I'm confused what is the difference between a sponsored post and a freebie? I get that one is money across the palm and the other is an item of clothing/whatever - same thing??

AmberNectarine you said "To clarify what I said above, I don't do 'sponsored posts', though I do accept the odd freebie.

AmberNectarine · 02/04/2014 20:35

A sponsored post is generally being paid to plug something. A freebie is something you are sent with no obligation to post about it. I have been sent many things that never see the light or day on my blog and likewise I have turned down things I don't want. If I do receive something I like and want to wear on the blog I will always say I was given it.

AmberNectarine · 02/04/2014 20:37

I should add that for a sponsored post that the retailer will generally specify some/all of the content. I won't do that.

LordP funny you should say that as while I like my workwear I always feel I'm playing dress up. I feel much more me in ripped jeans! Also a bit tricky with two ankle biters who will leave a snot snail trail on anything nice.

LordPalmerston · 02/04/2014 20:38

i bet.. love the sharp lines

FrugalFashionista · 02/04/2014 20:39

I used to be a blogger around the time when the social media marketing breakthrough happened. Lots of swag, but like always, it was the mostly the small unknown brands chasing me. Scratch that, I did score some freebies from Chanel, Dior and Hermes but that isn't super difficult with perfume

Bloggers are a really cheap way of getting publicity for manufacturers. You hand out some samples / some of your products, or organize a party with a gift bag, and most bloggers are happy with that. And they reach their peers, and peer endorsement and personal recommendations tend to be taken much more seriously than something you see in an ad.

Freebies do influence your judgment - you feel obliged to mention them and the smaller the brand and the more personal their way of contacting you, the more indebted you feel. But as a blogger you have to invest a lot of time and money upfront (isn't a Canon EOS normative? Wink) and at least in my case, it was purely a hobby and I invested much more money in it than I ever received in gifts. Not surprisingly, I soon got tired of providing content for free and started prioritizing forms of writing that actually pay at least some bills Wink

What was genuinely lovely though were the people I met through blogging - quite a few fellow bloggers and regular commenters became RL friends. The blog is long dead, the friendships remain...