Bloggers - do the freebies affect your opinion? - YouLookFab Forum

Category

Inspiration

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

Bloggers - do the freebies affect your opinion?

cheryle (Dianthus)

(website)

Veteran

I started following a few bloggers a while back and have noticed that some of them seem to be wearing clothes that are "c/o" or sponsored by "x" in almost every post. One of the reasons I follow bloggers is to get ideas and inspiration and to keep up with trends. Perhaps it is unfair, but knowing that an individual is receiving a significant volume of clothing for free for wearing the items in their blog makes me feel that they are less genuine. I suspect it is because I wonder if the opinion and recommendation is swayed by the freebies and also that it is much easier to put together interesting and diverse outfits when you have an almost unlimited supply of new clothes coming in the door without having to worry about pesky things like budgets.

How about you? Do you feel less likely to follow a blogger when you realize that they are wearing mostly pieces that were given rather than chosen?

27 replies

Latest reply was from Karie

Anonymous

I agree!!!!!!!

I don't always know immediately when a blogger is wearing sponsored clothes, but when I do come to realize it, I stop visiting that site all together. I loose interest because I feel duped in some way. It definitely is easier to put together great outfits when the clothes are donated. The whole thing feels icky to me.

Where do you look on a site to see if the clothes were gifted by a particular brand?

donnat

Veteran

Yes, clothing sponsored, and lovely high end cosmetics. I am definately less likely to follow someone whos opinion is sponsored. The other thing that turns me off is contests, or give aways of some sponsored item. I have no time for that.

Elizabeth P

Veteran

It doesn't really bother me. I'm not looking at blogs out of a sense of admiratioon for someones' style, as much as I am looking for outfit ideas. Mind you their style also needs to resonate if I'm going to bother looking at them a few times. But if thier styling ideas are theirs or not, doesn't really matter to me. I see it as clothes on a "real" body rather than on a model in a catalogue. And sometimes it's nice to know that the pieces are available!

Mary Beth (formerly LBD)

(website)

Veteran

I'm not bothered by it. Bloggers share their ideas and creativity, and it is available for free to readers like us. I consider freebies, and income generated from clicks, a part of their paycheck. If the item was purchased or donated, is immaterial to me. I am there to enjoy their ideas and take what inspiration I can.

Where I recently found myself turned off, is by a blogger who I really liked, who presents herself as having this attainable, casual, cool, urban, hip, everyday style with her carefully curated wardrobe - only to find she is shooting at least a month of outfits in advance - and that she doesn't wear her outfits at home. I feel like this person has gone to great lengths to sell us her 'system' - only to find it's somewhat of a lie. I still enjoy the blog, but I see the gimmick in it now.

Claudia

Veteran

It does bother me when I see something like all the young, twenty-something "In" bloggers being gifted-c/o so many of those $1,700 Proenza Schouler PS1 handbags, and all those ubiquitous $1,200 Balenciaga cut-out ankle boots (which even became known as "the balenciaga blogger booties") all at the same time, all over the web, incorporating them into their daily street-style photos. As If.

There is something wrong and icky about that.

On the other hand, in order to keep on blogging with fresh content and material (literally and figuratively) which must get really tedious, especially when the well runs dry, and to seek financial gain and compensation for their efforts, I can see why they do it. Also what Elizabeth P wrote.

So I have somewhat mixed feelings.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Along with what Elizabeth wrote, if the outfit works I don't mind where they got the pieces - but I am interested in seeing their sense of style and if they accept and wear anything they receive it is probably going to be hard to retain a coherent style. So it doesn't bother me in principle but sometimes does in practice.

approprio

(website)

Veteran

I think it depends on the blogger and whether they can present gifted clothing with a sense of authenticity. Leandra Medine and Susie Lau are both professional stylists and will be getting freebies for sure, but so what? I admire their style, I'm hungry for new ideas and I trust them not to put rubbish in front of me just because they got it for nix. Like LBD says, it's all part of their livelihood and the reason why we look at them.

What bothers me far more is the cynical sameness that's running through the fashion blogosphere right now. Blandly gorgeous young girls with variations on the same hair, the same silhouette, the same shoes, all parading the same brands without any kind of originality or critical thought. I wish they would go away.

thimblelina

(website)

Veteran

I don't begrudge them some perks of the job, but I pretty quickly lose interest when they just start shilling stuff weekly. That's why I appreciate the Vivienne files so much. She doesn't do that at all! I think J's daily fashion only uses items purchased out of her own working budget, and she's very transparent about budget. I just think she buys A LOT of stuff & has a much deeper closet than I would ever want to own or maintain. I'm a visual person so really I prefer street style snaps where I can enjoy color and proportion and trends without all the chit chat. (Lil less conversation, lil more action... thank you Elvis!)

Laurinda

Veteran

I stopped following one blogger who promoted a bogus health cure. Fashion promotion I'm okay with, but quackery crosses the line.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

I tend to only subscribe to bloggers who are more on the 'regular folks' end of things, who might occasionally get free stuff but generally wear what they buy themselves and wear to their regular jobs. I occasionally visit the blogs of professional blogger/stylists, but I don't find them that useful for me since my lifestyle and budget are very different.

rabbit

Veteran

It doesn't bother me in theory, nor does the shooting items ahead of time, since that's just a practical way to get good professional photos. I change out of my street clothes at home nearly everyday if I'm not going to be seeing anyone else, so that doesn't bother me either. But like Elizabeth, I'm just looking at the overall idea, I wouldn't seek out the exact same clothes to buy.

I'm much more interested in images of outfits that convey a distinct personality, and often that contain some older, worn, or vintage clothes. The only blog I regularly go back to for visual ideas is the Satorialist, although I think I've barely scraped the surface of seeking out interesting street style blogs. I'm not so into Pinterest because most of the 'street-style' outfits I see there look like standard catalog shoots or something.

Elle

Veteran

I know bloggers need to earn income some way but I am bothered when I see too many sponsored posts or free clothing. I generally stop reading the blog because I feel that I'm not reading about their taste in clothing.

Anonymous

I hadn't really thought about this too much I have to say, as I just tend to look for ideas. However... Catherine Summers of 'Not Dressed as Lamb' has done two posts from a couple of months back, that address the subject of freebies, reviews and pay, time taken to write reviews etc. very interesting. This is the original post : http://www.notdressedaslamb.co.....views.html

and this is a follow up post with opinions from various bloggers.. :http://www.notdressedaslamb.co.....s-bloggers. Quite though provoking and interesting points of view and seemingly not always as hunky dory as it would seem.

Tina

Veteran

As long as they are forthright about sponsored items it doesn't bother me. I can appreciate the time and effort that goes in to what they do and some compensation is fair.
Has anyone else noticed that the vast majority of commenters are other bloggers who, in turn, post a link to their own blog? It seems as though there's a lot of self promotion going on.
Also, I question what is meant by the term 'real work horse'. If you are constantly wearing new clothes, how exactly does anything become a work horse. I guess everyone has their own definition of the term. To me it must be something worn repeatedly for at least a season, the indication could be there within a month but if that's the end of an items usefulness it still hasn't gotten that much wear.

Ornella

(website)

Veteran

I cannot relate to the heavily sponsored blogs (nor seasonally confusing ones, but that's another matter) because to me the majority seem fake and disconnected from the real life and real women's style needs. It's like ads in the glossy magazines. Which I no longer read, so that says it all.

crutcher

Veteran

When the item /items look like the philosophy of style that the blogger aspires to, then I don't notice...It is when the blogger comes out in something that just doesn't work that I loose interest...Some of the pages I go to can pull that thing off well...most can't...I guess I don't have time to be advertised to...so I move on...

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

I just don't follow those kinds of bloggers, not regularly at least. It's not that I have a problem with them being in business this way, it's that I inherently am not as interested in the daily outfit blog. (Maybe I would have more outfit variety if I did!)

This is what I love about Angie. She and Greg have figured out other ways to monetize their blog. (Which is a reminder everyone, to do your on-line shopping through YLF Collect/Finds buttons or links! So Angie and Greg get a small reward for their genius site.)

cheryle (Dianthus)

(website)

Veteran

Interesting variety of replies. I first noticed it with one particular blogger and won't name names but she describes her career as part of the "about me" and has a lot of really good posts about style and choices. It wasn't until I had been reading for a month or so that I noticed how many of the pieces were donated. I do understand that for someone who is a stylist by profession, the blog can be a means of advertising and drawing revenue and I am okay with that. I guess I just felt a little deceived. Perhaps that is unfair.

thanks for sharing your opinions. Denise, thanks for the reminder too.

Diana

Veteran

Eh, it doesn't really bother me for the most part. I think of most blogs as like reading a magazine, in the sense that there is some editorial presence and necessarily some artifice. A good blogger (and a good magazine) makes the sponsorship/ads work within her style framework. It's usually pretty obvious who the ones who are doing it for the freebies are.

Also, for me most blogs (with the exception of YLF) are primarily eye candy. I couldn't care less whether they paid for the dress or not, just that it makes for a great outfit.

Dimity

I find it interesting when bloggers choose to collaborate with a company or look that jars with their style. Perhaps it's to build a sponsored relationship or to finally get some pay back from the hours invested? Some do it well and others aren't quite as sure footed in their approach.
I'm always amused by the number of blog photos taken in the middle of a road. The blogger is either just standing there or striding purposefully across the street, sometimes they are pretending to hail a cab. Is there a class in photography school that tells budding snappers to position people in a street to provide spontaneity or movement or something?
Probably more than the sponsored clothing, the lemming like outfits are a real turn-off for me. I'm looking for ideas, not another version of the same outfit. I am so tired of the skinny jeans uniform and I think there are enough olive green military style jackets ("oh, it goes with everything!") out there to create a whole new army. Now my local Kmart stocks them so I'm definitely not going to!

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

Like Elizabeth, I'm looking for outfit ideas or new ways to wear things. It doesn't really matter to me whether the blogger paid for all of her clothes or not. Heck, I wish I could get a gig where someone would give me freebies of stuff I like! New sewing machine of my favorite brand? I'd take it! I do pay attention to reviews, though, to see whether the person has a relationship to the item being reviewed. It would irk me to find out that they hadn't been up front with that information.

Echo

Veteran

Almost ALL bloggers do a sponsored post from time to time (like Angie's Cuddl Duds post last winter). This alone does not bother me, as there are costs associated with keeping a busy site operating. I don't begrudge anyone making a living. When it crosses the line and the majority of posts are sponsored, then I regard the blog more like HSN or the hour long infomercials on late night television.

I generally follow someone because they have great style and a great eye. When they are wearing a sponsored piece or outfit, then I always wonder if it is something they would have chosen on their own or whether they are just doing it for the promo. So I overlook occasional posts like that and don't discontinue following someone until I feel that the majority of what they post is compromised.

Deborah

Veteran

I follow a handful of bloggers who do not receive gifted clothing. They are real women who blog for a hobby or artistic expression and I find them incredibly inspiring. They are are my favourite reads.

I do also read some blogs that do have sposored posts and receive gifted clothing but I feel that they are honest and don't compromise their personal style.

Then there are those blogs that are totally commercialized. I have no issue with them at all, but they are not the ones I tend to read. They tend to be quite homogenised and reflective of only current trends with little individual expression. Now again, I think that's fine, some readers will be very inspired by that but I find I am not.

Mary Beth (formerly LBD)

(website)

Veteran

Diane, that post by Not Dressed As Lamb, about bloggers being paid, was very, very good! Thank you for sharing! It is funny, I never really considered style blogging as an 'art' form - but I see the parallels to what musicians, dancers, actors and artists go through - you invest all this time and money in developing a skill, and everyone expects you to give away your time and talent for free or for peanuts.

I don't think I have ever noticed someone hawking a freebie, in a way that contradicts or conflicts with the consistency of their style, but then, I think it's because I have a list of blogs that I follow religiously. Even though some of them get freebies, their style integrity seems very consistent.

When I find a new style blog, before I read anything, I usually scroll down the page and look at the photos across assorted posts. If I am intrigued, I start reading.

Dgusanl

Yes if it's a blog with just sponsored clothing that irks me. I'm looking for inspiration and original ideas. And ways to mix up what you already have.
Also blogs with outrageously expensive items, if the outfit costs more than a small car you've lost me

eds

I don't mind it from time to time but a regular dose of it seems to turn a blog into one long commercial and that gets old and tedious to me. I tend to just quit checking in on those.

Karie

(website)

Veteran

It doesn't bother me all that much, but I do prefer bloggers who do not do the "c/o" thing. I think the ones that do are very lucky to have all those clothes!