The Online 'In Crowd'

Claudia

Online 'In Crowd': Why Big Retail Is Courting Small Fashion Blogs

http://www.dailyfinance.com/20.....hion-blog/

"You might not have heard of Babblings of a Mommy or I SPY DIY, but more and more, fashion blogs like these have the ears of the nation's biggest retailers, and they're helping determine what you wear and how you wear it..."

13 years ago

Dressing

20 replies

Latest reply was from rae

Anonymous

Oooo. That sounds great Claudia, thanks! I'm off to read it now.

13 years ago

Anonymous

That was a really good read. I kept waiting to see YLF's name, but no luck. They are really missing out!

13 years ago

Claudia

Veteran

The marketing and promotional influence of certain bloggers in driving sales and hype on certain products and looks is undeniable and very smart of retail companies to exploit this marketplace. But the manipulation by big business bothers me in an admittedly conflicted way: I like seeing luxury brands that I might not know about otherwise, but when you start seeing a bunch of 20-something year old bloggers all with the same, or similar, $1,600 handbags that were "gifted" to them by the manufacturer, it bothers me. It creates unrealistic and unending want in consumers/readership. I dunno, it is sort of corrupt to me. It's the blurring of editorial and advertising that use to be a big no-no.

13 years ago

MsMary

Veteran

I was looking around for material for my copycat challenge yesterday, and I also noticed a whole passel of very young bloggers all sporting the very same very expensive handbags "c/o" the manufacturer. It makes me twitch a little.

13 years ago

Claudia

Veteran

MaryK, I am glad I am not the only one. Those Celine bags are nice, though, aren't they?!

13 years ago

MsMary

Veteran

Yes. Yes, they are. *sigh*

13 years ago

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

Doesn't make me want a Celine bag :p

13 years ago

Ana

(website)

Veteran

I definitely take inspiration from bloggers and it's fun to see them put outfits together with both high and low end items. And I admit that I will at least check out some items from stores that are in my price range if I see a blogger sport it in a way I hadn't thought of before. But I'm kind of with Claudia on the blurring of advertising and editorial. I think the more common it becomes, the more people will recognize it as advertisement, the way they do product placement now.

Also, I can't help but wonder how many bloggers are paying taxes on these "gifted" items? Isn't it kind of like winning a car? I wonder how long it will be until the IRS notices this trend and starts coming down on them?

13 years ago

Kristin L

Veteran

Very interesting! Thanks for posting this!

I had never thought about the fashion industry using blogs this way for advertising. To me, blogs like these almost lose a little bit of integrity when they start promoting these expensive, high end items that most of us who read it can't afford. But, I can't blame them. If someone gave me a high end bag or shoes or whatnot, I think I'd be telling everyone else how awesome the bag was.

13 years ago

Claudia

Veteran

I wonder if this marketplace manipulation will eventually create a backlash. The original attraction to a lot of these fashion blogs was the organic creativity, style and taste of the bloggers themselves. The growing product placement and corporate influence detracts from this and makes it more and more artificial and manufactured. And a lot less inspirational and appealing.

13 years ago

rae

(website)

Veteran

This is why I love that Angie doesn't accept gifts from brands! Gifting like this turns "everyday" and "street style" blogs into advertisments... it really messes with your mind, making you think that this is what normal people like you are supposed to be able to wear "every day." Suddenly, maybe you start to feel inferior - like, wow, if that 20-year-old blogger can afford Celine, then maybe I'm totally failing as a pushing-30 professional! o_0

13 years ago

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

Actually I wonder about the pretty young things bloggers when they grow up. They're not going to look cute forever.

13 years ago

mrseccentric

(website)

Veteran

Thank you Claudia, i will read this later today. it's very nice to see so many savvy and questioning comments on this thread, and i agree wholeheartedly. I do really like the way that YLF has their policies explicitly spelled out, and how every sponsored post is quite visibly labelled as such.

i have a style blog and e-Shakti contacted me a few months ago to do a product review. The deal is you do a review, link back to their site, and you get to keep whatever product you review. Let me tell you, i busted my b7tt on that piece!! the first item they sent me was beautiful and the fit perfection - but the hem was very crooked and in a fabric and cut that's a real pain to fix. They were very responsive and told me to pick another item, so in the end i got to review more of what they offer (i did one custom-fit and one off the rack to compare the products).

I sweat bullets over the writing! i wanted to be as clear as i could, the last thing i wanted to do was to mess over my readers. In the end, the most used word about the review was 'candid'! But i did feel i was very honest with my readers about the whole process, the things that site has to offer and the less than perfect parts. But oy!! did i ever edit! And truth to tell i don't wear the first piece as i chose it more to get a feel for their product and custom fit process than how it would work in my closet.

I really can't respect bloggers who don't make their involvement with sponsors, etc. very clear. It's quite doable and makes your reviews, etc. just that more valuable. All the bloggers saying 'XYC is the greatest thing since sliced bread!' and leaving out "oh, and they gave me this $1500 bag and i let them edit my copy in return"......people aren't that silly. They catch on and pretty soon they just don't believe what you say. steph

13 years ago

bj1111

Veteran

many blogs have become businesses unto themselves hiring staff to write content, review/style merch. some have become blog moguls, acquiring similar blogs to manage as themom and pop blogger decides to commercialize webtraffic without sacrificing the dayjob.

13 years ago

Lisa

Veteran

Interesting article. I find I'm turned off by many fasion blogs because they are just advertisements. I get really tired of marketing all the time. Pop up ads and banners are enough.

13 years ago

jayne

Veteran

Slightly off topic, but I noted a blogger had done a small purge once, and when she did, she explained why. In the explanation of a pair of 'cool shoes' she admitted they were so painful to wear that they gave her blisters that bled on the first wear. So she never wore them again. BUT, she included them in several blog pictures as part of an outfit of the day....for months afterwards and never mentioned to her readers that she simply took them off after and used something else IRL. Responsibility, accountability, it is a bit missing in this blogger world, for some. OK, she fessed up, but how many people caught that months after? And how many people went out and bought those shoes on her 'implied' promotion of them?

Boils my blood actually.

13 years ago

Amy

(website)

Veteran

Claudia, you articulate my feelings on this perfectly.

Like others, I find this a turn off when reading fashion blogs.

13 years ago

velvetychocolate

Veteran

I read other fashion blogs occasionally, and really prefer YLF. There are lots of reasons for this, but in keeping with this topic - I must admit, I like reading a sponsored post instead of seeing an outfit where most of the items are "gifted" or whatever the term is.

I do like the outfit blogs, and I get a lot of good ideas. I don't like the outfit blogs that have too many items that are unreasonably priced and 'gifted'. It just doesn't seem realistic, and I don't find myself returning to read more.

Meanwhile, some of the posts that were sponsored here at YLF have been interesting, useful and fun to read. The whole Dove skincare series, the fab Nordstrom sponsored series that come up once in awhile, the Levi's series and others. I remember awhile back enjoying the story of Karen Kane and seeing how their company worked. It was fun to see contests, coupons and people trying out the clothes.

I just realized something. The difference here at YLF is that I feel like I'm being given something in some way. I'm being shown (thanks to Angie) some really good ideas from the Nordstrom store in terms of creating a capsule, I'm being shown how *I* can come up with some great outfits with Levi jeans. I'm learning something about Karen Kane and what it's like to make clothing in the US. Actually "meeting" the designers/owners of that company here on this site via interviews and the posts on the forum.

There are so many things that I enjoy and appreciate about YLF - I could go on and on, but in terms of potential advertising - I like how it's done here. I even like the ads on the site...I remember being delighted awhile back seeing this fab-looking and fun Smart Car ad. In terms of blog posts, I much prefer the 'sponsored' posts (instead of photos of an unachievable outfit featuring gifted items) - because I learn a lot, and I find them very useful. For instance, I know Nordstrom has a lot of great clothes, but I'm not so good at picking out outfits or capsules from their huge selection. Angie's posts really help! I don't think the special 'sale picks' posts are sponsored, but I really appreciate these too. I think Angie's NAS Picks posts are the only good thing about summer.

I also like that the giveaways are in a separate section, and aren't cluttering things up too much.

YLF is educational, useful, interactive and fun. Addictive too!

13 years ago

MsMary

Veteran

Jayne! That story is really awful! Ticks me off, man...

13 years ago

rae

(website)

Veteran

VC, really spot-on analysis! YLF makes me feel way more empowered and rich (not in the monetary term, but in the sense that there is a lot to work with), while I stay away from many others that leave me wanting. I also never realized the broad implications of the term "gift." I think I will start specifying in my own WIWs that my "gifted" items are from, like, my mom - not the brand!

13 years ago

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