Why Do You Read Fashion Blogs? - YouLookFab Forum

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Why Do You Read Fashion Blogs?

Monaco

Member

Why read fashion blogs versus a regular magazine (including the ones online)? Is it mostly for inspiration or something else?

Also, I notice lots of bloggers have links to online stores in MANY of their posts. I'm not sure why but have you guys ever bought anything that a blogger recommended? If so, what was the product?

I'm new to the forum and I recently just became interested in fashion in
my mid 20s. I'm now starting to read fashion blogs and i LOVE quite a
few (brooklynblonde.com and happilygrey.com are one of my favorites!!).

Thanks for reading my first post! I'm already in love with this forum and cannot wait to make make new friends!

General

21 replies

Latest reply was from Jaime

chirico (Chiara)

(website)

Veteran

I read fashion blogs mainly for inspiration, and to see what's on trend at the moment. I pick fashion blogs who's style I like and I can adapt to my daily life - Brooklyn Blonde is one of these.
Also, I like more "instructional" fashion sites, such as this one, Bridgette Raes or inside out style - great tips from them, useful for any style.
Italian fashion magazine are very out-there, even more than American ones: I don't k ow if anyone could wear the same exact outfits they show!

Kaelyn

Veteran

Welcome! I've been a YLF reader for a couple years but I'm new to the forum, too.

I read fashion blogs mostly for inspiration, and also to learn how to put things together in interesting ways (this site is BY FAR the best for those things I've seen, especially the second one, because Angie and forum members break things down so well). I prefer blogs over magazines because they are more accessible, because they have archives so I can see everything that's ever been posted, and because they're interactive.

Helen11

Veteran

I read this site regularly and another sporadically. There's so much more here than in a magazine , all the 'back issues' are searchable, and the experience and opinions of forum members are invaluable . I haven't ever made purchases through the links (due to international shipping). Welcome!

retailgirl

Veteran

I read blogs because the fashion is real life, what real people wear. Magazines are fantasy...although still lots of fun!

Summer

Veteran

Welcome, Monaco!
I'm one of the older members here, and I've been reading this and a few other style blogs for a few years now. I never really got into reading magazines, but I used to buy a lot of style books pre-internet - yes there was such a time! I'm more interested in the hows and whys of style, plus the chance to see how real women interpret fashion in their own unique way. I don't buy from the links for the same reason as Helen11, but I take away plenty of inspiration from Angie and the other forum members.

Anonymous

I read assorted fashion blogs every single day. I used to read a lot of fashion magazines when I worked out on cardio equipment. I haven't had the time to work out to work out and online fashion blogs replaced magazines rather quickly.

I love fashion blogs because in a flash you can determine whether that particular blogger relates to you and your style goals. If they don't then I am on to the next one. I come back religiously to the ones that I most closely relate. I study them for ideas/inspiration, but mostly I think of fashion as "art" and I appreciate each ensemble as a piece of art.

Have I ever bought anything recommended on the blog. On YLF, a definite "yes." There has been many, many times that I followed a link from YLF to a purchase.

I can't say the same for other websites. I may follow the link to the item, but something always prevents me from making a purchase. Some of the items linked to on fashion blogs are outrageously expensive or too costume-y for my life. But I also wonder if that particular blogger didn't receive what she is wearing as a promotion and she is recommending/raving about that item or items fictionally (i.e., yet another form of advertising). So although I may view the items, I never trust the source and I never buy.

gryffin

Veteran

Monaco - that's a great question. When I was in my 20's and starting work, I'd got into Ann Taylor and buy a complete outfit. That was my wardrobe. I didn't have personal style, so much as I had AT style but it was the 90's and those long jackets, body suits, ottoman ribbed leggings, tights, booties - a riff on DK 7 easy pieces forever informed my taste. Then I had my son, deranged hormonally driven fashion shift don't ask, by the time I woke up after that AT had changed. There was no small store that expressed my vision. Hence panic. For the first time, I had to cherry pick my own sartorial choices and I was in a total panic. So I started reading some blogs to see real women in real clothes. When I found YLF, which is the only blog I currently read regularly, I found women having conversations about fashion. It is so helpful to me to understand what I want to say sartorially and how I wish to express that. What I've learned is that I really have always known how I want to dress, YLF helped me learn about proportion and how to make it work without a brand curating all the pieces for me. As an individual I still make lots of mistakes, but they are my mistakes, my vision, my personal style. It's the conversations that helped clarify my thoughts and you can't get that from a magazine!! Although two books "elegant isn't easy" and "10 easy steps to fashion freedom" where terrific helps!!

kkards

Veteran

welcome!
i read fashion blogs almost daily, and i'm always looking for new to me blogs to check out…why…inspiration, and well, since most blogs link to what they are wearing, the ability to see actual items …since so often fashion magazines feature well, fashion, and not everyday items….
and yes, i've bought items that i've seen on YLF and other fashion blogs…often its because it was something i would have overlooked or because the item is not available in my city.

Helena

Veteran

Echoing others, the blogs I read have stuff I would actually wear ... I do buy the odd fashion magazine too, esp. the fall trends ones, for fun. I have stopped following a couple of blogs that started selling a lot of products on their stie - NOT because I have any issue with bloggers making money (in fact I think it's fantastic!), but because sometimes they seem less authentic when they go this way, so I don't trust their recommendations (e.g. they are selling products totally unrelated to the blog, or whatever).

This is something Angie does particularly well - I never feel I am being sold to, and so I would trust any reco on YLF, if that makes sense.

Colette

Veteran

I have a legacy subscription to InStyle but I don't read it as much as just quickly browse so I have more time to spend at YLF to see what real people are wearing for real life activities and how they sort through fashion dilemmas. And I have purchased several items recommended by Angie and forum members. One specific example of a purchase I made from Angie's recommendations is a moto jacket.

Regarding other blogs, I do look at some, YLF has a weekly spotlight on other bloggers and I do usually find something inspiring, but I only 'read' YLF. There are however some other blogs that I just follow on Pinterest because I consider them as only editorial. There is no way I'm walking around town in four inch stiletto heels, bare legged with only a faux fur vest in the middle of winter in the Midwest. I also do not have the budget for an endless array of Chanel purses. But I appreciate the artistic integrity of their outfits and have fun looking at them.

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Anonymous

I read far more magazines than I do other blogs, in fact, I read at least 20 magazines a month, from cover to cover. I have a fair number of blogs bookmarked on my computer, but there are only two I read daily : this one , and Keep it Chic. I follow a few on pinterest too. Why? For many reasons: reading magazines has been a hobby since I was about 12, and while some blogs have taken on that role for me , I still prefer an actual paper magazine to sitting in front of a screen. YLF is a different animal though - it really is an on-line magazine and not just daily screen shots of some woman wearing clothes co-opted to her from fashion companies looking for exposure through clickable links. The community here puts this blog above all others in my mind - I occasionally chip in a comment on KiC, but only rarely. And to answer your last question: do I buy from blog links? No - I"m in Canada and it is prohibitively expensive to do so, especially since our dollar is now below 70c USD. I'll take away ideas from blogs , and brands I want to keep an eye out for in my travels.

SandyG

Veteran

I brouse a few fashion blogs when I have time, especially to judge the fit of an item that's caught me eye -- petite clothing is quite random when it comes to fit. What I REALLY like is street style in say, Paris or London, both more colorful than New York City. For me street style captures fashion, encompasses weather, lots of walkable footwear, carrying packages, etc. More real life. I used to buy fashion magazines by the armful (don't you just love clothes?) and can happily spend an hour just looking and reading online. Very fun lifelong interest.

rachylou

Veteran

Not that I read a ton of fashion blogs, but when I do it's to do with specificity. An individual's unique style or focus or insight. But there are not many bloggers I read to see what's happening in the whole world of fashion, runway or street or retail. Not many are in a position to have that wide-ranging field of view. I pretty much only read Angie for that.

Desmo April

(website)

Veteran

I do read several fashion blogs. YLF is one of my few daily reads for two main reasons. First, I think Angie does one of the better jobs of breaking fashion and trends down into usable information, a how-to guide for style that you can adapt to your style. Second, I never feel that the posts are strictly to sell something and especially something that isn't true to why I originally liked the site. There have been many fashion sites that I've liked l but as the audience grew the opportunity monetize came along and the content changed and lost what made it special to begin with. I really don't want to see a fashion site shilling for something like Kraft.

The blogs that I follow are plus size because I want those resources and I want to see what the clothes look like on a body similar to mine. I have bought things on a blogger's recommendation. My favorite jeans came from a blogger with a similar body shape They looked great on her so I took a chance and love them.

Ooh is that silk

I used to buy a lot of fashion magazines (4 or so years ago) but very rarely buy them now. When I do, they seem so out of touch with what I want to look like and with me personally (30s, mum, drastically out of shape) that I am reminded what a total waste of money they are for me.

I rarely like the fashion - though that probably says more about me than the magazine! - and they are so crammed full of ads and non-fashion content that I feel cheated. Why are there recipes in a fashion mag, for example? And all the beauty content feels artificial - pushing the latest product - so I can't trust it. And don't get me started on celeb gossip, ugh.

I do buy style books though which are the price of two mags and feel much more valuable.

I do adore following blogs, though. Finding a group of blogs with style I admire and can actually take lessons from is like building my own customised magazine where I love ALL the features. I have occasionally bought things the blogger has just bought (not things they have been given, though).

Sal

Veteran

This is my main fashion blog for sure and the only forum I participate in. I love Angie's articles, I love the forum, and have chosen to be a Patron because I have limited ability to follow links to the US and purchase.

There are one or two others I enjoy for a couple of minutes a day.

Styling You - Australian blogger who breaks down trends well.
Does My Bum Look 40 - UK blogger, funny.
Not Dressed as Lamb - UK blogger, eclectic and glamourous style.

There have been others I have dipped my toes into but for one reason or other I rarely look at now.

I take inspiration from the blogs I follow but do not try to copy the bloggers precisely. I actually like that they have different styles, shapes and lives to me because it is more interesting.

There are a few fashion magazines I read but I tend to only purchase one prior to a long weekend away now. I prefer NZ and Australian fashion magazines to US or UK ones because the clothing and styling suits my lifestyle and the advertisements are from places where I can shop.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

I still subscribe to InStyle (as well as Real Simple and More, both of which have fashion articles regularly). I've unsubscribed to most of the professional fashion bloggers I used to read, and only read a small set of mostly 'amateur' bloggers who post their outfits for fun. I suppose it's to see what 'regular' folks are wearing, especially those who have 'real' jobs and don't get paid to blog. WIW threads here serve the same function.

Most of the famous fashion bloggers are way too aspirational for me, all about high-end labels and making an artistic statement, whereas I just want to look nice and spend my money appropriately (even if that is bourgeois!).

I've developed a list of stores/brands that work OK for my budget and my figure and seem like reasonable value for the money, and I mostly stick with them. So if I see an item on a blog or here on YLF that I like and is from one of those brands, I might add it to my wishlist or considering list. If it's from a brand that doesn't work for me or doesn't come in my size or is too expensive, I might use it for inspiration to look for a similar item. It's pretty rare that I go right from a blog page to buy an item, but I do add items to my want lists and end up buying some of them later.

Sally

Veteran

I don't generally read fashion magazines. I look at pinterest and follow links to blogs but don't follow any apart from this one and that is very sparodic. I just don't get the time unless I'm on holiday. When i do read it is generallly for inspiration.

Gaylene

Veteran

For fun more than inspiration. Keeps me from getting startled when I walk into a shop to buy a new pair of jeans and see the current offerings.

And, no, I don't buy from blogger links because most of the "recommended" stuff would look weird on my 67 body. Which is why I like YLF and Angie. She encourages us seniors to hang around and provides us with the "how -to" information we need so we can say "ah, yes" instead of "whaaaat?" when we see the latest trends.

DonnaF

Veteran

I read this YLF (blog and forum) more than any other. Angie writes to a wide variety of ages which also reflects forum participants. I really appreciate how Angie breaks down various trends and that I can see WIW shots of forum members put her advice into action. Magazines have never *spoken* to me in a way I could relate like YLF.

I am a bit embarrassed to say I have bought things linked here both by Angie and by forum members. They, uh, weren't exactly on my list. Forest green lace-up Dansko booties, anyone? And Matisse Dalmatian patterned pointy-toed calfskin booties? And how about Una's (AlaskaGirl's) Yoox charcoal metallic lace-up booties that are supposed to be delivered Monday?

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

I love looking at fashion blogs. Magazines are too static for me - not in terms of pictures but the content. I like jumping from place to place and going off in tangents. YLF is the only forum I participate in - it is more of a community and island of civilization for me, with the fashion being the frosting on the cake. That said, I have absolutely learned more about style from Angie than any other blogger.