Guest Editor Heart + Bleecker: The Rise Of The Fashion Blogger

Our guest editor Chow from Heart+Bleecker on the rise of fashion blogs. 

‘Fashion blogging’ used to be a term to be cringed at, ridiculed and definitely not taken as a serious venture. There was a time when admitting you had a blog dedicated purely to clothing and trends (how material!) and featuring photographs of yourself and that day’s chosen outfit was considered incredibly self-indulgent.

Perhaps to the mainstream, this is still the case. However, in the last few years fashion blogging has risen from having virtually no recognition to be one of the biggest marketing outlets for designers and store owners today. Bloggers are now given celebrity treatment and are often given top billing at fashion events and runway shows. Why is this so?

Simply put, not only has the internet allowed the very latest trends to be beamed into our living rooms instantaneously, it has given those with a love of fashion a peek into the wardrobes of others halfway across the world.Blogging has opened the door to finding inspiration in similar, everyday people who share the same passions as us. Gone are the days where all we had to go on was an impossibly beautiful model dripping in Balmain in the pages of Vogue; we simply cannot relate and leave most of us wishing we had never-ending legs and a million dollar closet. The most successful bloggers (the likes of Fashiontoast, 5 Inch And Up, Where Did You Get That, etc) are those who can team a Topshop dress with Acne boots and a vintage clutch and still look as alluring as the Vogue model. It is no longer exclusively about who has the most expensive clothing and the biggest shoe collection, but how high street brands can be mixed with designer in a way that is both affordable and chic. Blogging allows us to inspire each other’s style and provides an a means of encouragement and friendship with like minded people around the world, as well as creating a new breed of more relatable, down to earth role models.

In terms of rising Australian fashion bloggers, my picks are Nicole of Gary Pepper Vintage, Alicia of Sea of Ghosts, Sara of Harper & Harley and Mandy of Oracle Fox. My personal favourites include Opinion Slave, Absolutely Oblivious, and Twin Cat Vintage but the list of blogs I follow is endless and I am continually finding new and amazing bloggers with great style. The continual rise and popularity of the fashion blog proves that it will not disappear any time soon and will be a solid contender in the fashion scene for a long time to come.

Nicole of GPV

One of Sara’s famed shots from Harper & Harley.

Images: Heart+Bleecker, FashionToast, GaryPepperVintage, Harper & Harley