Independent Fashion Bloggers

I've just joined Independent Fashion Bloggers...

"Independent Fashion Bloggers (IFB) cultivates a community for fashion bloggers to share their experiences and create a resource so everyone can build a better blog. We do this by posting helpful articles, host a community linking group, forums and our newest feature, LittleBirdie, a platform to connect bloggers and PR in a safe and mutually beneficial way."

Sketchbook Magazine

Sketchbook Magazine has just released its first issue - The Blogger Issue (Part 1 and 2)

"Sketchbook is a new quarterly magazine that showcases established and emerging creative talents in fashion, design and culture with a focus on features, photography and illustration."

Currently, it is not available in the shops but is available to download in PDF or to be delivered if bought on the web. I bought the PDFs of both issues as they each have different content. The magazine, set up by Wafa Alobaidat, contains beautiful illustrations of some of the top fashion bloggers as well as editorials, interviews and inspiring stories. I highly recommend this magazine to anyone with an interest in blogging, fashion, illustration or photography. 

More information on how to buy these issues is available via the Sketchbook Magazine 

Facebook group or Twitter account.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=112363467023&ref=ts

http://twitter.com/sketchbookmag

x x x

Taking More Liberty's

I took myself off to Carnaby Street yesterday to take my photo in the Liberty/SHOWstudio window. An interactive camera and sensor has been installed in the window since 5th October, for the public to capture their look for a competition judged by british designer Gareth Pugh. The images are uploaded on the SHOWstudio.com website as well as displayed live in the SHOWstudio: Fashion Revolution exhibition at Somerset House (see my post from 19th October).

As it was the final weekend of the competition, I was determined to visit the window to take my own picture and watch passers-by do the same. There was obviously a lot of tourists, children and random people intrigued by the window but I did notice a few people who had obviously (like me) come especially to take their photo after hearing about it through the exhibition or the Liberty Blog or via friends.

Unfortunately, I can't find my photo on the website today and I'm gutted because I should've taken a picture of it myself just incase. Anyway it was an experience and I'm glad I went to have a look (even if some of the Pret A Manger customers were looking strangely at me).

Take a look on the website, you will find some really stylish people, some idiots pulling faces, a binman, blogger Susie Lau of Style Bubble and if you look at today's date you will even find a couple of naked girls in cardboard boxes!

http://www.showstudio.com/project/takingmorelibertys/

x x x

What I wore on Saturday

In response to the Flickr group I mentioned the other day - I have done by first drawing! This is the outfit I wore last Saturday night...

Unfortunately I can't upload this to the group because Flickr is playing up this afternoon.. I will be setting up a Flickr account and will aim to make this drawing project a regular thing for a while, although I must admit, this is the first drawing I've done in a long time so probably isn't my best.

I like the idea of these drawings as some people don't like taking pictures of themselves but still want to share their style with the world. Personally, I like it because I can give myself longer legs and perfect hair and no one will know any different!

xxx

Are bloggers the new celebrity?

Are bloggers the new celebrity?

Photo-bloggers have become the new fashion elite with magazine editors, trend forecasters, designers and fashion lovers worldwide religiously following their websites.  Several established bloggers were this season invited to sit in the front rows of the Fashion Week shows, alongside magazine editors and VIPs. Within the fashion world, these bloggers are the new celebrity.

Garance Doré & Scott Schuman - Better style & personality than Posh & Becks

I find it hugely exciting that The Sartoralist (22,986) has almost double the amount of followers on Twitter than Grazia (10,855)! It just shows how people are becoming much less influenced by trends dictated by magazines and more inspired by what real people are wearing on the streets. As much as I love Grazia (and I really do!), the whole point of these street style images are to celebrate people with individual style - not to tell everyone exactly what the subject is wearing and where we can steal their look from - that defeats the object of individuality. You might be inspired by the way someone wears their jacket but you don't have to go out and buy the same jacket and wear it the same way, just adapt the look to suit your own style.

xxx

What I Wore Today

So I'm still in the early stages of this blog... Still trying to figure out how to link to other blogs and my twitter account, track how many people are reading this and I plan to make it much more visual and personal...

So in the process of looking at all these blogs I've come across some interesting stuff. Firstly, a Flickr group where people post 'what they wore today' but instead of the usual photographs of themselves that you'd see on sites like lookbook.nu, this is a 'drawings only' group.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/whatiworetodaydrawings/

Here is my favourite post by Caitlin Quiet, you'll need to see it properly on the link below but I am in love with the detailing on her dress. I'm definitely going to attempt to draw myself and post it up in the next few days, somehow seems less vain than taking loads of photos of myself!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/caitlinghoster/3971378426/in/pool-whatiworetodaydrawings

I was leant a book (also funnily enough, titled) 'What I Wore Today: Fashion Remixed Online from Beijing to Berlin', which features self portrait prints by a number of bloggers from around the world. I was loaned the book under strict instructions not to take out any of the post-its!

Well I haven't taken them out but I have added a whole lot more!

x x x

SHOWstudio: Fashion Revolution

I visited the SHOWstudio Fashion Revolution exhibition last week at Somerset House, which I found really inspirational. It showed how much the fashion industry has changed and how quickly things happen. Designers and artists have quickly responded to the growing online community of fashion followers.

"When SHOWstudio.com launched in 2000, the fashion world was most definitely not online. Today, there is a generation of young people whose entire fashion experience comes from the internet, via live shows, on the spot collection reports, fashion film and e-commerce. These audiences number not thousands, but millions, all excitedly consuming fashion imagery, live and direct. In less than a decade, a revolution has taken place and I feel we have only just begun"

- Nick Knight

Transformer: The Bridegroom Stripped Bare

Alexander McQueen, 2002

www.showstudio.com/project/fashionrevolution

Fake Blogging

So last night on my way to Camden, I received an email from Twitter on my Blackberry

"Face Hunter has requested to follow you on Twitter!"

I excitedly announced this to everyone in the car (yes, a full car) and logged on to Twitter to accept my new follower, only to find out that this 'Face Hunter' was not the real Face Hunter but some other bloke with 9 followers and 3 tweets who is following 588 people. When I clicked on his link last night I got a Twitter message saying something like 'account temporarily unavailable due to strange behavior'..

Well I'm looking at it now and I agree about the strange behavior! He (or she?) has added loads of people, who are all demanding to know why he's trying to pretend to be Yvan Rodic (the real Face Hunter)..

He even wrote a message to Yvan saying "hello how are you?"... Bizarre!

Anyway the point of this story is that this guy is clearly trying to be the next 'Fake Karl' and it's just not going to happen! But just shows how many people are trying to imitate the original bloggers. I'm not trying to be anyone but myself, maybe it would've been more interesting to impersonate Anna Wintour or something but I just don't think I'm funny enough to compete with Fake Karl!

I must say I was a little disappointed in the end that Yvan hadn't requested to follow me :(

x x x

Introduction

Post One:

I've never been one to keep a diary... I tend to be the type who buys a new one every year thinking "I will use it this year", gets all diary happy writing in all the birthdays and important dates, before abandoning it a few weeks later. I am, however, interested in looking at other peoples thoughts, status updates and photos (even if I don't know them). It makes me wonder why we are all so interested in eachother and how we decide who to 'follow' and who to scroll past.

I have become increasingly fascinated with looking at photoblogs and it seems I'm not the only one.. Every magazine I read now has an article on the blogging generation, street style photographers, 13-year-old girls who get sent amazing clothes and sit in the front row at NY Fashion Week, and all things related.

Here, I will document my thoughts and see if anyone ends up sending me clothes, inviting me to events and giving me my own column etc. The purpose of this blog (seriously now) is to try to figure out the current fascination with The Sartorialist, Face Hunter etc. and consider whether the cult of 'celebrity' is becoming a thing of the past. In preparation for my final dissertation, I am excited to join the blog world and see what I can learn from it.

I began following photobloggers after reading an article 'London Fashion Week: Quality Street' from Stella Magazine during London Fashion Week S/S 09. I learned just how important these sites were becoming to designers, trend forecasters, editors and pretty much the entire fashion industry. Did you know the number of hits per day to www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com has doubled from 70,000 to 140,000 in just a year?

Over the next few months I will be adding to this blog and look forward to hearing your thoughts...

Until next time x x x