Which company is the most exposed online in Fashion Blogging?
My educated guess would be JCrew.
Zara isn't too far behind, but I definitely think JCrew is the leader.
I had no idea who JCrew was before I started blogging. Part of that may be due to the fact that they only came to Canada about 18 months ago, but I associate my idea of JCrew directly with the fashion bloggers that wear it.
They all have the same look. Spawned from the same upwardly mobile horse riding jet-set family.
That look isn't my look. At all. Through constant internet exposure via fashion bloggers JCrew has gotten under my skin enough to make me go and check them out whenever I'm near a store. Why? This isn't my style at all.
I'm not a JCrew hater per se. Some of their pieces can be quite nice. But that bubble necklace?
Please…let's all agree that moment has passed…about 2 years ago.
I have one skirt by JCrew that I bought in their store and I found a leather jacket at TJ Maxx that I also purchased.
This is the jacket.
This is the skirt.
Both I bought on sale.
Marketing via Fashion Bloggers is very successful for the brands promoting their products.
I hate that it worked on me.
I don't want the "cool girls" telling me what to wear.
You might say, "well stop looking at the blogs Suzanne! " Duh!!!
I have stopped following 2 of those blogs. I found them so pristine and unreal that they were boring.
{Yawn}…another super stylized magazine-ready photo-perfect shot of an impossibly thin perfectly beautiful woman?
I don't relate.
In fact I try to limit the number of "high end" promo heavy blogs I visit.
When they all start to look the same what is the point?
I might as well pick up a copy of Vogue or Elle.
The originality of the "street blogger style" is missing. Styled right out of the shots. Along with any personality or quirks.
There is another bloggy gal that I like who also wears lots of JCrew, but I don't care. Instead I'm there because I find her interesting, funny, likable and honest. I'm more likely to remember the last story she wrote about her family than her outfit. Her humanity hasn't been erased out of the posts. That is the 10% that isn't marketing.
I wish more blogs were about the connections and not the consumption.
To be perfectly honest when I see "sponsored post" 99% of the time I don't read the blog.
Don't even get me started on those rafflecopter contests. The amount of hoops they want you to jump through makes it feel like they are asking for your first born.
Originality, personality, creativity, friendship, motivation and inspiration are the reasons why I read or visit blogs.
Why do you read blogs?
Does the pervasiveness of online marketing bother you?
these outfits are wonderful
On the very odd occasion I think ‘wouldn’t it be nice if there was some sort of payment that went along with this otherwise quite time consuming and all-consuming pursuit, blogging. But then I remember how relieved I am to read and write about whatvis real and natural and idiosyncratic about people rather than what they Revpaid to prefer. I agree. Your ‘fashion standards’ don’t come across as such – you’ve made them yours. Xxx
Spell check Charlie!
I need to think about all this. Maybe read it a second time.
Coco et La vie en rose
I don’t blog, I just read and enjoy many different blogs. I think the reason I don’t is that I see more and more of the exact kind of blogs you are talking about, ones I feel like should be catalog or magazine ads. This does a whole business on my on self-conscious and therefore..blah, blah, blah(my own crap to deal with). When I starting following fashion blogs, they were just that, real women, some working from limited budgets and putting together terrific outfits, not sponsored-posts and magazine ads. I miss some of the humanity and the thought of “I could do that” or “what a great idea”. I know many, such as yours, are out there doing that. (BTW-loved the vintage dress your friend bought you). But I so agree, if I see a blog that looks like the “ad type” blog, I’m not interested, I’m not following and I’m bored. Thank you so much for putting into words what I also see out there and thank you for continuing your wonderful blog, so happy I’ve found it.
Bravo Suzanne! You’ve voiced my sentiments. I haven’t seen C & C, but did follow AP, and PP in the past, but stopped after realizing that the clothing just wasn’t me, and that there wasn’t anything else drawing me in. I visit blogs for exactly the same reasons as yourself. And yes, I absolutely prefer blogs without advertising, or sponsors.
I read blogs because people like ME (old and fat) aren’t represented in the fashion mags. I avoid the “OMGFASHUN” bloogers like the plague!! I’m more into what unique people like Helga or Vix or Sarah or sheila wear than a skinny 20 year old!!
Hmmm, very thought provoking, for me. I like blogs over fashion magazines because the people are real and so are their styles. I like sharing their passion for style and seeing their personalities.
I don’t follow any of the women pictured above. I guess the largest blog I follow is probably ABM. There are others I follow that also have a good following, but…how to put this? I read blogs for the connections and/or for the inspiration. So, sometimes, while those large blogs have women who are pretty with great style, something about their blogs just might not jive with me, and I can be quicker to drop really large blogs because of the rational that they won’t miss one follower. Whereas, bloggers I feel I have a relationship with, I will stick by longer, even if they are having a slump or not quite my style. I dunno, though, there are only so many hours in the day; I change up my blogroll fairly often to spend more time with the blogs I like best.
PS J. Crew is expensive too! Ugh. Though… I do like how Michelle Obama styles her J. Crew items….
As for sponsored posts. Honestly, I am all for people being able to make a living-or at least some compensation- off the the work they do for their blog(s). It DOES matter to me though, whether I think A) it seems to genuinely fit the bloggers’ aesthetics and interests. Some things I feel the people would have written about anyway, because they like the product or clothes. Sometimes you are wondering why they are writing about frying pans on a fashion blog. B) Also, I’m more critical of that if it is native advertising rather than a banner, and, if it is native advertising, whether it seems to be written by the blogger/regular-to-the-blog contributor, or if the company wrote the post. C) Finally, while the bloggers themselves likely can’t tell at the time they agree to a sponsored post, it tends to make a difference to me if they are one of a zillion blogs blogging about the same store/sale at the exact same time. Who needs spam. I felt awful that when I did my firmoo giveaway, right the week before 10 or so similarly sized blogs had the same contest. People were tire of seeing it.
We were thinking very much the same thing this week, I see! I so agree with you “Pristine and unreal” is definitely a characteristic that makes me avoid a blog. I definitely can’t relate to that. And I’d never heard of J.Crew before blogging….there are no stores near me, I’ve never set foot inside one, and I probably won’t. It’s very much not my style and not my budget, as far as I can understand!
Suzanne – I totally get what you are saying that they are getting a bit commercial with professional photographers and exotic locations and clothes that are not within most budgets. I follow them but don’t even click on the link to read them because there isn’t any substance to it. I guess they do have a target audience and I am probably not one of them.
These contest to ask me to follow who and what and like do drive me crazy. If I can’t relate to the blogger or the product, I do not want to endorse it by liking or following.
It’s refreshing to meet bloggers out there that are out there really to make connections with other women that love fashion. I’ve been blogging only for about year and love that I am “meeting” so many wonderful people from all over the world!
Alice
http://www.happinessatmidlife.com
I guess I’ve never read those blogs, they always seemed pretty boring to me. We don’t have J Crew here in Australia, except by online shopping and it’s stupidly expensive for boring mid market chainstore stuff (which we have plenty of our own already). Definitely I’m always looking for the person to connect to behind the images when it comes to blogging, so a blog with nothing but some pristine but airless photos of clothes is a bit dullsville.
I always liked blogging for the independent voices, so when bloggers are just shilling most of the time it takes away from that. I don’t mind a bit of sponsored content (although I tend not to read it personally), I’m not opposed to the idea of monetizing a blog, but it does need to be done with integrity.
I’d like a massive hunormous readership because I like a) entertaining people and b) meeting people, but I’d hate to have a blog with 3000 comments on every post saying nothing but “You look amazing. Here is my blog address. Please link me.” I want to find 3000 kindred spirits to say funny things and entertain me right back!
What a great thought-provoking post. The minute a blog is too advertorial or like Vogue I am so bored. Bored, I tell you! And then that does it for me. I read so many magazines, when a blog gets too slick and magazine-like that is usually the final visit for me. I love the personal touch in blogs, the independent voices, the blogs that don’t look too perfect or like they are actually being run by Conde Nast or Hearst Corporation.
J. Crew is great, but only on sale. Otherwise, they have put their prices up too much. I went ahead and bought that glittery necklace of theirs because it was love at first sight and I knew it wouldn’t be around long, but mostly I only buy J. Crew on sale and that goes for kids’ clothes too.
Unrelated side note: Can you join Adrienne and me for the “How I Wear My; Casual Party Outfit” post? We are accepting pictures until July 31. I always like to see what you have put together. Day or night casual party, it’s up to you! XO, Jill
This is a great post. I have very similar feelings about some of these blogs. I have no interest in looking at women who look like models and wear clothes that I will never be able to afford. Rather then feeling inspired I usually feel frustrated and annoyed after visiting such blogs. I also find it quite disappointing when blogs that I once loved reading change dramatically after the audience grows and the money starts rolling in. You can find inspiration anywhere, but generally I don’t want you parading your Celine handbag and Louboutin heel collection. I can’t relate to such frivolous lifestyle.
I do however like J.Crew. I remember exactly when I fell in love with the brand. It was in early 2000s, before any fashion blogs, before I’ve ever even set a foot in their store. I found the most beautiful, classic J.Crew coat at T.J.Maxx. It was the prettiest shade of blue (almost identical to Tiffany’s box), soft as a baby blanket (my first encounter with cashmere), and had a gorgeous aqua lining with ruffles along the hemline. I didn’t know what J. Crew was back then, but I figured, if this was their quality it was worth the purchase. Sadly I had to return that coat, since it was made for a petite person, therefore the sleeves were too short on me, but I’d never forgotten about it. The style and the quality have changed so much at this store over the years, yet I can’t stop being loyal to them.
Thanks for taking time to comment Charlotte. I’m always so interested to read what non-bloggers “think” about the community. 99% of the time I assume that everyone here is another blogger. It is actually a breath of fresh air to have someone comment that isn’t. I feel like you might have a more objective view.
You forgot the most important points…someone like YOU with a wicked sense of humour, great sewing skills, deep fascination of old weird images, clearly obsessed with Chihuahuas.
I have to agree that thanks to blogging I am able to “meet” so many unique women from all over the world. It makes one feel more “connected” even though we are communicating in a virtual format.
I love that last bit.
I too look for blogs that entertain me. Something to make me laugh, make me think or inspire me to get creative.
The first time I read your blog I knew I’d be back.
That is so interesting to get your story about JCrew and how it has stuck with you, burned into your fashion memory. It impressed you to such a degree that you remain loyal to the brand years later. That one coat you stumbled upon at TJMaxx was worth so much more to JCrew than they will ever know.
I loved this post and soo true. I do a sponsored post every now and then but can’t get into blogs that have them all the time. And giveaway style now is draining.. come on really do I have to like their brother’s friend’s cousin’s blog in order to have a 1 in 7890 chance to win. But I think my favorite quote was the bubble necklace is so over! Thanks for a great read
Okay, so I read your whole post and want to comment on content, but I just can’t. Cause I’m too enthralled with your boots. Ironic no? Those boots (the ones with the jacket you’re showing) are gorgeous on you. I love the length and color and they look so chic on you.
-Jamie
ChatterBlossom