AMY&PINK

catch me now, I've done alright - it's a secondary crime.

 

“It is only the modern that ever becomes old-fashioned.” - Oscar Wilde

Contemplations on caring about public opinion and considering the potential success of the typical blog – one with a blogger who is not particularly glamorous, rich, or thrifty, only average, as most of us are.

It’s certainly nice to be back!  I report sadly that my Macbook Air is no more – by some twist of fate, it stopped working on the second day of our trip.  Even Apple says it can’t be resuscitated, which does not bode well for my now-lost music and pictures, not to mention resume or writing.  But, such is life.  I see this as an opportunity to move forward, without the weight of all those things I was too scared or nostalgic to metaphorically (or literally) delete.  I have a lot of beautiful things to show you from my trips to Taiwan and Singapore, but that will come in due time – after this post’s matter and most likely once I’m back at home with plenty of room to spread out and photograph.

Now, having just returned from trips full of new acquisitions, I have found myself in a gray area of blogging, one in which I am quite unfamiliar. I am not entirely sure how to proceed, yet I certainly have nowhere to retreat to. I received a message a few weeks ago with a question – ‘How do you cope with the closet dilemma?’ Indeed, this person knew me well, for they understood what I refer to as the closet dilemma – somewhere along the line, the general blog-reading public decided, and with some substantial good reason, that blogs became boring if they only repeated.

I am not addressing the ever blooming issue of blog copying or plagiarism in any form, because – let’s be completely honest, here – that subject is quite untouchable in originality, itself being so over-discussed. The general consensus on that matter, it seems, is the very cliché and sometimes very unhelpful advice of ‘blog about what you love; do not allow others to bully you into hiding your work; be ethical and do not parrot,’ yet, of course, there are many lines drawn around the touchable and untouchable areas of blogging that are often hidden until one is so unfortunate as to trod upon them and provoke those vicious and often self-proclaimed guardians of the original.

No, my bone rests solely in the matter of ‘requiring’ massively unrealistic resources to rocket to success in the blogosphere. Blogging is, after all, a sport of admiration as much as it is an endeavor of creativity. Indignant bloggers will now proclaim, ‘I blog because I want to share my personal style, and I don’t give a rat’s ass about what anyone else thinks of me,’ but it is ‘an undeniable, if very unfortunate, fact that it is the nature of the artist to mind excessively what is said about him’ (Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own).  It is not something to be ashamed of, this being aware of the public opinion, because the creative mind requires it – it thrives and grows on it.

I might take this opportunity to say that I seldom finish a post in one sitting, or even in one week. Oftentimes, I am simply too lazy to dedicate the time, and even more often life simply gets in the way, a myriad of everyday interruptions that generally bends the creative focus away from its task – but that’s the great thing about a post; it can be continually edited and revised until it is its best. Therefore, it was with great pleasure that, as I was lazily shying away from writing and catching up with my blog-reading I saw that Carrie of WishWishWish said,

There is this strange misconception that fashion bloggers are superhuman, ethereal beings that dress their best every day with clothes from their never-ending wardrobe… the reality of it is, sometimes, “we’re” totally boring and can’t be bothered getting out of our pyjamas.

Now, instead of saying, ‘Crap, I suppose I shall have to stop writing about what I was writing about, now, because someone’s already mentioned it,’ I figured I would just continue with it, since I had already written quite a great deal, but I stuck it into this post (which was originally to be just an abbreviated intermediate between traveling and returning home) because it does, after all, relate completely to my not knowing where to proceed as a blogger. As much as I hate to admit it, there is only so much I can do, at seventeen-and-a-half and in a town as quiet as any library, to break into the blogosphere with originality (an endeavor which has, thus far, been only minute – I now and then and rather blushingly, get the urge to comment on my own posts with dummy accounts simply to feel appreciated, but paradoxically the same pride that would press me to do such things prevents me from it).
If you are still reading, I commend you, and I entreat you not to take this as a statement that I am against re-wearing or reworking pieces that I already own; even the best of us plain repeat outfits, and if you are one of the fortunate few that has the bank account and closet space to accommodate a habit to the contrary, this post is not for you. Yet, something about walking through a Singaporean mall with my cousin and wondering how she so easily steps into a store and can at once point out a skirt, and with it rattle off its price point, fit and material opened my eyes to the recommendations of the blogosphere, however obvious or subtle. ‘Buy,’ it says, ‘Indulge, and then show off, and you will be praised.’

This, then, is the place I have come to, laying on a water-stained couch in a Japanese airport lounge with my computer and luggage, waiting for my flight to New York and wondering how I am to proceed in this often inhospitable yet strangely rewarding content-based world. I have neither the money or the time to shop daily, nor do I have enough things I wish to buy – in all honesty, I am quite very content with where I am now. Does that mean, since I am not incredibly keen at the moment on constant acquisition, that my blog will die a slow and generally unnoticed death? Perhaps death is too harsh a word – perhaps it will simply fade into the void of outdated and un-updated webpages, collecting dust as I stop posting and as you stop reading, the former or the latter occurring in no particular order.

I haven’t answered that question, ‘How do you cope with the closet dilemma?’ Really, I do not.   At the beginning, when all this blogging and sharing and photographing began, I felt compelled to ‘catch up’ – I bought a lot of things online and spent many an after-school hour at the consignment store.  Perhaps the ‘catching up’ was not so much a desire to ameliorate my blogging but rather just to occupy my time, or even to impress… everyone.  Regardless, I wanted and wanted and wanted.  There was only so much tutoring and cashiering money can do without exhausting itself, though, and this I thankfully realized before I completely impoverished myself. This was all some time ago, if one counts the time spent on my other, deceased blog (which shall not be resurrected, even as but a curiosity) and therefore I find myself now running out of things to share. Of course, I still find new – or new to me – things, and I rediscover castoffs in the back of the closet, and I swap clothes with friends every year or so. But there is still a lack of experience and a lack of excitement, one that is necessary to keep those particular readers interested – after all, why spend time reading about a life that could so easily be your own, should you choose to go out and live it?  No, it is the exotic and the ethereal and the glamorous that excite the attention of the blogging world, and it is the knowledge that it would be futile to pursue any of these ends that leaves me stumped.

Well.  This post really should be called, ‘Considering the pressure of the blogosphere on those of us so unfortunate as to be lesser mortals incapable of catering to the glamour-hungry masses,’ or something otherwise similarly official, but instead I can only categorize it as yet more of my endless musings, which undoubtedly will go unread, and I shall continue my blog as always, as best I can living with the closet dilemma.

Am I the only one who feels these kinds of pressures?  Certainly not.  Tell me, then, what you do to keep at bay the feeling.  Please?

25 Comments

  1. Zara:

    I’m sorry about your laptop, but I’m glad you’re choosing to look at it in a positive light. I’m not sure I could do the same in that situation… :) I can’t wait to see more pictures!

  2. Links à la Mode: The IFB Weekly Roundup 7/22 | Independent Fashion Bloggers:

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  3. Links à la Mode: More than a Fashion Blogger:

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  5. T.:

    Very interesting post! I sometimes have these thoughts of “am I cool/ trendy/ rich enough to be a fashion blogger?” But I try to remind myself that I was quite content with my style and the amount of clothes I buy before I started blogging. It’s nice to be inspired by other bloggers, but you shouldn’t feel pressured to buy things you normally wouldn’t buy.

  6. Alecto:

    i literally just ignore it. i haven’t, nor will i ever, be interested on spending gobs of money on clothes when i could be traveling, reading, watching movies, what-have-you. i never liked the idea of someone wearing the same thing as i am and therefore avoid [most] “trendy” stores/”trend-lines”, etc. for, if i didn’t, then i would be joining the masses of girls/women of whom are wearing the exact same thing. how embarrassing. and uncreative. where is the joy in that? the inspiration? eventually, the blog/site becomes about whatever you’re buying, how much money you have…there is only so far and so long one can continue on that frame before there is nothing left to talk about. i have the mindset of “if i like it, then i will buy it”, but at a much lower price. i used to enjoy thrift/op-shopping but now it’s so popular, i almost can’t enjoy it anymore. so, frankly speaking, i’m just not interested. i just do whatever it is i feel like doing, and enjoy it as thus.

  7. Alecto:

    oh, and i love guacamole. and toast. what a fantastic combination :-)

  8. Fashion » IFB Links a`la mode- 07.22.10:

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  9. Is:

    T – I completely agree. One issue I have with a lot of fashion blogs is that they’re 90% “inspiration” photos taken from other websites. I often think, much as I would love to know what inspires you, I would much rather know what you were inspired to do – what came out of being inspired?

    Alecto – It’s a great philosophy to simply do whatever you feel like doing – blogging is a personal experience, after all, and shouldn’t be hampered with catering to what people want to read or how you feel pressured to react. I read a post recently, though, that said something like (and I paraphrase) ‘so many rich girls have hijacked blogging, what used to be the poor-man’s sport, from those of us who can’t afford to compete with their endless bank accounts.’ Some such blogs demonstrate a style that is less style and more ‘a pile of expensive brand names in one look’ – it’s nice eye candy, but to me often feels unsubstantial. Yet, that’s what most readers in this vein of fashion blogging want, apparently, which is where the whole issue of ‘should I even be blogging to readers who aren’t interested?’ comes in.

    Thanks for your comments!

  10. Style it You - Links À la Mode:

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  11. Beautifully Invisible:

    I found your post through the weekly IFB links roundup. I love what you had to say (and greatly admire your writing style). I have been involved in the fashion blogosphere for some time now as a reader, but i only recently became a contributor. I’ve found myself asking the same questions you posted here on more than one occasion already because I am not someone who will be posting lookbooks. I won’t be posting outfits I wear. My blog posts (if they aren’t photography related) have more to do with my own thoughts on the industry and styles, etc. I am sure that other bloggers out there have already commented on the topics I have discussed, so all I can hope is that I might bring a different perspective. That is really all i can do at this point – maybe as I gain more blogging experience I will have more to say on the subject!

  12. Beauty and fashion posts roundup for July 23 | hello beauty!:

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  18. Lyddiegal:

    When I started my blog, at the very beginning (when no one was reading) I felt like if I wasn’t shopping, I wouldn’t have anything to write about.
    Before the blog, I never worried about repeating an outfit. I would often do this because I liked an outfit, I wanted to wear it again.
    But now neither applies.

    As much as I like to share new things, I have no worries about showing old things — as long as they are presented in a new way. In fact, right now a great many bloggers are participating in a style challenge where they are only wearing 30 things for a month and on a shopping ban. For some, I think this is a way to prove just how creative they are, others say it makes choosing an outfit a simple task each morning, and a few might just be doing it to be trendy and receive approval.

    I have also found that if you really care about someone else, they will care about you too, no matter how unglamorous you are.

  19. Links à la Mode: IFB Weekly « Fa(s)t Fashion:

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  20. Is:

    Lyddiegal – I completely agree with your last statement. I was more talking about people not caring about the content of the blog, rather than people not caring about me as a blogger or as a person. I must admit that I often repeat outfits, I just don’t post them. I a way, it makes me try a little harder for my content, and I make sure that my posts aren’t repetitive, nor boring to read /or/ write.

  21. Links a la mode : July 22 « eva.lu:

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  22. Andi:

    This was such a well written post! I love your use of the Virginia Woolf quote because it is so true. When I first started reading fashion blogs, I had a similar urge to go “catch up”. I wanted to go buy everything I saw that I liked, regardless of if it suited me or not. My budget prevented me from doing that. It forced me to be more creative and deliberate about the content I create for my blogs and the things I purchase. I try to present old outfits in a different way than the last time I wore them and when I buy new clothes, I try to buy versatile clothes that can work with a huge variety of things in my wardrobe.

  23. Is:

    Andi – Exactly. I know so many people who go out to buy clothes for a specific event – like, ‘I’m getting a dress to wear to the party’ and I find it a little ridiculous. Obviously, for very formal or special events, it makes sense to get something unique, but I would so much rather just buy things I can work into my wardrobe and wear again. One-use fashion makes me feel like I’m wasting so much.

  24. Links a la Mode, part four | Bachman's Sparrow:

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  25. Tessa Zeng:

    Fascinating subject to consider!

    I agree with your sentiment completely. So many fashion blogs out there are pale facsimiles of each other, and I can’t help but wonder why they exist at all when there are so many lookbook/chictopia-type websites out there. Most of these independent sites don’t add anything to the fashion discussion, other than “look at what I wore today!” And that, of course, is where the anxiety over not having enough looks comes in.

    I think salvation comes not in the form of maxing out one’s credit card, but in having interesting, thought-provoking things to say about those outfits. Style is so pervasive. It exists in far more than just the daily outfit. I’m much more interested in someone’s entire point of view on style than I am in their pure aesthetics (which reminds me, I love how you opened up your post with such optimism. RIP macbook air! I hope the newly-gained lightness is filling your life with fresh ideas & purpose.)

    That being said, I don’t think the closet dilemma is limited to, well, the closet! I write more about experimentation & radical styling than I post my outfits, but the fear of staleness is quite similar across the board! I started my website less than two weeks ago, and with seven articles under my belt, am starting wonder a bit if my content is going to delve into that gray area of which you speak! Yes, I have a huge list of topics still to cover & am adding to that every day, but I also hope not to fall into redundancy.

    As my own site develops, I’ll definitely be interested in how things progress. Thanks for raising the topic! I think it’s an important one, and you did it with such authenticity.

    Keep inspiring,
    Tessa

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