Bloggers

In the 19th century, fashion trends were known through department store layouts and store displays. Fashion was talked about in a social setting. However, department stores reflected a certain social hierarchy and only certain shoppers were considered respected clientele to work with and assist. In the early 20th century, the rise of the fashion magazine lead to information being distributed at a much higher circulation, and and was much more accessible with wide circulation. In the 21st century, information moves faster than ever in the fashion industry and bloggers lead the scene as fashion influencers and news sources. I want to examine the habits of successful bloggers to unpack how they managed to shatter the fashion hierarchy.

Rumi Neely, blogger at Fashion Toast has been blogging for about 11 years. Rumi sports the popular ombré hair trend and she writes on her blog, “Ombré hair is the most brainless, commitment-free hairstyle – roots aren’t even part of the vocabulary and you get to enjoy the mental freedom of being one minor haircut away from being a single process girl again.” Her approachable, nonchalant posting style is what attracts people to her blog. A reader can really get a taste of her personality as a laid-back Cali girl who just loves fashion. In this post she also promoted Fekkai hair studio. It is unclear whether the agent that represents her paid her to go to and write about this particular salon, but it is definitely a form of advertisement. Seeing a blogger support a product makes their followers more intrigued with it as well.

(Source: fashiontoast.com)

Similarly, BryanBoy, a fashion blogger, wrote about his experience being a guest judge on Project Runway Korea. He comments on his trip to Korea, “The challenge for the designer contestants was to create a head-to-toe look inspired by my sense of style. They went through my closet in my hotel room to be inspired. I guess over the years I’m kind of known of my crazy, eccentric looks.” This statement alone shows that even a global market is aware of who BryanBoy is and what his aesthetic is like. ByranBoy has gained traction reinforced by the reality TV industry. In another example of how technology impacts culture, his recurring position on America's Next Top Model involves managing how well the contestants do in the social media aspect of the competition. He has also collaborated with designers such as Karl Lagerfeld, Elie Saab and Adrienne Landau. He has undoubtedly made a name for himself as a trendsetter. 

He also is on top of the social media sphere. He tweets several dozen times a day and often will often Instagram photos of him traveling or working on collaborations. Different bloggers become champions of different forms of social media and it is interesting to see how bloggers interact with these different medias. Rumi and Bryan are also great friends and are constantly traveling together and documenting their experiences on their respective blogs, Twitter profiles and Instagram feeds. Bloggers now even have agents that try to book them partnerships with brands or collaborations with other bloggers. Similarly to how celebrities can make thousands of dollars for wearing a specific brand, bloggers like Bryan and Rumi with huge followings can also make a large sum of money for promoting a certain product on their sites. 

(Source: bryanboy.com)