Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Thoughts for Tuesday, v.4: Those Jeffrey Campbell shoes, that Topshop dress...

Silhouette Girl style blog Philadelphia

"Fashion fades, style is eternal." - Yves Saint Laurent

I have to admit, I was pretty stumped for a topic for today's edition of Thoughts for Tuesday. Most of my thoughts have been continuations of previous posts, without much variation, however. This is the first time I've sat down and read blogs since Sunday, and with nearly 200 posts, I thought it would take forever. Not so.

The amount seemed daunting, but paging through takes no time when there's several posts featuring those shoes and a wispy Topshop dress. Okay, perhaps I'm a little bitter - I only buy used leather/new synthetic materials, and no one gives up their JC shoes, so they're out of the question for me. Topshop has a nice selection but prices I cannot justify, thus they too are not very realistic for me to consider.

I get it - both brands produce more thoughtfully designed, contemporary goods than many super-commercial shops. Astronomically high shoes with a chunky wooden heel in a mall department store? Are you nuts? Peter pan collars constructed of real silk... in the woman's section?! Gasp.

Contrary to what the blogosphere may have you believe, not everyone is clad in a pretty Topshop dress nor do they stomp around in sky-high platforms. I do think that most of us bloggers - and blog readers - do this to go against the norm, to form a community with each other, etc. While one may stand out among a sea of Express-wearing-twenty-somethings, when thrown together, it can be difficult to distinguish an individual.

Within fashion, it's difficult to do something truly original. However, wearing a subtle mix of trendy wares barely constitutes anything groundbreaking, let alone style. Perhaps I'm guilty of this too - no, I know I am - but lusting over the same items and proceeding to purchase them produces monotony.

I can't say much about how personal style blogging used to be, or when exactly these brands stole the hearts of girls wishing to dress differently than their peers. I suppose some similarity is inevitable, but I'd hope to believe that bloggers would want to take pride in putting together unique outfits. But it seems that a fancy camera, a thrifted floral-print item, those shoes, and that bag form a stylish blogger.

I don't have a problem with any of the brands I mentioned in this post - as I said, I do admire quite a few of the designs they create. But there's only so much variation, so much remixing that one person - or a bundle of ladies with the same item - can handle with these brands alone.

xox Catherine

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7 comments:

  1. Great post. I must admit, I'm deterred from buying any of the "it" blogger items because I'm too broke and besides, I know good and well that I wouldn't be willing to spend that much money on any one item anyway, but I still find myself lusting after them. There's nothing interesting or inspirational about this blogging uniform that some people seem to have adopted, but as a newer blogger I feel like I'm subconsciously led to look for the same items that they are wearing. Add onto that the sheer amount of shopping that some bloggers are doing (I mean jeez, do you get a package from some store every day?) and it's just breeds this materialistic, uniform series of bloggers.

    I feel like I got really off track in that comment, but anyway, great and thoughtful post! I love your Thoughts for Tuesday posts and I'm not sure if I've commented before but I always find your outfits inspiring and unique!

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  2. I always find your writing breath taking. I wish I could express everything I think as clear as you do. Now, onto the post... I agree with everything. I always do, but the thing is that sometimes I find blogs with the same thing over and over. At first, I was impressed and I would constantly check their blogs almost daily, but with time i forget about them. I don'tcare how popular they get... Everything's the same and only the scenery changes. I hate how some people are just looking into some blogs for the pictures. I mean, I know that's the whole idea of fashion blogging, but I like knowing about those girls... I don't know. I just went off topic. Anyway, I was really impressed with your article!

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  3. I hear what you're saying, but I feel like that happens when a blogger either gets too popular and brands start gifting them products or when a blogger is blogging for the sake of getting popular. But then again, you have some really groundbreaking bloggers who have truly unique style, no matter how popular they get a la Tavi. So yes there is a lot of redundancy amongst style blogs, but every once in a while you find one that is so radically different,, it's truly inspiring.

    http://ggfashionista.com

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  4. i wanted to say something intelligent, but it's really early in the morning here and i'm having trouble constructing clear sentences....so i'll just say, I TOTALLY GET IT, GIRL! :)

    love your tuesday thoughts. hope your day is great.

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  5. What a great and thought-provoking post. I think it's fine that people love the same times, but they really should put their own spin on it. If we promote other bloggers that we love for their individuality, perhaps we can supplant the typical blogger uniformity with something better.

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  6. Wow, thanks for sharing. :)

    Love your outfits, very chic.


    xoxo,
    Addie
    The Cat Hag

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  7. Again, your Thoughts for Tuesday are my absolute new favorites. Have you considered a career in fashion journalism? While I will admit I own a pair of Jeffrey Campbells...the cookie cutter blogger style has been driving me nuts lately. Especially when my favorite bloggers start gaining sponsors and their once unique style is squandered. I'm not going to name names, and while I know that bloggers themselves get to choose what they want from their sponsors most of the time, I miss when they incorporated $2 thrifted tops with $5 thrifted skirts instead of hundreds of dollars worth of shoes and dresses in an outfit. It's disappointing, frankly, for readers. Especially when the "cookie cutter" style is what gains sponsors and readers.

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