What is the Price of Style?

price of being a fashion blogger

(Photo from FashionBombDaily.com)

Yesterday I was featured as Fashion Bomb Daily’s Bombshell of the Day. If you are a black girl who loves fashion, then you know how major this is. I have been following Fashion Bomb for years and never had the confidence to submit my pictures, until recently. The overall feedback on my style blew me away. Most commenters had nothing but kind words to say, and the few who gave “constructive criticism” all said the same thing “You have on the SAME pair of shoes in every picture.” And that’s what sparked this post.

First, for the record, I honestly own over 100 pairs of shoes. I remember my father used to call me Imelda Marcos because of my shoe obsession. However, the attack on the extent of my footwear collection is not what this post is about.

The harsh reality of social media, and fashion blogging, is that regular people are holding themselves to the same standards that celebrities [and famous bloggers] are held to. I can recall hearing countless friends say “I can’t wear this because I already have a picture of it on Instagram.” Even I am guilty of not wanting to repost the same look more than once. Where did this mentality come from? Why on Earth are people so obsessed with portraying an unlimited wardrobe? As a celebrity stylist I am here to tell you that celebrities and famous bloggers get a majority of their clothes as gifts or loans from showrooms.. thus… they hardly ever recycle what they are wearing. As a blogger I am here to tell you that countless bloggers buy and return items simply to create an illusion of a never ending supply of clothes. As a regular working woman I am here to tell you that I do not have an endless wardrobe. There are [obviously] plenty of times that I rewear things that I have purchased, and I have no shame in it.

There was one comment that said “I can’t respect you as a fashionista if you wear the same shoes”. Does having style mean that you have to have unlimited access to clothes? Shoes, clothes, bags, everything costs money; so in order to be a star blogger or to have stellar style do you also have to have a large expendable amount of money? In today’s economy I would like to think that it was refreshing, not off-putting, to see real people reusing items they own to create a unique style.

Being a style blogger means that I am expected to always be on top of the latest trends, and constantly post pictures in never worn before items. As an avid Instagrammer, the same guidelines apply. Why are we so obsessed with fabricating an image of an infinite wardrobe, and where does it leave those of us who don’t have the means to do so? I wonder if the world of social media will ever change, and if we will ever grasp a more realistic concept of what style actually is.  Here’s hoping that we can stop equating it with the number of pieces a person owns or how many times they decide to wear them.

 

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