We are now a nation of instant... We don't want to wait until we can get to a newsagent to buy a magazine and we definitely don't want to wait until we have five minutes on our lunch break before reading it!
That's why blogs are THE biggest form of media right now. (I know, I do the math, you'd be surprised at how low the readership of some magazines is these days) Of course This is in no way meant to be a bad rap on magazines- I love reading a magazine but in my opinion their value has been lost slightly recently. They need to get back to what they are good at and stop trying to be like blogs. If you bought a copy of Vogue ten/ twenty years ago it was a collectors item, you kept it, displayed it on your coffee table and saved up all the best editions to hand down to your granddaughter one day. If I buy a magazine now there is no compelling reason for me to keep it. Magazines need to make themselves more like a beautiful book with unique content and imagery that isn't available anywhere else - something that can be treasured. But that's just my humble opinion and I digress.
Of course at work changing peoples opinions is easier. The proof is in the pudding as they say and you show people results and they usually sit up and take note. (It's infuriating when they don't but that's another story)
But in life it's more tricky to convince people, firstly what a blog is and secondly why they are so important. There's still a certain stigma, a bit of 'you do what now?' and 'oh well that's a nice little hobby for you dear' .
But people DO read blogs, not only do they read them, but they are inspired by them and they BUY from them, which is of course what determines their overall power. How do I know? Because I do all of the above...
Of course I'm sure you already know all of this, because most of my readers are bloggers too but for anyone else, those who may have stumbled upon this post and are still questioning the above statement then read on...
The easiest way to explain it is to use myself as an example as I am the ultimate prime customer for any brand (read sucker). Despite the fact that I work in PR I am a sponge for any form of media and advertising, I suck it all in and better yet, even though I know it's all nonsense I still allow it to influence me - sucker! However despite that I honestly can't remember the last time I bought something that I saw in a magazine (with the exception of ASOS magazine of course which I could quite easily buy everything from). Why? Because I don't find them inspiring anymore, it all seems old news by the time it comes out, I've seen it all before, I don't get excited about reading any of it (again with the exception of ASOS magazine which warrants a little squeal every time it arrives on the doorstep) and I don't see anything new.
But I do read blogs, I do get excited about reading blogs, I do find blogs inspiring and interesting and new, and most importantly I do actually buy from blogs.
To prove my point I wanted to do a post featuring just some of the pieces that I have been inspired to buy, create, seek out or covet recently purely and equivocally because of seeing them featured on some of my favourite blogs.
This is NOT a copycat post. I repeat this is NOT a copycat post. The intention of this blog post is not to take what I've seen on other blogs and try to recreate it by buying the same clothes as them- if it was that would be incredibly stupid as:
A. I don't look nearly as hot in any of these items as the original bloggers who wore them- which is why they inspired me remember?!
And B. Because my photography isn't nearly as breathtaking, my wearing of the garments not nearly as interesting and my influence not as high.
No the point of this post is to prove to the disbelievers how influential blogs can be when done well and to give a shout out to some of the blogs I love and let them know that their blog posts are important and inspiring and not in any way pointless... Because if nothing else they have inspired little old me to get crafty, to find a gem on eBay or to buy something completely out of my comfort zone and surely that (in it's simplest form) is the aim of any blogger- to inspire others.
So here goes...
Thanks girls for inspiring me - you lovely people, and thanks for also bankrupting me- you swines!
Outfit 1...
I bought this red cable knit dress by Mango at ASOS after seeing the beautiful Shini rock it like no other in Paris. I've yet to pull of the bare legs and thigh highs, but instead team it with tights and boots or my new loafers from Zara. As I don't have Shini's slender figure, the dress didn't look quite the same on me and I very nearly returned it straight away but after a bit of crafty DIY thanks to Kit I made this beautiful belt to go with it (all by myself!) and it completely transformed the look. I now feel more Bridget Bardot than Dierdre Barlow. (especially with my new Bardot inspired hairdo!)
As a proud Scot it was only a matter of time before I got myself something Tartan but after seeing Sara rock a Tartan coat in a few of her posts I decided the time was now. Inspired by her look I trawled eBay for the perfect one and found this Marc by Marc Jacobs number. (less a tartan, more a subtle check but with the addition of my own fur collar it's perfect) While wearing this very outfit in Chichester this weekend, I completely surprised even myself when found buying a black 70's style hat in the Warehouse sale to go with. Now if you are a regular reader of this blog you may at this point be crying out 'What What What???' as only last month I talked about my ongoing issue with hats precisely like this. And all I can say is that I am as surprised as you are... perhaps it was the lure of being in a different city and feeling the need to reinvent my style to suit (anyone else do this? no? only me then), perhaps it was my new hair which was luring me into a false sense of hat wearing security, perhaps it was the fact that it was only £7? Whatever the reason I know I definitely wouldn't have thought twice had I not seen both Jen and Monica looking so great in theirs recently.
Outfit Two...
This checked midi skirt from ASOS was picked up in the sale after yet another great bit of styling from Shini - this was admittedly a bit of an impulse buy and the fifties look isn't normally what particularly suits me but I have completely fallen in love with it. If it wasn't sold out I would have been back to buy the red checked version in an instant! I wore it for a night out with my new monochrome Zara heels, a little cropped sequin top, the same belt and jacket (love the double check look) and finished the outfit off (mixing casual with dressy) with my neon pink hat which would have been deemed too bright for me if I hadn't seen how great Jen looked in her orange one!
So there you have it, I'm the sucker that makes brands rub their hands together with glee!
BB
xxx
