What is a Fashion Blog?

Wanna know a secret? I used to be a fashion blogger in the 2010's. Not full-time nor big time, but I had a long-running blog that I updated with my outfits.

You might be rolling your eyes or you might be wondering . . . what even is a fashion blog?

A fashion blog is an online journal of sorts. Usually, images are included with text of varying subjects. The contents of a fashion blog can vary quite a bit and have evolved in a million ways form when I started back in 2011.

Fashion blogs started out with a couple of different missions. One mission was to show folks where to purchase certain clothes. These could be clothing trends (oh the search for a peplum top in 2012) or a coveted piece of clothing (the absolute stronghold of a Hunter Rain Boot was crazy).

My favorite part of a fashion blog was learning from bloggers creative ways to style clothing. Believe it or not, before I had a blog I had never even thought of wearing a dress as a shirt or that there were 21 ways to style a button-down. I've had this video bookmarked for over a decade and refer back to it often.

If you own a clothing, jewelry, accessory, bag or shoe store, one great way to advertise your product is by sending it to a blogger to style and promote. I was sent a dozen or so dresses, necklaces, earrings, bags and tops when I was a blogger. I would style them and post photos of how I did with links of where to get them. Of course, you have to be careful to find fashion blogs with integrity that will give you the real review of the item and not just what the company wants you to hear.

Some fashion blogs will tell you where the deals are at. If you are an Amazon or Nordstrom fan, the fashion blogs will have you covered in terms of what to expect for sales and when they drop.

The main reason that I had a fashion blog, and there are thousands of others like me, was to promote ethical and ecological alternatives to fast-fashion. Most of my clothes were/are thrifted. It was important to me that folks know that you don't have to spend a fortune or put others in harm's way to have a stylish outfit.

The popularity of blogs has tanked over the last decade with the emergence of visual social media platforms like Instagram and later Tik Tok. Folks just didn't have the desire or patience to sit through a sonnet of why you bought a certain piece of clothing or why you styled it the way that you did. They just want to see the result and be able to click a tag to get them to the item to purchase it themselves!

I closed my blog in 2017. My decision to close the blog was mostly because I was afraid of losing my authenticity. Some brands and companies became more insistent on a positive review no matter your genuine opinion. Many bloggers were paying for (be it with time or money) views and subscriptions to launch their blogs. I simply didn't have the time, money or desire for it at the time.

But I loved having a blog. I loved learning things about my camera -- I have the blog to thank for most of what I know about how my camera works. I still love thrift shopping and finding a good deal. I love style and how different it can be for different bodies, people and places. I loved the sense of community that fashion blogging had. I still have "friends" from all over the world thanks to the blog. If you are considering starting one -- I say go for it!