Gem entered the ASOS Battle of the Bloggers competition and has made it into the Top 10 - well done Gem! Her entry titled, That's Fashism (so clever, Gem!) is honest, well-written and funny as heck. I totally connected with what she had to say and the fact that she's been in the lead for most of the week, proves that many others feel the same.
"I HATE fashion...I hate the dictatorship. I hate this season. I hate next season. I hate fashion week. I hate the models. I hate Kate Moss. I hate the advertising. I hate the prices. I hate Vogue. I hate Anna Wintour. I hate the clichés. I hate the pressure. But my god, I love style."
I quite fancy Miss Moss but I know what you are saying, Gem! It takes guts to have a bold opinion on the web (especially if you're planning on working in the fashion biz) so kudos to Gem for telling it like it is. You have my vote, sweet!
"The ‘out with the new, in with the newer’ mentality doesn’t have a place in our world. At least in the blogs I read. Wear whatever you like, whomever you like, whenever you like. It’s as simple as that!"
I found the next article via the talented Nubby Twiglet. Look magazine chose not to run an interview with Queen Marie of Kingdom of Style after learning that she is 44. Marie's graceful response titled, 'You are a number, not a name' makes some excellent points about age discrimination in fashion.
"It reminded us of the many things wrong with the attitude within the fashion industry towards issues like age. It was a clear message stating you can be too old for fashion."
To echo one of Gem's sentiments, I love how the blogosphere has provided a platform for girls and guys around the world to have a say about fashion and style. You don't need to have deep pockets or model-good-looks to have a voice on the web. You don't need to slavishly follow trends or worry about style guides. I've learnt so much about dressing this past year from looking at pictures of bloggers wearing brands from Primark to Prada. I don't care about bad lighting, pale legs or crooked smiles. It's just refreshing to see real girls of all shapes rocking loads of different looks. And isn't it awesome that despite all the messages we receive about how we should conform to certain fashion norms, there are still people brave enough to say, 'Hey, I actually think this about X, Y and Z and I am going to dress however I like regardless.'
Marie said, "What happened to celebrating diversity? Has the fashion industry ever really celebrated diversity?" It's a valid question but at least we're celebrating it on the web. If you've ever wanted to blog about fashiony things but thought you weren't 'qualified' to do so, I encourage you to bin that thought and just go for it! I've gotten dressed for the past 27 years but have only begun exploring the fun side of it this past year. People that knew me growing up (except for friends of which many are amused!) would probably keel over in hysterics if they knew I was wittering on about clothes on the internet. I was scruff supreme and still often am!
On that note of declaration, I wish you a wonderful weekend! I will be be back on Monday and hopefully with some images from the NARS shoot to show you. Have a goodie guys and let me know what you thought of the articles if you get a chance to read 'em. x
