Are Fashion Bloggers Invincible?

I've been blogging for over a year now, and providing style tips for my friends for many years before that. I'm not sure why some people have an inate since of style and others do not. Are we born this way? Or did we just spend our whole lives growing up playing dress up and reading fashion magazine after fashion magazine? Even though I'm an engineer, I have more of an artsy, creative mind, and that might actually be what adds to my ability to put together an ok outfit every now and then :-p. 

As much as I was complimented on my outfits and as many people asked me for advice, I was still intimidated when I joined the fashion blogging community. Why? Well for years my friends and family were the only ones judging my looks, and I was about to post my outfits, my life, and myself to the world. Could I handle constructive criticism? I also saw that the world of fashion bloggers was growing exponentially and continues to grow daily.  What would make someone read my blog when there are so many great bloggers out there?  So many men and women with a sense of style, a keen sense of just knowing what clothing items work together, and enough confidence to take a fashion risk.

Over the last few months I have discovered many great bloggers due to becoming more active on IFB. Some with as little as 6 followers, and some with upwards of 11K followers.  Whether our blogs have a big or small fan basis, we hope our fans are following us because they like our style and they think we know what we're doing, and we like to think that we do!! I'm sure some of us bloggers believe that when it comes to putting together a fantastic outfit, or providing feedback on lookbooks, or listing items for yours and our closets, we know exactly what we are doing or we wouldn't be blogging!  So when I received a free copy of InStyle's "New Secrets of Style" book, via a contest win, I almost gave it away.  I mean why not? I'm a fashion blogger after all, what could this book possibly teach me? Then I realized that there are tons of things I still need to learn, especially if one day I would like to have a career as a stylist.  It's one thing to know how to dress yourself, but to dress others and take their body shape, likes & dislikes into account, as you are planning their outfits is a totally different monster. 

To get to the point,  I decided to keep the book, and read it...all 208 pages of it!  As stated by Yves Saint Laurent: "Fashions fade, but style is eternal." That is the first line in Chapter One of this InStyle book, and it further emphasizes just how separate style is from fashion. We all know that trends come and go, and that there's no need to try a trend just because it's the big thing of the season.  Yet, there is a lot to be said for knowing the basics, and what works for your figure. This allows you to incorporate trends into your everyday style if you want to, and if not, no one can say your "out-of-season" because the basic style rules will never change.  Knowing your style will also stop you from having fashion faux paux, or being listed on a worst-dress list, or winding up on TLC's "What Not To Wear".  Even as an IFBer, I have made some bad decisions, like the following:

1. Never buying button-up tops that button properly across my chest.  I refused to buy the next size up because I didn't want to look frumpy. And who wants to get a million work shirts tailored? I settled for a perfectly camouflaged safety pin in the gap area.

2. Never having anything tailored...nothing...nada...zip, if it didn't fit well in the store, I just didn't buy it...haha

I laugh at these two faux pas, because the 4th page of Chapter 1 jumps right into fit, and having items tailored.   Do you have your items tailored?  Tailored suits look so polished, and I'm ashamed to say I do not own a tailored suit, but I think it will be a near future investment! Below I have summarized some of the segments of Chapter 1 - Style Fundamentals.

Fit

The book states that good fit means that clothes skim the body (showing curves without clinging to them) and that all the details --lapels, pocket flaps, slits, seams, and pleats-- lie flat.  Yea...definitely guilty of this, especially because I'm still trying to wear some clothes that are too big for me due to my weight loss!! 

Fabric

The two most important qualities to look for in a fabric are weight and movement.  I do not pay that much attention to fabric, unless it's about the weather. I try on everything, regardless of "material" and if it fits well, then it works.  They recommend fabrics that have wool and cotton, and a touch of spandex. Matte fabrics are more forgiving than shiny ones.

Proportion

Flattering your figure is not just about camouflage and diversion--it's also a balancing act.  The length of your legs in relation to your torso, the width of your shoulds in relation to your hips.  I'm pretty good with this one. I feel my clothes are usually the right lengths, and show my waist, and length of leg correctly :-)

Well this is far as I've read in the book so far, and now it's time for bed.  I will try to incorporate summaries from my reading into my daily outfit posts!

Love,