The Vanity of Fashion Bloggers - 7 Misconceptions

October 29, 2015

In the three years I have been blogging, I have heard all kinds of remarks of what fashion bloggers are supposed to be like. Some are positive, while some can be quite negative. Of course I understand that this comes with the territory. I mean we slam photo's of ourselves all over the Internet like there is no tomorrow. Not once or twice, but everyday, all day. I get the fact that some people will get the wrong message here. "Narcissistic wanna be models", "self absorbed attention seekers" are one of those not so nice remarks about fashion bloggers, Does it really look that bad what we do is the question here?


I have been thinking a lot about this topic and sometimes I catch myself wondering after posting yet another photo of myself on Instagram, if this is really what I want my blog to stand for? Vanity and coming across as a superficial airhead?  I think not! I want to inspire and be inspired. That's really it my friends, it is as simple as that.

When I started this blog early 2012, all I wanted to do was write about the newest fashion and beauty trends. I wanted to post cute photos of my latest shopping scores. I hoped my friends and family would read about and I could be of somewhat help to them. After I started posting outfits with my take on how to style a particular pair of boots or that cute little jacket I just bought, I noticed that I would get the most response and traffic to my blog. If outfit posts attract more readers,"This is what like minded people want to read about" I figured. I continued doing so, hoping to inspire readers with my outfit choices and style tips.

 Blogging opened a completely new world for me, where I have been able to meet so many new fashion friends and I am now able to collaborate with amazing brands. Never did I think my blog would turn out the way it has been. This only happened because I was determined to work hard for it. Vanity could never have been my driving force to keep this blog going for all these years. Being passionate has been!

So when it comes down to this topic I would like to clear a few misconceptions that might not only count for me, but for most of my fellow bloggers out there:


1: "Fashion bloggers are narcissistic".  While all fashion and style bloggers love to dress up, I don't think they are more vain than most women who equally love to dress up and take good care of their appearance.The fact that we have our pictures taken to inspire others, does not mean we are narcissistic and full of ourselves. Like any other woman, we deal with our insecurities and we are even more faced with them when taking and looking at our own photos on a daily basis. We put on 5 pounds and all we see are chubby cheeks in those photos. If vanity was the case we would have to call models, musicians, actors. bodybuilders and anybody who works with their appearance narcissistic too.  Having my picture taken is necessary to show how I styled an outfit. because that is really what this blog is all about.

2: "She must want to be a fashion designer, slash model, slash stylist". Most bloggers I know do not want to be any of those above.  Although some do and are extremely good at let's say designing. Thumbs up to them, because I can't sew for the life of it. Most bloggers just love sharing their views on style and enjoy writing about it. For example, I have never wanted to become a model. To me it never appealed to not be in charge of a photo I am in. Yes I am that much of a control freak. On the other hand taking photos for my blog, I am in total control of which outfits I am wearing, which photos are being chosen and what setting and location I am shooting . This to me feels more creative than working as a model. Don't get me wrong!  I absolutely adore fashion models and I have a deep respect for their hard work and their fit and lean physique, but I've always wanted to be part of the more creative side of fashion and blogging does that for me. 

4: "The only things she does is going shopping and buying outfits".  Most bloggers I know work a full time job, go to school, studying for their masters, or are full time moms juggling their time between keeping up with their blog and their other responsibilities.. Fashion itself is a form of art, a way of expressing ourselves. In my humble opinion it has nothing to do with excess and overspending. Besides, fashion is not my only interest. I have a great passion for singing, dancing, travel, working out and photography and it takes a good chunk out of my time. I also love watching documentaries on just about anything from science to history to religion. I think in order to keep up and write a blog, you just have to be an all rounded person. We need to get our inspiration from somewhere  and we definitely can't get that from just shopping and buying

5 "She thinks she is better than the less fashionable women". Just because I like to post my fashion ideas, doesn't mean I look down on anybody who doesn't share my passion for it. Yes I love to dress up, but I also wear sneakers, sweats and the most casual outfits in my free time too. I do not wear stiletto heels on a daily basis, nor do I wear designer pieces every time I leave the house. I like to balance it out when it comes to what I wear. When I have dressed casually for a few days, it is so much more fun to dress up again for a party, event or even date night with the hubs. 

6: "She is lazy and doesn't want to work hard, because hey fashion blogging is not a real job" The one thing I have learned when running your own blog, is that you can't afford yourself to be lazy!  Keeping up a fashion blog takes a lot of time, effort and is a full time job for all the hard work you put in. Coming up with new outfit ideas, finding locations for photo shoots, shooting quality photos, editing and writing and linking the posts, promoting your site on multiple social media sites, doing research on the latest fashion and beauty trends. Mastering photography skills. Mailing and meeting with brands, keeping track of income and taxes. attending social events and keeping in touch with our readers on all social platforms. It is more then a handful and far from living the "lazy life" . Even when we unplug our phones and computers, our minds are still racing what to post next. Do you think that in the process of all this there is time to feel the least bit of vanity ? I think not.

7: "All her friends are fashion bloggers too".  Although I have met the most wonderful bloggers from all over the world who I consider dear friends, most friends and family I spend my time with in "real" life are totally not into fashion. When I meet up with a friend for let's say coffee and lunch, I do not even talk about fashion or my blog, but more about what interests us both on that particular day and connects us as friends.  I don't feel the need to discuss fashion every minute of the day to the people in my life who don't care for it as much as I do. Talking about fashion is what this blog is for and that's when you my dear readers come in! You guys love talking and reading about it just like me and I think there is nothing vain about that right?

  
Thanks for reading everyone.

 With love Tamara Chloé

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Disclaimer:  The bottom photos were taken from Pinterest