One of the things that drives me a little crazy about being a fashion blogger is having to talk about it. Friends and family are much more likely to tell new acquaintances what I do and inevitably the first question I receive will be something along the lines of "how would you rate my outfit?" Usually people are rather joke-y and self-deprecating ("oh I bet you don't think too much of what I'm wearing…"), but part of the question is earnest; people want to know "as someone who regularly writes about fashion how do you judge others based on their clothes?" The truth is (and this is rather difficult to expound upon to a new acquaintance) I'm against fashion criticism--I like fashion as a form of self expression and since it's a very personal choice for me I consider other people's fashion choices to be equally personal and therefore outside of criticism. I understand where the question originates--most of mainstream fashion dialogue revolves around Worst Dressed lists or the equally loathsome "Who Wore It Better" columns. Most articles you stumble across in a newspaper or magazine that aren't covering fashion week are dedicated to tearing-down celebrities fashion choices. So naturally when what most people hear about fashion is so-called experts mocking a pregnant lady's dress choice on the red carpet it becomes the assumption that that is fashion. That criticizing "poor" fashion choices or telling people how to dress is the focus of fashion conversations. I wish this wasn't the main public discourse on fashion and naturally, it's not my view of fashion. I don't enjoy reading articles that tear-down other people's appearances, let alone hold a a desire to add my own opinions to the fray. So yeah, I like clothes, I blog, I'd be happy to discuss fashion color theory within Mad Men with you, but rate your outfit? Not so much.
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