It's kind of rough writing about clothes when in this humid weather I want to wear as little clothing as possible and sit indoors in front of my fan. Alas, with the internship, I have little choice. And I'm okay with that.
Not much has changed since I last reported on my work with the Independent Fashion Bloggers. I'm still doing my thing on the site's forums, networking with other up-and-coming fashion writers, and excitedly taking orders from my supervisor, the lovely Jennine Tamm (CEO of IFB and the voice behind The Coveted and Eat, Sleep, Denim).
I'm learning a lot and among the things I'm learning is how to be a better writer. Fashion is weird. It has its own language. You can't look at a dress and say that it's blue and short. You look at a dress and describe it as cornflower blue with a hemline that hits mid-thigh. There are specific words for the shapes of necklines and different kinds of pleats. To refer to a top as simply being a tee shirt would be to do the efforts of the designer a great injustice. Just as Shimerians are required to learn the technical terms in painting before discussing a Cezanne piece, fashion writers need to have as much of a grasp on garment-making as the designers do.
Being an independent blogger has its advantages in that I'm able to learn these things at my own pace and my audience is a little more forgiving that the typical editor, but having a good fashion vocabulary is what sets the best bloggers apart. So who knows their stuff? Well besides myself (hehe), I recommend you mosey on over to Sea of Shoes, Geometric Sleep, or Style Rookie. There are many more out there, but those are my current favorites as far as the language goes.
Blogging gets a lot of flak. I recently saw a plain white v-neck with the words "There is a special place in hell for fashion bloggers" emblazoned in black helectiva on the front. But this internship has taught me that the backlash is undeserved. Yes, there is a lot of narcissism within the blogosphere (99% of us post pictures of ourselves in cute clothes and soak up the complimentary comments), but it's about community, learning from each other, and carving out your own niche in an industry that previously had its doors closed to anyone not moneyed and stick-thin. I love that I have an opportunity to help better build that community.
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