Round up: A moment of self reflection

The news that Kate of make do style has decided to stop blogging came as a shock, as I read and enjoy her blog every day. In the first installment of her farewell in 3 parts (2 written so far!) she wrote this, and it really got me thinking:

"Firstly I think we are all done with thrift and mending and as much as I tried to stick to make do stuff I feel we've all got the message of less is more in whatever form. And if someone hasn't got a grip on their consumption and bank balance then really I'm tired of this drum....Which also means I need to reclaim my fashion mojo and love of fashion. Studying has made me slightly cynical and having no money has made me stop consuming!"

It got me thinking about my blog. My role in the blogosphere and why i'm still blogging. Do I have a message, did I start with a message and if yes am I still following it? So I thought instead of staring blankly at my computer screen, i'd write it all down.

Unlike Kate, I dont think my blog ever filled a particular "gap in the market." I just loved fashion so much and felt like I had something I wanted to say, so I started the blog and started writing. The Becky came and wrote too and it got funny. And now its just me again! I compare my blogs to others and find my own lacking. Definitely I look at the big guns; vogue and style.com or glamour's websites and blogs and wonder why i'm still trying. But I console myself with this: Surely the power of the blogosphere isn't its similarity to other sources of fashion writing, but the opposite. Who would read two blogs that looked and said exactly the same? The blogs power (like girl power but for us!) is its ability to vear away from Vogue-esque stereotypes. I, for one, couldn't compete with Vogue in terms of knowledge or readership or photo sources; but I do know i'm not supposed to. Or at least I hope I'm not supposed to!

Blogs are an outlet for the girls who like primark and find their UGG boots essential sunday sloppy wear (I do, and I'm not even ashamed!) Blogs reinforce that it is possible to like fashion, and look good, and simultaneously regularly overindulge in nandos and chocolate biscuits.

So looking at this makes me think that in a roundabout way, maybe my blog does have a message. One of the things I like most about my blog, or at least the thing I think most sets it apart, is how far away I am from the "model norm". This isn't about skinny girls who always manage to look good when uber styled in couture; there are a stack of glossy magazines who definitely have that aspect of the fashion world covered. And although there are some really amazing blogs about model-esque women looking great, that doesn't have to be what blogging is all about. For me, its about real women with real curves (and in my case uber boobs and a very wobbly tummy) who really care about what they look like, and what they wear, and want to look pretty, but only have a tenner and a lot of imagination to do it!

I suppose when I write thats who i'm writing for: women who love fashion, who are conscious of there slightly flawed bodies, but who are trying hard to learn to love them. Women like me. (ahhh, the ego!)

When some stores size their clothes small and I can't fasten the zip, I show you the funny pictures.

If I shoe horn myself into a dress and my boobs spill out, I write about it as candidly as I can.

When I find something I like or don't like I tell you how and why and the cheapest place i've found to buy it (yup, i'm still thinking about that Topshop outlet)

So I guess my blog actually does have a message, just not a big or significant or world changing one. Unlike the wonderful Kate, I don't think I can change the way you shop or think. My blog is just me learning how to be me. Its like i'm talking to an imaginary best friend who cares about how I look as much as I do! And all the things I like about my blog, are things I like about me; what clothes I wish I could buy, what I actually wear, how I feel.

I like the sense of comaradarie I feel from readers and other bloggers: its nice to have an outlet where you can obsess constantly about clothes, collections, and what matches best with those lovely new shoes. Love me as they do, I dont think my friends and family could cope with taking the full brunt of my obsession. On the independent fashion blogger you read about clever people who approach their blog like a business. I'm not one of those people! Becky installed a stat counter on the blog over a year ago, but the buzz of checking how many people are reading has long gone; I dont care how many people are reading, as long as the people that are enjoy what they get!

And so I guess in this very cathartic and self congratulatory way, im saying that I like what i'm doing. I'm happy with the blog. And i'm going to keep writing on, until I stop caring about fashion or those flying pigs pop round again.

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If I dont care what I wear who else is going to?

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Tor

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PS - Best of luck to those who started this whole thing off! Kate and her lovely little boy, good luck in your future fashiony endeavours, and everything else you decide to do!