I guess I'm feeling a little jaded when it comes to fashion magazines. The shiny pages and the promise of cool stuff to cut out and stick on my outfit inspiration board just aren't enticing me like they used to. It might have something to do with my diminishing interest in celebrity gossip or being bombarded with straight girl sex tips or because I'm at loath to support publications that continue to employ the services of an alleged sex offender (Vogue, Harpers Bazar, i-D and W magazine still hire Terry Richardson), but I've decided to switch from mags to blogs.
The fashion blogosphere is massive and there are so many amazing sites to search for style inspiration and DIY fashion tips, but I've narrowed my favourites down to two. These are Stylingo, a joint effort from Coventry girls Claire and Lauren and ELN Fashion run by Ebony Nash, from Lancaster.
Ebony interned for ELLE magazine in 2012 and quickly realised that unpaid internships in London are only for those with serious cash. She told me that unlike fashion internships, "blogging is completely what you make of it. If you get your sh*t together and commit to your blog like it's your job, you're going to see benefits from it - be that new experiences or even job offers". She cites blogging as the perfect creative outlet because it allows her to write about her own interests and add cheeky celeb satire pieces if she feels that someone has behaved or dressed particularly outrageously (she's looking at you, Miley Cyrus).
It made sense for the Stylingo girls to join forces and use their blog to recommend or slate products and mount their soap boxes to write lifestyle features. They reckon that variety is key, paring "hilarious posts alongside serious thought-provoking hard hitting pieces of journalism (i.e which lipstick lasts the longest) - so that you get something new every day".
The most attractive thing about fashion blogs is their individuality. The world of fashion can be very homogenous and exclusive and to see this, you only need to glance at the tall, skinny white chicks who dominate catwalk from New York to Paris. Fashion blogging doesn't have to cater for one body type or demonstrate slavish admiration for identikit models. Claire and Lauren told me that they are "one hundred percent part of the short girl brigade" and all about "embracing who you are and wearing what you want". They add that this doesn't include bum bags.
Ebony Nash is particularly passionate about the text content of her blog and believes that the writing of bloggers should be valued over pastel hair colour, being a size six or having a camera "that makes you look like Charlotte Free". She says that some blogs have a "formula for success" and that viewers should "actually read blogs more, instead of flicking through heavily edited pictures". If you have a passion for things style or beauty related, and genuinely enjoy writing, there's no reason why you shouldn't get involved as a fashion blogger. You don't have to have the most amazing DSLR or resemble Cara Delevingne.
I asked the three bloggers which products they're desperate to get their hands on for 2014. Ebony's after a pale pink boyfriend coat and says that "as a lover of all things black-on-black-on-black, I'm looking forward to getting out of my comfort zone with the pastel trends of SS14". Lauren wants everything in baby pink but if forced to choose, she'd like "a cropped fluffy jumper, the fluffier the better". Claire's going to be all over the holographic trend "like a rat on a biscuit". ELN Fashion and Stylingo are definitely ones to watch in 2014.