Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

I had to look through all of my RSS feeds for this post at "bits & bobbins" because I couldn't remember where I'd seen it, but it's been on my mind since Friday. I just think it's really important and she says it well.

I really enjoy looking at street fashion blogs (like The Sartorialist and Fashionist), but at the same time, I can't help but think that these blogs are a lot like glossy women's magazines, just on a bit of a different level. It feels like being presented with a look to imitate, rather than be inspired by.

I especially feel a pinch when someone says, "My inspiration is Prada" and they're wearing... Prada. Is that inspiration? Or is that slapping down a credit card? I much prefer when people wear things they've made themselves. But maybe I'm biased.

Sort of a one-off of the street blogs is Wardrobe Remix, a Flickr group started, in fact, by Tricia of the aforementioned "bits & bobbins". This is a little different because this is people taking photos of themselves and their own creations. It's not limited to one POV, one gatekeeper, and I like the fact that the folks who submit pictures of their ensembles feel good about what they've concocted that day -- regardless of whether they're a size two or a size 20.

Here's a great image from Ivana Clobber -- sewn by her own little self:



Regardless of how crafty and indie we feel, there is a real sort of unification of the craft movement happening online, and if we don't check ourselves, soon we'll all be striving to be "different... just like everyone else."

I don't mean any criticism of the street fashion blogs. I think Fashionist, especially, celebrates quirkiness and inventiveness, and you can't fault someone for having a POV on her own blog. The Sartorialist is a little different -- lots of pics of Beautiful People Wearing Clothes You Could Never Afford Even If You Started Selling Off Body Parts. But still fun to check out.

I just want to make sure that now that we've come this one step from the industrial fashion machine (half step? baby step?), we don't immediately create its replacement and then fail to look behind the quirkiness curtain and fail to see that it's still just the same old wizard back there.

PS - I actually refashioned some clothes yesterday! So look for my post on Wardrobe Refashion later.