Consider it a master class in how to start a media firestorm. Suzy Menkes's recent T Magazine essay about the changing nature of Fashion Week has elicited passionate responses from the people she fingers as the cause of that change: bloggers.
Do magazine editors really have that much disdain for people who got famous online? Tommy Ton thinks they do.
"You can sense it when you're going to the shows," Ton said in an interview with The Talks. "You feel like they belittle you in a way. Not intentionally, but you can feel like they're thinking, 'Oh, you've cheated the system. I don't feel like you earned your spot here sitting in the show.' Maybe that's just me being a bit more insecure. And if I still feel that way in my position I can only imagine what a new blogger feels like coming into this."
Ton added that even famous denizens of the Internet take flak for not having risen through the ranks at traditional publications.
"There are negative connotations to being a blogger," he said. "Regardless of whatever success you've had, when you meet someone they are like, 'Oh, you're that blogger!' And I'm like, 'Yes, that's me, the blogger.' It's a very belittling or demeaning term in some ways. But I think it's also great that there are people like [BryanBoy] who are very comfortable and secure with themselves. He's like, 'Yes, I'm the blogger. And I'm also on America's Next Top Model. What are you going to say about that?'"
If you've been following us on Twitter you know we have had a bit of an off day, thankfully we can always rely on the common sense, good cheer and ingenuity of our fantastic community to keep us feeling alright.
Trend De La Creme made us burst out laughing with her comparison of Pierre Cardin's SS09 collection with The Fruit Guys.
The Smart Stylist has a round up of Paris' headdresses.
Fashionniche is agonizing over the Chanel 2.55. Honey, you are not alone!
Girl-Woman-Beauty Brains and The Budget Fashionista both have guides to shopping in a recession that we highly suggest checking out. After all curbing your spending too much is actaully bad for the economy as consumer spending accounts for 2/3rds of our economy!
We saw quite a few sock and open toed shoe combinations in Paris and Milan (Prada anyone?) and we are just as perplexed by them as SheFinds
We are living in a state of almost complete panic what with the bailout going haywire and the DOW dropping 700 points so we are doing our best to keep ourselves distracted in our state of incomprehension with a happy grab bag of style blog posts. Maybe Henry Paulson would feel better too if he spent some time reading blogs as well. Well, maybe just the fashion and beauty ones!
The Fashionable Housewife, hopefully not worrying about variable rate mortages, has suggestions on skinny jeans for all bodies even those that have endured childbirth.
Fassonaburu has some truly confusing lace arm warmers. We think they might itch. But then we don't understand a lot of things these days, like say how people tasked with risk management didn't run worst case scenario forecasts!
Ma Petite Chou needs some tough girl shoes. We think Nancy Pelosi could use a few pairs for the next set of bailout negotiations.
Shoe Blog has another emergency. A shoe emergency at a discounter footwear emporium. With conditions like this we are doomed even with cut rate shoe shopping.
And finally The Tastemakers Society has found an umbrella that just about sums up how we are feeling about all of this insanity.
Coutorture's community has plenty of material to work with this week thanks to the nearly instant access we all enjoy to images and reviews of Milan Fashion Week so its little surprise that the catwalk was on everyone's mind.
Chic and Untroubled has a few trenchant remarks about billowing dresses at Gucci, Catwalk Queen is sorry they haven't given more time to Alessandro Dell'Acqua in the past, The Fashion Pad has a bazillion (OK more like 6-7) Milan show reviews, J'Adore Couture thinks Milan goes from bad to worse, Senora Carter reviews the bags at Burberry, Season Five Style wonders why everyone is hating on Gucci, and finally for something positive Fashionation writes a love letter to Prada.
And in case you just can't think about Milan anymore Business of Fashion has a report on the new H&M in Japan. Very informative and quite detailed so we highly suggest checking it out. Need something really happy making? Temptalia has reviews and swatches of Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupte Lipstick.
After a two week hiatus thanks to New York and London Fashion Week Coutorture's community must reads are back with a fresh dose of blogger joy.
We entirely support Bag Bliss's love of Pringle's Kasia tote bag. We have Pringle on the mind what with their new collaboration with Sigerson Morrison and all. Shoewawa also has the scoop on that collaboration.
Style Eyes notes that nudes and oranges are combining quite a bit on the catwalk this Spring 2009 season. She also hopes that by saying "nude" she doesn't get any upsetting Google traffic. We think you are safe hon!
Temptalia has Chanel's Holiday 2008 collection with lots of images and product descriptions for those obsessed with all things double C.
SheFinds solves the dreaded pairing black and brown collection. We say hey didn't we already do that at Lord and Taylor this week? Ohh wait, that was for guys!
Little Molly Cakes asks how do we feel about sequined shorts. She feels good. We feel bad.
Beauty copy can be a tangle of clichés as writers struggle to find fresh descriptions for minute changes. We almost wish the copy editors would give in and admit it! So when the ne plus ultra of beauty clichés, the cherry, came out in force this Fall the overbearing metaphor seemed almost charming. Its as if everyone agreed to say, eh, why force it? Everyone loves a deep cherry red lip so let's not struggle to call it anything but. Its the beauty copy equivalent of calling a spade a spade. And that refreshing honesty about the limits of descriptors somehow makes us that much covetous. Why strive to over market when we all know that we love it we suppose.
And clearly our community feels the same way as MAC's Cult of Cherries and Laura Mercier's Cherries Noir are getting rave reviews. 
Beauty 411 loves Cherries Noir for what we might call a sister cliché 40s Hollywood glamor. 15 Minute Beauty Fanatic goes right for the kisser with MAC's Cult of Cherry with a cherry lips entry. Temptalia too goes for cherryliscious lips. Makeup and Beauty Blog continues the trend Mercier's Cherries Noir cherry lips. And because it can't just be about the biggies, So Loverly found a Silken Naturals Cherry Crush lipgloss.
Vie Couture, M.I.S.S Crew, and Nessasary Makeup round up the coverage with general reviews.
The beauty of the Internet is getting to say exactly what you want in a public forum, right?(Well that and stalking ex-boyfriends and shopping at work, but I digress.) The ability to speak one's mind in bytes and blips has landed one blogger with a jail sentence for extremism. A Russian man who called the local police “scum” and calling for the clean-up of the force he blogged that the police should be burned in the town square twice a day. For this posting, was convicted of “inciting hatred or enmity” and given a one-year suspended sentence.
Free speech activists said the ruling is creating a dangerous precedent: “This was an absolutely unjustified verdict ... This verdict means it will be impossible to make rude comments about anybody.” News of the sentence permeated Russian blogs yesterday leading some to say, "I don't know now if I should be writing here or not." For his part, new Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said he prizes free speech and that Russia should use a light touch when policing the Internet. That's not the case in Iran. To see what's happening there, read more
The maxi dress is the older sister of the bubble dress. Both dresses were flavors of the month last summer in what felt like an endless season of cheap and easy to wear fashion that didn't ask much of the wearer or her pocket book. And yet the maxi-dress always felt like she had a little more staying power than her kid sister.
The allure of the maxi-dress isn't as simple as the bubble dress. The cute and obscuring bubble dress was the sartorial equivalent of the one hit wonder. But the maxi dress hints at so many possibilities and we don't just mean what is under the folds of fabric. It suggests a certain kind of life with leisure time, extraneous bank accounts, and a lack of concern for dirtying the fringes with concrete sidewalks (or the boardwalk). The maxi dress is casual and yet with its length it goes formal in a wink, something the bubble dress never did manage.
And we clearly aren't the only ones wondering if the maxi dress deserves another summer in our closet. Community member Margarite Elaine has tips for wearing the dress (for short girls like two of our editors she recommends having them stop just above your ankle) in any situation or on any body. But the real proof? Six of the bloggers at our DVF X Bloggers fashion shoot chose to highlight a DVF Maxi Dress including The Daily Obession, SheFinds, See Pretty Things, Shopalicious, The ShoeBlog and Clothes Pin.
Yesterday we were in a brooding mood as we pondered the effect the economic downturn would have on our fashion choices. However, we've since turned our frowns upside down, as we realized that the fashion world doesn't have to become a virtual strip mall of homogeneous, low-quality goods. While we're still aware of its pitfalls and are sleeping with one eye open, we've found solutions for the fashion-craving girl or guy on a paltry budget. Our network partners show us the way.
We found inspiration in the form of a puffed shoulder, via Kingdom of Style's tale of victory on eBay, where she scored a unique bolero jacket that sent her over the moon with rapturous joy. Her jubilant photo spread with said jacket proved to us that you can still sate your high-fashion appetites. You just have to know where to look. Even if bidding wars aren't your thing, there are many virtual stores on eBay that don't require you to engage in high-speed clicking battles with an enemy mouse. For the uninitiated, these stores allow eBayers to buy and sell goods at fixed prices.
If it's indie accoutrements you crave, Etsy is pretty hard to beat. As a marketplace for independent designers to showcase their wares without the costs associated with a brick and mortar shop, it's a go-to if you're looking for unique, one-of-a-kind pieces that you won't see everywhere else. Plus, it feels good to support a fledgling designer and stick it to our mass-producing culture. Network partner Stereoette makes and sells her own jewelry at her Etsy online store. She also recommends Gavin & Lily, and Holly Stalder.
If it's vintage you seek, our network partners have you covered. Shrimpton Couture is a treasure trove of vintage finds and is currently offering 15% off of everything on the site until May 31. Debutante Clothing lets you know where to find the great vintage styles and tips you off to the best eBay and Etsy shops. Zuburbia always features an enviable vintage pick of the day and provides a well-edited list of links to vintage resources.
Perhaps our economic woes will force us to become better, more resourceful shoppers. There will always be a niche to serve those discerning consumers who won't be satisfied with what traditional retailers try to peddle, and as long as we continue to seek it, the market will respond accordingly.
