Style File

You are part of the iPad generation — so chances are, you’ve read fashion blogs. Some are world famous (i.e., The Man Repeller, Sea of Shoes and Style Rookie), while others might be the amateur work of your friend down the hall.

But what’s the latest news in blogging? In an unlikely turn of events, bloggers are having their computer chairs pulled out from under them and are being thrown onto the runway.

That’s right — during the upcoming New York Fashion Week, fashion website Polyvore will hold a fashion show featuring bloggers as the models. Famous women such as Julie Sarinana of Sincerely Jules and Aimee Song of Song of Style will strut their stuff in clothes they might well have inspired.

You might recognize a few more of the 22 names on the list, including perhaps the most notable one: Amy Levin, IU alumna and creator of street-style blog CollegeFashionista.

Levin started CollegeFashoinista in 2008 when she was still a student in Bloomington. The site has since become a worldwide powerhouse.

CollegeFashionista is more than just a single blog. More than 200 campuses worldwide maintain their own sartorial pages on the CollegeFashionista website and publish daily posts about fashion and beauty trends.
 
Just think: A few short years ago, Levin was in your shoes, sitting in her room, reading the Indiana Daily Student, and now she’s walking in New York Fashion Week. Talk about having a moment.

The bloggers will walk in clothes designed by recent FIT graduates Dana-Maxx, Lauren Bagliore, Celestino and Gavaskar. I suggest you mark your calendars for 6 p.m. Monday — I personally can’t wait to see the show live-streamed from the Polyvore website.

Thanks to the global reach of blogs, bloggers are single-handedly dominating today’s fashion scene. Designers look to bloggers for inspiration, collaborate with bloggers for new designs and even feature individual bloggers in national advertisements.

This isn’t a fad. It isn’t a phenomenon. It’s simply the next step in our tech-heavy world. But why, exactly, are these bloggers so captivating?

There are a few obvious factors: Blogs are free. They’re accessible all over the world. They rely heavily on photographs and, thus, cross all languages. They truly speak to the adage that fashion is universal.

I’ve always been drawn to the passion behind blogging. Bloggers create content out of sheer joy — no one is paying them, and most certainly, no one is styling them.

Bloggers are real-life women putting their uncompromised love for fashion on display, and wouldn’t you know it — they’re setting the trends season after season.

Scrolling through thousands of blog photos has provided more inspiration than a professionally styled celebrity ever could.

Bloggers don’t spend thousands of dollars on couture, and by witnessing their ability to shop within their means, including brilliant finds at college-girl favorites like Forever 21 and H&M, I’ve learned how to successfully manage my own wardrobe.

­— emfarra@indiana.edu