Are fashion bloggers out of touch with reality?

Have you read Gabbie Tatad's article on Philippine Star called "A fashion blogger reality check"? Do! It's a great opinion piece on the culture of fashion blogging in the country. I agree with many of the things she said, particularly in these passages:

As far as I can see, everything in this world has its place. Sure, clothes have a myriad of positive effects — changing the way you feel, skimming down features you’re not exactly thrilled with, expressing the facets of your personality only you might be aware of. And yes, I will be the first to tell you that fashion is art, expression, freedom, inspiration, and creation.

But it is also function and comfort, and days when clothes really are just clothes. Because while we’ve been made to believe that they might make the man, they aren’t magical enough to produce substance where there is none. They serve their purpose, but fall second to character, skill, intellect, and depth —something so easily forgotten in a haze of lens flare and digitally-retouched lighting.

I do have a comment on something else she pointed out. 

And so it stands that there is a clear question of how far out of context fashion has been placed, especially where it’s no longer models and editors pushing an aesthetic, but “real people” on their blogs.

I think that fashion blogging has evolved, like everything else enjoying any amount of popularity on the Internet. It's no longer just "real" people dressing up - it's people dressing up for an audience who avidly follow their lives, who idolize them. The top fashion bloggers (locally and abroad) are celebrities now and they earn commensurate to their status. They dress that way because it's basically their job to do so.

Are these fashion bloggers out of touch with reality? Yes, deliberately. It's not just in the clothes they wear but in the cult of personality they have created for themselves. Teens and yuppies want to be them; they're rich, young, and beautiful. They represent everything that's not a reality for most people and that's how their fans like them. Their life (not just their style) is for mass consumption.

But that's not to say that all fashion bloggers keep their followers that way. There are those who dress "real", who have real lives. People follow them because they're also inspiring. They're passionate about what they do and (I always say this) passion never goes unnoticed in or out of the Internet. These bloggers may not have thousands of readers, but the ones that do read them can relate to them or feel connected to them in some way. 

It is true that everything in this world has a place. Likewise, every blog has a place in the Internet.