Does Personal Style Blogging Make You More Self-Aware? 7 Bloggers Weigh In By: Chelsea Burcz

Personal style blogging has certainly become an internet phenomenon over the last six or seven years, so much so that names like BryanBoy, Tavi Gevinson, and Leandra Medine, once only known within an blog-savvy community, have filtered into the mainstream fashion industry market with capsule collections and advertisements on the sides of buses. While some have been doing it for years, others have only recently began tapping into the trend of styling oneself and posting snapshots on to the Internet. And as the fashion blogging industry, in general, is ever-evolving, I began to wonder particularly about how personal style blogging made one feel after doing it for some time.

Does dressing yourself, taking a photos, and then posting them on the Internet for all the world to see and critique have an effect on how you think of yourself from day to day? Does personal style blogging make you more self-aware?

Since I am not a personal style blogger, I asked a few to weigh in with their thoughts and experiences on the topic. See what they had to say here…

Justin from Scout Sixteen:

“We put our lives in the public eye and – in doing so – I believe we subject ourselves to new degrees of self-awareness (and sometimes harsh self-critiques) about our image. You’re much more aware of the visuals, like how a color washes out your skin or what length of skirt accentuates the right curves.”

“With an influx of bloggers entering the market, I’m interested to see how this affects retailers as teens and young adults become more aware of their bodies and dress accordingly. The effects on consumer/shopper psychology could be quite narrowing for the retail industry.”

Ellie from City Brewed:

“In my opinion, personal style blogging definitely makes me more aware of my appearance! Since documenting my outfits, I’m more aware of how my nails look (I’ve fallen victim to chipped nails far too many times!), if my tops are perfectly ironed (type-A personality, what’s up!), and my posture. I do my best to perfect these little things each and every time I get ready, or when it comes to walking down the road, I’m constantly checking my posture! Healthy self improvement or borderline obsessive? One will never know.”

Denise from SuperWowOmg:

“Personal style blogging has made me more self-aware of the way I dress, my posture when I’m in public, interacting with others and how I’m posing in pictures. Since the popularity of my blog has grown, I’m finding myself more conscious of how I’m portrayed when I’m out and how I carry myself. It’s finding the balance between carrying yourself confidently and keeping things cool and nonchalant. Especially in Hong Kong where the blogging community and scene is still quite small, it’s easy to be ‘spotted’ on the street so I always have to make sure I look okay and I’m not acting too stupid in public, although I definitely try to stay true to myself and be as normal as possible, which basically means acting a fool most of the time but still looking presentable at the same time.”

Anthony from Closet Freaks:

“For the most part I think we are both very self-aware to begin with. We know exactly what image we’re putting out and what aspects of our life and personal style we want to highlight on the blog. We’ve been blogging for just over a year now and the one thing we are definitely more aware of is the outfits we posts. Is this ‘blogworthy?’ is a question I think to myself when styling our looks for the outfit posts. What might translate as a perfectly stylish and decent outfit for everyday life might not translate well online in terms of getting reader response on affiliate links, social media, etc. Since we want our blog to be a business, we are more aware of putting our best ‘look’ forward when it comes to showcasing our personal style online.”

Jen from Style Bomb:

“The most important lesson I’ve learned since I started blogging is to be yourself 100% percent of the time … let your freak flag fly. Readers really responded when I opened up my personality, such as my love affair with disco music. More often than not, I have found that people relate to quirkiness rather than what is considered cool.”

Queen Michelle from Kingdom of Style:

“Personal style blogging has definitely made me more self aware but on the downside, it’s made me more self critical. Being photographed and having to look at photos of myself on a weekly basis, has forced me to confront all the physical things about myself I never liked. Previously I was more able to ignore them, but seeing them all the time now can sometimes make them seem worse than they actually are. As a woman, it’s too easy to fixate on perceived ‘flaws’.

On the positive side however, photographing what I wear has given me a better understanding of what suits me and what doesn’t.”

Karina from Beach & Dress:

“If anything, I think personal style blogging can boost your confidence and definitely improve your style. When someone wants to blog about their personal style they most likely know/think they have something to offer – they have a great style and people have probably already told them that. So once they start blogging they hear more compliments, thus their confidence grows. However, since there are so many personal style bloggers, it’s important to have a very refined style that can stand out in the crowd. This is where the improvement part comes in. Personal style blogging can be a reality check, but most of the time it’s in a very positive way.”