A play on the chicken and the egg (and inspired by Ashe Mischief’s Finance and the Fashion Blogger posts)…

I got to talking with Ashe this morning about fashion bloggers and the money we’ll spend on the things we find worth spending on.  She mused, “… Do people get expensive tastes from being bloggers or have [expensive tastes] and then become bloggers?”

Ashe mentioned that her mom always bought the best she could for the best value – growing up with quality over quantity, she notes, is one of the reasons she has such a good eye.  Out of a lineup of 20 white oxfords, her “eye will like the most expensive pair best, without knowing the designers or cost”.

Thinking about it – part of being a fashion blogger, for me, came from an obsession with what I couldn’t have, while inspirational style images peered out at me through the pages of catalogues and magazines, not to mention MTV.  My parents didn’t buy name-brand clothing (with 3 kids, who can!?).  We thrifted – and with the idea that things would be worn by at least 2 girls, even our thrifted pieces needed to be quality.  I was also involved in theater and costuming (you know, Thespian Troupe President,  and my senior portraits were voted most theatrical since I had old-timey photos taken instead of the very-posed norm).  I learned to sew.  I read books on costume history, researched vintage clothes and was always, constantly inspired.

In our small town, there was no GAP or Express.  I remember receiving Delia’s catalogues, and I bought all the teen-appropriate fashion mags I could find, circling looks and outfit pieces in each one.  This might be why I still flip through the Vicki’s catalogues, circling things and drawing moustaches on the models.  These catalogues showed me the clothes that weren’t available to me and the styles that I coveted.  I became kind of.. enamored with branded stuff.  As I grew into my tastes, I was able to weed out the styles that didn’t suit me, but have always had a soft spot for the inspiration in a well curated editorial – whether or not it was “my style”.

I worked retail when I first moved to the big city.  Through that experience, I learned about thread count, different fabrics, and differences in quality.  I saw how once-coveted items fell apart at the seams – literally.  With new shops to explore on every corner, my tastes evolved along with my paychecks.  I was still buying a lot of stuff on the cheap (often, quantity over quality), but I got tired of having to repair everything I bought that wasn’t well-made.

I find that now, I have priorities that I’d gladly spend money on.  It’s been a lot of trial-and-error, but I also a labor of love.  As I see the glint of my Tiffany heart pendant in my monitor, I realize I’ve always liked having “nice things”, not just because of the quality, but also because of the status involved.  Did blogging give me more expensive tastes?  Maybe, but I also worked in retail for years and spent a lot of time repairing cheaply-bought items and coveting things that had a certain aesthetic.  I was also exposed to so much more because I was in a more metropolitan area.

It wasn’t till I started truly blogging that I started to fill out what I thought my style should be.  Again, exposure was a key part of my growth as a blogger.  I realized that style is something you can tailor and create.  I went back to fashion magazines for inspiration, and dug out all my vintage pieces and acquired tastes.  I looked to other bloggers around me, found pieces that appealed to me and wanted things I thought I’d never afford.  Over time, I began to make more money, and my tastes evolved towards the wider market available to me.  Blogging does influence what I think is fashionable – seeing girls carrying it-bags, looking ever so stylish is an inspiration to look for my own it-bag.  Of course, I’ll always do it in my own style, whether the bag is vintage, or merely it-bag inspired.

So what gives?  Does being a fashion or style blogger instantly mean you have expensive tastes?  Or do expensive tastes turn you into a fashion blogger?  Or do your tastes and your paychecks and your style all grow together.  Does the fashion blogging world push us to spend more?  Or do we spend more to keep up?

My answer – all of the above.  A little of everything.   I’d be interested in hearing your point of view, readers.  Did fashion blogging inspire you to have expensive tastes?  Or did having expensive tastes lend to becoming a fashion blogger.

For Bonus Points, read The Chicken or The Egg Debate Between Fashion and Art