Starting a Fashion Blog: Choosing a Fashion Blog Specialty or Sub-Genre

Fashion blogging can be an overwhelming field in which to get started. I recommend selecting a niche subject to help you define the direction of your blog. For instance, instead of a blog about fashion accessories, consider a more focused topic such as funky rings, or designer sunglasses. Pick something you’re passionate about. You have to love the subject matter or else you’ll run out of inspiration.

Tip:There are thousands of fashion blogs already in existence, but don’t get discouraged. The best approach is to produce a blog from your point of view-a blog that only YOU can create. The greatest blogs have a strong voice and unique content. Make sure you put your spin on the topic you choose. This will make your blog stand out from the others, and also drive more traffic to your site.

If you don’t know which direction to take your fashion blog, here are some categories to consider:

Street Fashion

• This is a really cool way of documenting and sharing your local fashion scene with the whole world. Street fashion bloggers are becoming more influential as high-end designers turn to the streets as a source of runway inspiration.

Celebrity Fashion

• If you follow celeb culture and love watching award shows to see what people are wearing, perhaps celebrity fashion blogging is for you. The positive side of starting a celebrity fashion blog is that there is a lot of material to work with-a whole industry devoted to photos of celebs. The downside is that this market is saturated, so you have to be sure your blog is unique to get noticed.

High-End Fashion

• If you want to use your blog as a platform for starting a career in the fashion industry (fashion publishing, in particular) you might want your content to be focused on high-end designers and labels. Celebrate the art of Oscar de la Renta, Alexander McQueen and Karl Lagerfeld with posts about seasonal runway shows.

Accessories

• There are so many sub-genres for this category. Pick something you really connect with. Research the web for accessories that are unique and share them through your posts. Perhaps you could work with a partner and take a more conversational approach so your blog is more about two friends conversing about cool finds.

Shoes

• Like with the accessories category, there are lots of paths to take a shoe blog. Again, pick what works for you. If you are a master shoe shopper and know all the best places to buy shoes online, share that with the world.

Shopping/Style Guide

• Love putting looks together? Share your work on your blog. This can be fun and creatively fulfilling. Polyvore is a great resource suited for a shopping or style guide blog.

Trends

• The survival of the fashion industry depends on its fast-paced cycles. Start a fashion blog about the trends- what’s hot right now and what will be hot in the future. Maybe you want a nostalgic blog about your favourite trends from the past. Scrunchies anyone?

Fashion on a Budget

• There are many blogs already devoted to fashion on a budget and they are great for targeting a young and frugal audience. Producing the content will probably require a lot of digging the web for great deals and unique finds, so be prepared to do some research.

Personal Style

• Maybe you want an outlet to express your personal style. Start a fashion blog about the awesomeness of how you dress, share photos, and post items of desire.

Night Life Style

• You could approach this category with seriousness or irreverence –think gofugyourself.com devoted to the cast of Jersey Shore. Whether you’re a hardcore clubber who parties every weekend and are always looking for the perfect body-hugging top, skirt, dress….or you want to have a laugh at some of the ridiculously skanky club attire, this could be a fun topic for you.

Vintage Fashion

• Pick a decade, and have fun with it! Find some awesome old pictures, clips from movies, movie posters, etc. Showcase and celebrate the awesome of vintage fashion.

Alternative, Goth, Scene, etc.

• A blog is a great way to showcase alternative fashion. If you have unique insight into a certain social scene, share what you think is great about it. Alternative fashion blogs can also foster a strong online community, which will bring readers back to your site regularly.

Designer

• If you are a designer I think a blog is a great idea. You get to post pictures of your work, it can act as a portfolio site, and you can share your experiences with other designers.

Fashion Advice

• If your friends come to you for suggestions on what to wear, consider becoming an online fashion authority and start your own fashion advice blog. Write posts that give tips on how to dress (ex. How to dress for a job interview) and respond to fashion questions from your readers.