I'm excited! I got my first honest/rude comment on my blog today. Janelle told me that I was "way too old to be wearing a poodle cardigan from Forever 21". It was from this post that I did almost a year ago.
This got me wondering...does anyone ever comment on a blog saying "You're way too young to be wearing that?" I want to leave a comment like that just to see how someone responds.
It is easy to get caught up in compliments and adoration from fashion blogging. When I first started reading fashion blogs it kind of turned me off because it felt like too much of a "love fest". It didn't seem real. Sometimes the real world sucks. Sometimes people say nasty things. Sometimes people call you pregnant when you're not. (It took me a long time to get over that one and it's happened not once, but twice, once when I was 20 and then again when I was 24).
Quite a few bloggers put right on their comment forms that they only want "positive feedback". I was on the fence about this. I mean, if you can't take any criticism then how can you ever improve? Then again style is subjective and personal so who is to say that they are right? What makes their opinion more valuable than my own? Maybe the saying that my Mom told me, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" is the best route to take. I don't go out of my way to comment if I'm not keen on an outfit. I will however, go out of my way to comment when I really like an outfit.
When a critique is personal about your body, your age, etc I don't know that it is doing anyone any favours. There are certain things we can't change after all. There are certain things people don't want to change. The world would be a very dull place if we all looked exactly the same and dressed exactly the same.
I knew that going into fashion blogging that I would expose myself to comments that I wouldn't like and would have to deal with. Maybe Janelle is right. Maybe she isn't. It is pretty subjective to decide that a cardigan with poodles on it can't be worn by someone because they are seen as being "too old". Maybe she thought she was doing me a favour to save me from further ridicule. I guess the real question is do I care that Janelle thinks I'm too old to wear it? Will it stop me from wearing this cardigan in the future?
Fuck no.
Do I appreciate that she took the time to write on my blog to tell me her opinion?
Hellz yeah.
I wish I could return the favour and comment with equal honesty on her choices.
What are your feeling about honest/blunt critiques?
