My personal story: I first discovered fashion blogging in September 2009. I honestly googled, "How to get a personal style" and a result came up on who what wear on four fashion bloggers. I was instantly inspired. So, I started clicking around… and discovered some bloggers that were real, down-to-earth and had a blog that inspired me to start my own. So, I started a blog. I took my little personal "this is what we did this weekend" blog and turned it into a focused personal style blog… but I had no idea how to network. I started researching personal style blogs and came across Chictopia. Chictopia honestly changed my life at the time and was a huge kickstart for my blog! I signed up for an account, started posting photos, linking back to my blog and before I knew it… a month later, I was style icon with a blog on the rise! It was overwhelming. I remember the night I got the email with the subject line "style icon" and I screamed and jumped around our apartment. I wouldn't be where I am without online communities like Chictopia, Weardrobe and Lookbook.nu. Let me break it down.
By now you've already figured out your theme, your niche, your tagline, your place in this blogging world. Now… how do you get noticed? The answer? Online fashion communities. There are so many out there, but the ones that have truly helped me have been Chictopia, Weardrobe and Lookbook.nu. Each one is very different.
Chictopia:
Chictopia is an online fashion community where anyone can sign up for an account. They call themselves the largest online community that gives everyone a voice in fashion. They have over 100,000 users and are always growing. They are one of the top 4 style sites and have a huge presence in the online fashion community. I'm sure you've seen hundreds of blogs with their Chictopia badge on it. They have several features that I'll quickly explain and I'll tell how how I use Chictopia to my benefit.
Style Gallery is one of my favorite features. They have a gallery of photos of girls whose photos have been rated "chic" by members. I use this daily for inspiration. They filter the photos by making members vote photos "chic" or not… so that way you don't have to sift through a bunch of mediocre, dark, blurry, fuzzy, photos. This gallery gives you the best of what is on Chictopia so you can be inspired. You can browse by clothing type, colors, trends, everything. It's so helpful if you want to style up an olive green article of clothing… you can click on the color and find hundreds of outfits styling up an item that is olive green. I love that feature.
Rewards are items Chictopia posts from sponsors! You can earn chic points by doing several things: uploading a photo, commenting, gaining "chic" votes, gaining "fans" or "favorites" to build up enough points to purchase a chic reward! Keep on the look out though - they go super fast. I've only been able to snag one item from them!
Chic Swap is where you can sign up to become a Chic VIP so you can upload to the swap. You can post items, sign up for items and swap clothing online!
Forum They have a great forum with over 10,000 topics and over 164,000 posts on everything from living and advice, to current events, to culture and interests.
Community is where you can find out about recent contests Chictopia is holding (they hold SO many great ones!), they talk about Style Icons (hang tight, I'll give you some tips on how to become a style icon soon!) and the Best of Chictopia with some of the top-rated photos and outfits.
So go in, create an account and start updating with outfits! It's such a fun community; make the most of it!
Tips on how to become a style icon:
- Post everyday: I know, it can be really tough to post everyday, but it's the best way to ensure you are constantly exposed to readers so they can add you as a favorite during the month.
- Step out of the box: When I was in the running for style icon, I had to be really really creative. I used a scarf as a cardigan, wore the funkiest floral tights I could find and tried to work my closet in a completely fresh and unique way.
- Comment on other photos: It's all about networking. If you comment on other photos, comment back on who has commented on your photos, you'll just be exposing yourself to so many more people who can add you as a favorite! The trick of the game is to get as many "favorites" as possible!
- DO NOT message or comment on people's photos and ask them to add you as a favorite. That will never work, plus it's annoying spam!
Weardrobe:
Weardrobe is a great online fashion community. It's a bit more low-key, more focused on the actual outfit photos instead of trying to filter it out by trend or color. Let's focus on the benefits of Weardrobe!
Featured: If you upload your outfit pictures to Weardrobe, you have the opportunity to get featured! They pick only the best outfits in the community and put it on their "featured" page along with links to shop similar styles! It's super helpful if you spot something you like on the featured page… you can shop it really easily.
Recent: Recent shows you a quick and easy look at some of the most recent outfit posts that have been styled. I love the simplicity of Weardrobe and how they let the bloggers do the talking mostly.
Explore: They haven't been keeping up on Weardrobe as much as I'd like to see, but they used to do interviews and features on bloggers! I like to check out their "blogs we love" sidebar. Such a great resource to some amazing blogs out there!
Contest: Weardrobe used to host some amazing contests. I won a $50 Aldo gift card once for a best look in heels! One of the first contests I've ever won. I really hope they start picking this feature back up soon.
Weardrobe 100: This is where they pick the top 100 users for the year and do a feature on them. It's so flattering to be named as a Weardrobe 100!
My favorite feature about Weardrobe:
You can name your clothing articles anything you like. So, whenever I upload a photo to Weardrobe, I am very very particular on what I name the item, so I never name the same clothing article the same name. Why? Because it's AWESOME to be able to click on your outfit photo, click on the name of the clothing article and see all the different ways you've remixed that item! Weardrobe is like… a remixer's dream! You can't do that on any other online fashion community.
Lookbook.nu:
Lookbook.nu is a "collective fashion consciousness". The home page is empowering. These are real people.. and they look like they've come out of a fashion magazine! It's such a great resource for inspiration.
Hot: Lookbook.nu judges looks based on hypes. Users can "hype" a look and it will rise to the top of the "hot" page. It's a big deal to be placed on the "hot" page!
New: The new page showcases all of the newest photos that have been put on Lookbook. It's a great way to see all of the looks instead of just the "hyped" ones.
Top: The top page contains the top looks of the week, by total hype.
Leader: This page showcases all of the big names on Lookbook.nu. It's kind of like Chictopia's Style Icon, but without the "status". They have the biggest names of today, this week and of all time.
My favorite feature about Lookbook.nu:
The GUYS! On Chictopia and Weardobe, we are lacking some major guy fashion inspiration! I love using Lookbook.nu to look for new ideas for Brett. He secretly denies me and says he hates what they are all wearing… but he'll be peeking over my shoulder and I'll spot him picking up an item that he saw on Lookbook. :)
I hope that helps you learn more about the online fashion communities! There are several out there that can help you, but these three are the biggest ones that have helped me in my fashion blogging journey. Keep your eyes peeled though - there are so many online communities popping up and another one might fit what you need more!
