From blog to book
For every 100 bloggers that fade into Livejournal obscurity, there are stars who shine so brightly on the internet that book editors come calling. Take The Sartorialist, who parlayed his deft eye for capturing dapper folks on the street into a self-titled tome which he toured all over Europe and the US with book signings during the cocktail hour. When my friend Maureen Disini lined up to get a copy of his book for me, she noted that the line wrapped around the cobbled street in Milan. The Sartorialist is one of the few successful ones who’ve managed to use a free blog as a springboard to books, ad campaigns (he shot and was featured in Gap, and his images are currently used in Crate and Barrel ads) and contributing columns in magazines.
Facehunter, The Sartorialist’s younger and hipper cousin, also debuted a book filled with his playful snapshots of the sartorially adventurous.
“I photograph the people who seduce me,” he explains in the book, next to an image of a laughing girl in a simple coral dress holding up an umbrella on a dreary day in Copenhagen. “You can’t seduce me with an It-bag or a pair of It-shoes. I’m more interested in personality, charisma, madness and creativity.”
Though he claims to have an un-academic knowledge of fashion, his influence is wider than he could’ve ever dreamed. “I know designers at Dior who check my blog because they don’t have time to go out on the street. I‘m not knowledgeable about fashion — I can’t identify a Chanel dress from 1967 — so it’s funny that I can have a tiny influence on such a big business.”
But it’s not just street style blogs that have made the jump from ‘Net sensation to bestseller list. Magazine style blogs have also shouldered their way past the rest of the Lanvin x H&M-garbed fray to bookshelves near you.
At Who What Wear, a site helmed by Kat Power and Hillary Kerr, they tabulate the latest trends and breakdown the styles of celebs or models they deem worthy of inspiration. For Tao Okamoto, the mop-topped mannequin was lauded for her long-limbed grace and androgynous appeal. Boho queens Sienna Miller, Nicole Richie and Kate Bosworth are staples on WWW’s blogroll.
Followers of fashion will enjoy their service guides like how to wear (insert current slightly tricky trend here). At the moment, how to wear black denim is headlining the site. Dividing three different looks into separate categories (at work, on the town, over the weekend) helps readers quickly grasp the nuances between each style.
In the book, helpfully dubbed Who What Wear, the stylish twosome attempt to recreate the handy helper approach they’ve mastered on the web to the page. The objective is to transform each reader into a fashion editor of sorts and the authors promise that at the end of the book, they will be able to shop, dress and organize their closet like a regular Conde Nast employee.
One of the more quaint successes in the blog-to-book phenomenon is DIY maven Erica Domesek of PS I Made This. The Tumblr blog would post crafty, easy-to-follow instructions on how to embellish a pair of heels or create a studded cuff or manufacture a tuxedo pant. The do-it-yourself sensibility of her blog is a far cry from the high-maintenance maneuvers made popular by Martha Stewart and her ilk.
Instead, Domesek makes an effort to keep the projects easy on the pocket and on the glue gun.
The collection of 25 original projects inspired by runway highlights are a call to arms to women to “reimagine, reuse and reinvent.”
This folksy propensity for making things with your hands is in direct contrast to the slick, It-bag-studded editorials the folks over at Who What Wear are known for. Playful and not quite polished projects are at the heart of this publication. Instead of replicating a style or copying a celebrity look, it encourages readers to get creative on their own. The project on the page is simply a starting point, according to Domesek. Like any blogger worth her salt, she realizes that the whole point is to make something that reflects who you are — to discuss and be inspired by what designers and opinion leaders have to offer but not to limit yourself to their vision.
And maybe — just maybe — it’ll snag you a book deal. And if you’re lucky, like Julie & Julia blogger Julie Powell, you might even ink a movie deal in the process.
