The new look

Blogging used to be one of those delicious self-indulgent affairs that allowed one to document life and share it with friends. As with all good and innocent things, our time has made it possible to give this once innocuous hobby a malicious twist. While many a blogger, especially those who focus on the entertainment industry and the wily antics of Hollywood’s overpaid zealots, have now achieved stratospheric status in the media industry out-scooping the grand old weekly tabloids.  Some, like Gawker, have been bought by corporations, making blogging a potentially serious business.

I tried to do it once, but after maybe five entries I lost interest. I already blab about myself every week in my Sunday column – doing it on a daily basis can be nauseating even for me. I’m too much of a voyeur. There’s something intriguing about going through someone’s mind, deciphering his/her thoughts – whether factual or fantastic – and for those long enduring hours in the office it can be a spirited pastime, while still looking busy!

Although sometimes you have to be careful with what you hunt for. I once googled myself and realized how many people (both "friends" and strangers) hated me for the most stupid and rational reasons. Example: One said that I was a better person — literally – when I wore coño clothes in college (ew, I was so never a coño please). Now I look like a diva with my designer shit, that it made me less sincere or something. Here’s the catch: She did not know me at all (which explains the coño theory). Bizarre. It can be very Xanax-inducing for the weak. Good for me, I’ve had plenty practice in the bashing arena. While I, along with the whole world, were googling ourselves and potential dates or lovers, a new thread (literally) of blogging was born, fashion blogs.

Once a joyful pastime for fashion addicts (like baghag.livejournal.com), fashion blogs have become a whole new wave in fashion journalism. My favorite mnlstyl.blogspot.com is a no-nonsense one-liner heaven of Manila street fashion. STAR columnist Cecile Zamora van Straten in her trademark no-frills and spot-on prose describes Manila style in less than a sentence.

Others are those of stylist Jenni Epperson and the ex-everything author of fash pack (thefashpack.blogspot.com), two hardcore fashion insiders in the country who give out fashion scoops sometimes with a refreshing honesty you don’t see in the style bibles in our country. What these blogs further validate is that there is a definite Manila look. A look perfectly blends the fall/winter and spring/summer collections in a seasonless concoction. Maybe our Third World status has made us more creative people, but you have to hand it to us to create singular and refreshing looks without breaking the bank. Fash pack explores everything from LV to SM, with daily loads of new fashion scoops that keep the rest of us informed on what’s up in the world of retail. Mabuhaygirl (mabuhaygirl.multiply.com) contains more about events, new fashion inventions to lust for and some daily candy in Jenni’s closet.

Many would probably say, where’s the juicy bitch factor in these blogs? Well, I think its success (you can see with the hits it gets) lies in using pure information without the distraction or effortless seam of malice to get readers talking about it. It’s easy to gain attention by saying something scandalous, but that’s a cheap trick. Cecile admits that she omits negative messages to keep the wholesome vibe of her blog. The language these blogs use stay clean – sharing the jovial, egalitarian spirit of Philippine fashion. What can I say? The bitch is so out and she’s still wearing ruffles.