I’ve just discovered a fashion blogger that everyone else already knows about, thanks to a newsletter from Refinery 29.
I hated her at Hello. I feel this is a huge faux pas on my part, and yet, there it is. My Hatred Endures, and it never runs out.
The interview with her is harmless, objectively speaking. She is asked questions about her style, and gives answers. She is asked to name 5 pieces that define her daily style. Piece number 2 cinched the deal for me.
“This ridiculously threadbare tie-dyed vintage Grateful Dead shirt. There’s a huge hole in the middle of it that’s literally held together by two stitches, it’s hilarious.”
God. It’s like a knife in my heart. The “ridiculously” hurt, and “it’s hilarious” was agony. I had trouble reading the rest of it. I was too tense to really take it in, but I did flinch at “iconic.”
What is wrong with me? Why can’t I give this girl some slack? She’s probably only 20 years old and who is she hurting (besides me?) It just struck me as the epitome of something that has bugged me from the first time I came upon a fashion blog. It’s kind of a narcissism crossed with a complete lack of inhibition about seeming shallow.
I have posted plenty of photos of myself, so I am hardly blameless. But the idea of dressing up and describing every piece of clothing as though it merited documentation is just horrible on some level. Who the fuck cares where your shoes came from, know what I’m saying? And yet, when I went to the girl’s blog, just to give her a chance to change my mind, a thingy on the page said there were 90 viewers online.
Fashion Girl, you are more than welcome to hate me back. I’m old and mean, for starters. You can just take it from there. It’s not fair for me to pick on you, but maybe it will make you a tiny bit more famous and beloved for all I know. While you’re busy laughing hysterically at your torn t-shirt, I’m sitting here disgustedly in my ill-fitting black Nudie jeans that I got from Tobi.com, with a roll of flab that I got from Having Two Kids.
Fashion has been an obsession for me since I was around 12, and even now I can talk about it forever with my friends who are similarly addicted to it. Yet I’m wondering if there’s a saturation point beyond which the whole subject is just pathetic and awful. OR, maybe I just need to stick to magazines and shopping sites. OR maybe it’s the grim economic news that’s making fashion seem so petty and irrelevant.
Or maybe I just can’t stand this particular girl. Comments or insults, anyone?
I may be the only one who disagrees here.. I understand that she can be a little ‘faux’ sometimes. And like any other person, she has haters and lovers.
The reason why she posts every single piece of clothing and shoes she wears is because her lovers want to know where she got/purchased such items. Would much rather her telling us than being secretive. Now that would be more pretentious.
Rumi gives us ideas and inspiration. She can dress. But her style may NOT be how others consider ‘stylish’. But in the fashion industry, there are no limits. She can definitely pull off what she puts on.
Another reason why she posts so many pictures of herself is because, it’s HER blog. And one reason of many, why she got so well-known in the industry. Rumi helps promote rookie designers (they send her their collection for her to wear and blog about it).
There are certainly some factors about her that I agree with you. She’s not perfect. Hey, she’s human. But I definitely give her my thumbs up for blogging about what she cares about and helping others out. I just don’t see the point of ‘hating’ someone you don’t even know.
Amelia – You seem like kind of an idiot, with all due respect, but here’s some good news for you: I actually like Rumi now that I realize she is actually smart and cool. However, I still hate tons of people I don’t know because that is my nature. xo
Sister Wolf- Care to explain how I ‘seem’ like an idiot? You seem like the idiot here saying that with your so called respect.
Shame. You have so much hatred and negativity in yourself.
Dude…I love you. I was looking up Fashion Toast and decided to google her blog with the word “narcissist” in the search box…your rant came up. Man was I ever relieved when I read it. I felt the exact same way as I looked through her blog, obsessively…trying to figure out why I was so grossed out, but kept clicking through “previous posts”. I too am a “older” fashionista with a baby and I love a good flea market find and vintage dress as much as the next girl who reads Nylon, but I too was curious where does the obsession become ridiculous. So I guess what I am trying to say is thank you! Thank you so much for making me feel like I am not alone and that there are other girls…just as annoyed as I am out there. High five fellow beautiful, fashionable mama.
Her style is sooo contrived. I stopped following her a few months ago, then I see this post, decided to check back on her blog, and looks like nothing has changed: she still dresses like a gangly old bum with the same glassy eyed look on her face. But she has been soaring in the fashion world though…
*shrug*
Wow! very unique information on this subject!
another blog i’m sure you’ll get a kick out of: http://velvetcigarette.com/
wow, I just read it and it’s really boring. It’s kind of like just nobody’s home. Amazing, really. She gives us all hope. I don’t think she’s necessarily such a narcissist; maybe it’s that she’s just learning how to package a concept, a presentation. I guess that’s why I thought it was boring, because there’s nothing personal in it and it’s not really about anything . . . . it doesn’t have a story or a beginning or a middle or an end — it’s just a bunch of very similar photographs . . . .
it’s almost like a high-school science fair exhibit of a project.