Giving Credit Where Credit is Due
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Endless Rose Strapless Jumpsuit in Lilac | Marc Fisher Annie Wedges - I found the cognac wedges on sale for 33% off!
Nick has been begging me to write about this topic for a while now. Part of me thinks it's because I "complain" to him about it alllll the time, but I'm sure he just thinks it should be said ;) Now, I'm really referencing the blogging community, but 1) I had these feelings well before I started blogging and 2) this can 100% be applied to every aspect of life.
I like to describe myself as a mix of type A and type B...I can be very analytical, but I can also be a crazy creative. The creative side of me loathes copying. Like I'm the person who gets offended if I come up with something and someone asks me if I found it on Pinterest. (lol) The earliest feeling of this I can recall, is when people would copy something I wore - lol #jokes because I literally run a fashion blog so you can "copy" my style. BUT When you're in school, it's a little bit different. Ya know?
Someone I have always resonated with regarding fashion philosophy is Coco Chanel. She has gone on record saying that "If you want to be original, be ready to be copied." Yep. There isn't anything wrong with copying when it comes to taking inspiration for an outfit. Would I love if you tagged me or messaged me and said "hey you inspired this look!"? Heck yes, but it's not required. Is there something wrong with "taking inspiration" from certain things when creating a line or collection? Nope. I mean that's all fashion really is. We literally have fashion cycles. Is there something wrong with blatantly ripping off someone? 100% yes. I think that you know this, but unfortunately, this is a pretty common practice for brands. One major example is Forever 21 - It's notorious for this. They have been in a myriad of lawsuits for directly copying small designers or even larger known brands before they can even get their stuff to market. Side note, for a brief time, I considered applying to Fordham for their Fashion Law Program, because it fascinates me. You can't really trademark a garment... you can regarding something like a fabric technology or "button placement", but not much else. I mean look at Christian Louboutin! I digress...If you want to ever get nerdy about fashion with me, let me know!
Last week I was scrolling through Instagram and I did a double take on a photo. My brain was like "oh, that's cute!", but then I remembered that I had seen it before. You might be like "huh? what the heck are you talking about?" It was a stylized image that was probably 97% the same as I had seen a month earlier by a different person. I know I'm being super vague, but I don't really want to get into the actual photo, because I'm not here to talk about other people. I'm just saying that this isn't a picture that is just "coincidental". It is too unique of a photo to not be 100% on purpose. I checked the caption, hoping to see a "feeling *insert name of person who posted the original photo* vibes today!", but it was a big fat nope. What made me more disturbed is that it was an influencer doing it to another influencer. We have enough image stealing problems,etc going on in this field, geeze louise, why are you doing that?
All that to say, this isn't a new feeling for me; I have always felt this way about this topic. I genuinely try to give credit where credit is due, especially if someone inspired me. Not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it makes other people feel good. This isn't just an influencer thing, but when used in that way, it also displays just how powerful the influencer field is. I usually list them on blog posts when I'm inspired -sometimes on Instagram / Instastories if it makes sense. So just as an example, here are some recent things I've mentioned:
Agolde Denim Shorts - I first wrote about these in my Longer Denim Shortspost. Kathleen Barnes of Carrie Bradshaw Lied introduced these to me and I'm so glad! They are my go-to short because they are comfortable /not too tight and cover my bootay.
Yasso Pints - Another Kathleen Barnes winner, BUT I could never find them in Texas. I saw that Katey McFarlan of Chronicles of Frivolity posted about them and so I asked her where the heck she found them. She connected me with Little Voice PR and they helped me find them. So yummy!
Lawless Lipstick - I originally saw this brand when Katey McFarlan posted them, but forgot about them, until Natalie from The Fashion Hour posted about them. I most recently posted a Lawless Lipstick Review, here.
Clean Beauty Products - Whenever I have questions, I go to Jourdan Chapman of Beauty and Her. I have asked her so many questions and usually mention her in my posts where she helped.
These are just 4 examples, but it happens more often than that. Last week I was lucky enough to hear Jason Witten's retirement speech in person, along with Jerry Jones' and Coach Garrett's. I already knew this but anyone speaking about Witten obviously mentioned his talent, but more than that they mentioned his character. At the end of the day, I hope you like my style and suggestions, but more than that, I hope you that come to me because of how I treat people and my over all message.
Thank y'all so much for reading! XOXO
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