a-MEN-ments

change, they say, is the only constant. well, after three months of blogging, it's time to seriously look at what works on The Online Edition and what doesn't. after that, i should make change. people come, people go. here, features come and features go. i have decided to discontinue two of my regular features from this week onwards. the victims are '@dd it' and 'fl@me or fr@me'.

the main reason for the cut is the proximity to the other posts. for '@dd it', it goes live an hour and a half before the week's best and worst hence before one has time for the post to breathe, a weekly favourite competes with the post for attention. as for 'fl@me or fr@me', the reasoning is the same. it goes live at midnight when most readers (at least on my side of the world) are asleep. by the time they wake up, the monday opening post greets them. hence, there is no real reason for me to hold on to the two features when they are not getting the kind of attention that i would like them to have.

in addition, for the past few weeks, the content (in my honest opinion) has been less than stellar which then translates into weak readership and interest. in short, if i find it boring, you probably yawned while reading it.

thus, there will no longer be a 10.30pm (singapore time) post on fridays. instead, the third friday post will just be the weekly best and worst post.

so i apologise to those who have become fans of those two segments, they are gone but not forever. occasionally, these segments will still feature on The Online Edition but as specials. that said, i hope you will return regularly as i churn out more material within and without the world of fashion.

fash'on... BAM!

fl@me or fr@me: his style diary

a man's face is his autobiography. a woman's face is her work of fiction.

oscar wilde

since fl@me and fr@me came into being, i ask myself every week if i want to make new friends or foes. increasingly, it is getting tough to keep up this segment simply because i am getting my feet wetter in the business of fashion blogging. each week, i go through struggles with my material and the angles that i want to adopt. there are indeed moments that i write for the sake of writing hence i know how tedious it is (after two months) to keep a blog going. in short, i am feeling blogger fatigue.

anyway, i am still thinking if i should keep 'fl@me or fr@me' going because the initial hype for this segment has fizzled out and it now seems a tad too gimmicky to keep around. till the decision is reached, this segment will still run and today, the focus is on a blog that i found a couple of weeks back. 

His Style Diary

his style diary is, as the caption suggests, a blogazine that focus on men's fashion, grooming and shopping. does it live up to its own standards? let's see:

form:

the blog has a very simple and clean layout. the colour scheme is monochromatic (in other words, black and white). no big issues with font size and type. in fact, it looks like a newspaper with its overall presentation. in addition, under the three key headings of fashion, grooming and shopping are further subsections that one can navigate to easily. kudos for the accessible form!

content:

1) honesty: i like unmasked opinions. the headline above is a demonstration of the writing that i prefer. well, i'm a picky reader when it comes to blog posts but the headline made me read the entire article because i want to hear the writer's perspective. subjectivity is the gift of bloggers and to see a fellow blogger use that razor-sharp tool is often encouraging that our existence matters.

2) frequency: on the main homepage, the posts are not dated. only when you go to the various posts or subsections does one see the dates. i'm not certain how material is generated but from a reader's point of view, it can prove a tad erratic. being creature of habits, we like to know what to expect and when. for example, fashion news is updated pretty regularly (not hard to figure out why) but the fashion tips (style guide 101) has a post only once a month. the wait can be a little too long. 

my reaction to a blog of this nature will be to visit once in a couple of months and catch up on all the new articles instead of returning regularly.

in conclusion, his style diary does exactly what it sets out to do. it fills the gap for a good site for men's fashion. the verdict is to frame this blog. however, i probably won't add it to my bookmarks yet simply because of the frequency issue. you can visit his style diary right here.

fash'on... BAM!

fl@me or fr@me: life

i'm sure that the title has left many of you wondering which blog i'm taking on this week. well there shan't be any. it's the tail end of my birthday and i would like to take a few moments to share with you the lessons i have learnt in the past year.

a) life is unfair, karma will deal with it: i have gotten into countless situations when i feel unjustly treated and wished that the tables would be turned. well, if you have the patience, life has an interesting way of dealing with things. it always balances out. to whom that much is given, much is expected. if you feel upset because someone else has a lot more than you, much is expected from them in the greater cosmos of life.

b) laugh lots: whether you laugh at yourself or others, laugh. laughter revitalises the self. there are serious moments to life but having the ability to laugh at everything just puts one in a much better mood.

c) love your parents: i cannot even begin to say how blessed i am to have my father. i may not agree with everything he says or does but i respect him all the same. in this day and age, when we count our blessings, we often forget to include our parents because we are too busy with our own achievements. however, do remember that we are who we are because someone decided at conception that you were worth it.

d) fl@me or fr@me: it's about passion and emotions. feel. flame or frame is an expression of extreme emotions but that is what keeps us alive and human. the opposite of love is not hate but indifference. i have a few people in my life that i am indifferent to and i do admit that it is scary. cutting off a person  is sometimes necessary but not every moment in life should be a lifeless and indifferent experience.

anyway, enough random musings... i've had a wonderful birthday this year with all the cakes, dinners and a not-too-surprising birthday surprise. however, like i told my friends, this is exactly the way i envisioned my birthday. it's my day but it is a day for me to spend with people who give me value in life.

fash'on... BAM!

fl@me or fr@me: fashion slop

'the purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one.' 

malcom s. forbes

having managed the blog for about two months, 'fl@me or fr@me' has become a feature for me to evaluate my own blog against the material that other fellow bloggers put out. it is somewhat a personal benchmark. each week, i sift through about five to ten blogs before deciding which one to feature and it is only when the final line is written that my conclusion is determined. 

Fashion Slop

this week, however, is slightly different. the moment i read about the blogger, i know that i am (1) not going to be friends with this blogger (2) it's a 'fl@me' regardless of content. why the rage and displeasure? read on...

if you look at the history of the world in the last century, the state of sexuality has made the least progress. i am not just talking about lgbt (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transexuals) rights but even the gender stereotypes. people are still battling multiple prejudices in many societies so don't get me started about the state of men, women and lgbt. am i about to encourage ladies to burn the bra or wave the rainbow flag? nope. however, i am just disgusted by people who advocate stereotypes. some of you might think that i am being overly harsh since he is probably seeking a state of contrast. well, use your own cultural or social background instead of basing it on gender stereotypes.

the creative brain behind fashion slop is ryan pak, someone who declares himself as the 'gayest straight guy'. so what is 'gayest'? obviously, there is a certain prejudice and stereotype that he is referring to. 

gayest of them all?

anyway, if you are into lengthy, floppy hair and layering your clothes, welcome to the world of 'gayest'! for someone who is a fashion student, his mindset is shocking. the world of fashion challenges boundaries, breaks barriers and embraces differences but ryan pak shows none. 

so here's my advice: stay in school because your ignorance has fried your brains. (oh! by the way, these icons are all openly gay. ryan pak, anyone you find 'gay-er' than you?)

Elton John

Matthew Mitcham

Adam Lambert

Taiga Ishikawa

fash'on... BAM!

fl@me or fr@me: fashion feline

'the last man on earth sat alone in a room. there was a knock on the door.' knock (world's shortest horror story), fredric brown 

what a crazy weekend this was. for those of you who follow me on twitter, you will know that i was down at dragonboat races on both days. these are usually full-day affairs but that is no excuse for not writing. hence, The Online Edition kicks off week eight with one of the signature features... 'fl@me or fr@me'!

so the entire last week, i had to research intensively on animals and i came across the target of this post. the blog was chosen simply because of the name. i know, you are probably rolling your eyes at how shallow i am for not putting thought into blog selections but after you read my assessment of the blog, you will realise that i am not the shallow one. *sniggers*

so let's get right to it. the blog that is going to receive the royal evaluation is... 

form: 

the form is constant. irrelevant title, outfit photos (this, i shall discuss in the content section), and a couple of irrelevant lines. that constitutes the regular posts plus the font size is tiny so you hardly notice the writing if there is any.

content:

1) it's amazing: everything fascinates our writer. for goodness' sake, you are not three! grow up.

2) the clothes: oh, someone strap me in a straightjacket before i burn the outfits. i know you want comfort and not carry the 'out-of-bed' look, but that is no reason to wear your dining room out. a large number of the clothes look like they lack cutlery. if you didn't understand what i was alluding to, one word: tablecloth.

conclusion:

this is a short flaming entry because there is hardly any material on the blog to burn up. fashion feline should re-name itself to fashion mayfly. a cat has nine lives, suggesting longevity and variety. the blog however fails to deliver on the intrinsic meaning of its name. instead, it is brief and bland.

i wished that i am the online magician or something so that i can magically create material for the blog to burn. however, that remains a wish. 

so as this blog gets toss to the flames, fear not because it is like a match. the fire brings temporal light but burns out extremely quickly.

fash'on... BAM!

the best and the worst: week 07

it's judgement time again. time for me to take a closer look at all the various posts that i put out during the week and evaluate how well they sat with readers. if you are wondering how i go about the decision for the best and the worst, here's how:

1) unique hits: if you were directed here from my twitter or facebook, that would score as a unique hit. blogger has a counter function so i can track exactly how many hits came via that channel.

2) spike in traffic: after a post goes live, some may not click on the link but will visit the blog via the generic web link hence each time i publish a new article, i will track the general blog traffic to see if it is a popular post.

3) facebook likes, shares and retweets: this is the last factor but it is monitored as well.

anyway, back to this week of animals. there were many struggles this week in writing about animals and fashion. the main reason was the amount of material that was planned and then later dropped. for instance, yesterday's discussion on dragons, phoenix and unicorn were really smokescreen posts. the original posts were titled, 'i've got your covered: fur / feathers / hair'. it was meant to be a discussion of the production of fur, feathers and hair but i realised that it was too difficult to direct the material towards a neutral point. hence at the eleventh hour (literally minutes before the first post went live), i pulled the plug and rushed in new content. truly, there is no lack of good reference material for the topic of animal and fashion but until, i was ready (or at least felt ready) to take a stance, which i alluded to here, i rather not deal with certain subject matter.

perhaps i would have a decision somewhere down the road but let's compile the results and give you what you came here for. 

the best: iconic creatures

i liked this article. i really do. it was a 'lightbulb' moment while planning for the week's posts that i realised that many brands and logos used animals. hence i did a little snooping around to uncover the truth behind the animal of choice. the more interesting background stories would have to be the playboy rabbit and abercrombie & fitch moose. anyway, clarence apparently has an interesting picture for abercrombie & fitch singapore so i pulled it off his blog for you... here it is!

Abercrombie & Fitch in Singapore

now that you have gotten your fill of your random shirtless picture (it came two days early this week. i am such a kind soul... thank you, thank you!). i pray and plead with you to read the worst post of the week. every week's worst post never get additional hits whilst the best post always gain greater readership.

so please move your cursors over the link below!

the worst: furry's fit

for a post that has an interesting thumbnail, the hits were shockingly low. in fact, it is an all-time low. even at the time of writing, the unique views remain at a single digit. in case you are wondering who the cat was supposed to be, it's anna wintour from american vogue. maybe we need a pair of shades for the feline fatale! 

so the fates have been sealed. your best and worst posts of my seventh week as a blogger. it's going to be an exciting weekend for me. i'll be at dragonboat races!!! however, circulation of The Online Edition resumes just before the stroke of midnight on sunday with 'fl@me or fr@me'!

fash'on... BAM!

fl@me or fr@me: 40+style

'it sometimes happens that a woman is handsomer at twenty-nine than she was ten years before.' 

persuasion, jane austen

for the entire week, the focus has been on history, what was in the past hence in my selection of blog for this week's 'flame or frame', i decided to seek out a blog that is related to notions of age and i found...

in a nutshell (by me, the nutshell), this blog is by sylvia, a lady who is forty-six years old. now, i state her age because she warmly embraces is and really, it's splashed all over the pages that she is proud to be over forty. by comparison, i don't think i will reveal my age anytime soon. we shall peg my age at twenty-one since i am a proud member of Club 21 (i have the membership card!). blog-wise, she attempts to churn out a post a day. weekend posts are a bonus. 

the big question is, as always, 'fl@me or fr@me'? you got to read till the end of the post.

form: 

when you first visit the page, one is drawn to multiple directions. i'm not certain if i should jump up in glee. let me explain why. when i first saw the link to the blog, the expectation i had was that it was going to be the fashion journey of someone after the age of forty thus i was looking forward to a fair amount of personal accounts with references to her sense of fashion.

however, what greeted me was more a web directory of services. the front page directs me immediately to forums, online stops, other bloggers. at that first instant, as a reader, it lost the personal touch for me. although the most prominent portion of the blog was still devoted to the daily posts, the temptation to move to a different sub-section proved too great.

other than that, one big grouse that i have is the fact that i cannot read a post in its entirety. so if you are actually interested in reading the complete post, you have to load it in a different tab or window. 

couple of possibilities why the structure is such... 

a) the post is long and read only if you are interested

b) page views... (and i am truly playing devil's advocate here) an extra click is an extra view. from the numbers point-of-view, this is sheer brilliance especially if you have a regular readership. translated, if i have a hundred readers daily, the recorded page view would be two hundred because the reader would have to visit my main page and then click on the post to read it in full.

hence, i'm not a fan of the form and the structure.

content:

a) i like the concept and the backstory. i truly do. it is inspiring that she identifies a specific group of women and seeks to empower them through fashion. 

i like how the different featured ladies find support through their passion for fashion. my mother had breast cancer and for the longest time, she lost confidence in herself as a women after surgery and it showed in her dressing. it was without form and colour. if this blog existed twenty years ago, my mother would have found strength and confidence in reading this blog. a blogger that writes not just for himself or herself always gets my respect. 

b) 40+style is relevant and practical. while there is coverage of high fashion, most of the content has to do with day-to-day living. it's like your good friend chatting with you over the phone and telling you about her day. 

c) blogging alliance. the blog has not just become a platform for sylvia's voice but it has been an avenue for women over forty to connect and support one another. not only are you directed to other blogs but there are the occasional guest posts and photos submitted by readers, pretty much like oprah winfrey if you ask me. 

therefore, the spirit behind the content is charming. think of it as ready-to-wear fashion.

conclusion:

in selecting this blog, i am fully aware of the readership base (one million views is not a joking matter!) but i guess i need to be true to my personal taste. you are free to disagree and i respect the difference in opinion. so here goes...

i would fl@me 40+style because i think the writer has so much more to offer in terms of her content. if i were to be on sylvia's marketing team, there would be no problems getting advertisers for her blog or getting her invites to events. however, there seems to be a distance before her life and her works. for a writer who chooses to use her life as a scaffold, sylvia seems to distance herself from her works. at points, the posts even feel a little cold thus a little fire might just warm the blog up and getting the energy going again.

one of her early posts

i miss the excitement that i got when i first saw sylvia jump in her metallic outfit. i'm not sure about you but i kinda wish she'll skip again.

fash'on... BAM!

fl@me or fr@me: monoxious

'by the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes...'

Macbeth Act IV scene 1

with that quote from macbeth, you know that it's one of those posts where i'm going to lash out at someone but you got to read on to see how i do it. it's almost certain though: it will get nasty! like i tell my friends, i don't do nice. anyway, i came across this blog (i can't remember how, i just did.) and it left an impression on me so i decided to feature it in this week's 'fl@me or fr@me'. 

'Nothing happens. Nobody comes, nobody goes. It's awful.'

Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot

first up, remember how i once remarked that i can only tell you that many ways to wear black? well, i am wrong, you can wear black in many different ways, or rather, you can wear black for many, many, MANY days... for four years running! so everyone, i present to you the target of this week's 'fl@me or fr@me'...

monoxious.com

bascially, this is a blog run by two girls who have a passion for all things black so the posts all revolve around black clothes, black shoes, black handbags, black frames, black hole... it's a never-ending showcase of all things black and some other colours...

form:

the entire blog offers a plain and simple layout. the image above is reflective of the entire blog. you will have a straightforward title, pictures of black outfits and a couple of lines by the bloggers. typical ootd ('outfit of the day') blog. comparatively comfortable on the eyes because of its monochromatic colour scheme. you would get bolts of yellow battling flashing pink which explode into a fireball of turquoise.

hence, in terms of form, i think it's pretty stable. definitely a comfortable read (or is it?).

content:

1) deafening silence: the gaps in between the posts makes a reader wonder if they are even interested in conveying their ideas. 'busy' is not an excuse. i'm not certain about you but if i make repeated visits and see no updates on a blog that i find vaguely interesting, chances are, i won't be back for a long long time. 

well, at least they are honest!

2) sorry seems to be the hardest word, or rather in their case... it's used rather freely...

there is constant apology for the neglect of the blog but i can probably infer the reason. boredom and fatigue. the blog has not evolved since its inception. it is still the same. picture... where i bought it... how i felt wearing it... 

and the reason seems pretty standard: (a) i had this for so long (darling, if you run a fashion blog and owned something for so long... either it's outdated or if i'm kind, vintage) (b) this is easy to wear (seriously, how hard is it to match something with a black outfit?) the review of the outfit? i love it, i think you should get it too! (if you are my size, that is...)

3) i'll be blunt on this one. this blog is no longer a 'fashion blog', much like most outfit-of-the-day blogs unless you are wearing haute couture on a daily basis or you are extremely updated with fashion. taking pictures of your daily (i use this term very loosely) outfits and posting it up on a blog does not (i repeat, DOES NOT) make one a fashion blog... if you need help recalling what fashion means, please click here.

the direction that you are heading is where i do not want to go.

conclusion:

the people behind the blog are probably very kind and gentle souls who will go to heaven but i'm not so sure if their blog will follow suit. 

it took me a while to decide but i say, flame this blog... 

would i set them ablaze? not fully but i would barbecue the blog like marshmallows. you would have to watch the intensity of the flame you use and the amount you eat. nice at the beginning but too much and it is reduced to a goo-y mess.

i know that you sell fish BUT i would appreciate a little more explanation on how fish differs. black outfits are safe but it would benefit the readers if the variety of this darkness was explored a little further. the photocopy of a photocopy is still a photocopy. great start, dull finish.

fash'on... BAM!

fl@me or fr@me: susie lau & steve salter

do you remember the last line of your favourite love story? this was mine...

'now in love, the prince asked snow white to marry him, and the dwarfs reluctantly had to say good bye to snow white. from that day on, snow white lived happily in a great castle. but from time to time, she was drawn back to visit the little cottage down in the forest.'

everyone loves a love story and a fairytale ending. after being a month-old blogger, things can truly get mundane when it's always about looking for the next fashion show or trend. with the massive amount of material available, it does get overwhelming at times but you sometimes do find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

hence in my research for some of the world's best fashion blogs, i came across susanna lau (affectionately referred to as susie lau) and steve salter. who are they?

Susie and Steve

both bloggers (not just any bloggers but uk's best!) and happily attached to each other. it's always warm and fuzzy to know of people in love but more importantly, should we read their blogs?

get your weapons ready, we are going on a hunt (or maybe not)!

form: 

both blogs offer a very clean and structured layout. colour choices are down-to-earth and easy on the eyes. you will not feel that your eyes are being assaulted on both blogs. somehow from viewing both blogs, there is a calmness and rusticity that one senses. if i had to put a more graphic contrast of both blogs to some other blogs that i have seen, both style bubble and style salvage are like the rural landscape against the fashion city's hustle and bustle. this sensibility through form flows comfortably into their content.

in addition, their language is kept simple. no big words, no hard to understand concepts. simple expression to convey their thoughts.

content: 

i have no complaints here. here's a list of what i really enjoy whilst reading (and researching) their blogs.

i) susie lau's balance of views. like the recent drama revolving saint laurent, i liked how she focused on talking about the collection and demonstrated a highly balanced view with how the non-industry players reacted to the collection by doing a quick twitter search. this is a girl who takes pride in her work to a point where it's almost investigative journalism. i've linked the article here.

ii) steve salter's use of quotations. whether it is a literary quote or something that a designer said, i think it gives a personal touch and uniqueness to the article. cross reference also demonstrates thought and depth in material. in using a quote as the foundation to an article, it aids the reader in seeing the material through the eyes of the writer to prevent any loss in translation. 

screen capture from hype beast

iii) his love for her (and i'm sure she does too!) i tried looking on susie's blog for traces of steve but it was much easier on steve's blog. the little hints of affection just conjures up images of boy meets girl, girl and boy fall in love, much like my first love. =) you cannot fault love.

conclusion:

i would get ready my wedding gift for both of them. as people, they are unassuming and as bloggers, they are perfect compliments. i look forward to the day when they combine their talents and blog as a couple. now that would be interesting!

so flame or frame? (if you cannot figure it out by now) FRAME! i would run out and buy a gold frame, encrusted with rubies, emerald and all sorts of precious stones for them. in closing, i leave you with a quote from lao tzu:

'being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.'

this is a power duo in fashion blogging that has strength AND courage. 

fash'on... BAM!

ps: below is a quick look at steve's and mine facebook page (his is definitely better taken!)... we boys love our shoes!

Style Salvage on Facebook

The Online Edition on Facebook