Fashion Week Street Style

During the bleakness that is Milan Fashion Week this season (i.e. sophisticated silhouettes and detailing, boring colors) I have found that my passion for Fashion Week street style is increasing exponentially. The main attraction of the various Fashion Weeks is presumably the runway shows, but in many cases what attendees wear to shows is more interesting than the runway looks themselves. Certain stylish show-goers are known for their unique (some call it crazy) street style, such as Vogue Japan's editor-at-large Anna Dello Russo - the Italian fashion goddess who can pull off almost anything - and well-known blogger Susie Lau of Style Bubble, who is often seen draped in the garments of emerging or contemporary designers and has a natural talent for mixing prints. Though not everyone can claim a signature style as famed as these, it's certain that shows attract only the chicest of the set. Going to a runway show is only half of it, because everyone will be eyeing each other's outfits, sometimes in the most critical sense. Therefore the lucky ones who are invited to attend shows are pressured to dress their best.
The rising craze over street style is particularly apparent when Fashion Week is on. Nowadays, nearly every fashion-related website covers not only the runway shows but also the street style involved. With the evolution of media, street style has obtained various platforms on which photographs of fashionistas captured crossing the street or chatting on the phone can be displayed. Tumblr has a huge role in this: the best street style snaps go viral, reaching thousands of reblogs in days. But it is also the rise of blogging that has contributed, with personal style blogs only perpetuating the trend. Sites such as Lookbook.nu are geared towards personal style - what girls and boys are wearing in their everyday lives. It's such ideas as these that are becoming so popular because they form another mechanism allowing us to be inspired. Street style snaps capture unusual pairings that bring out the creativity in others who set sight on said images, so it can clearly be said that the rise in popularity that street style photography is seeing is mainly for the better.
One of the most famous street style photographers is Tommy Ton, of Jak & Jil fame and also commonly shooting on behalf of Style.com. The photographs below are sourced from the latter site, hosting a wonderful collection of Fashion Week street style shots from which I have chosen the most colorful pairings.

Images from style.com

Speaking of street style, I'm happy to say that I was featured in Teen Vogue's "10 Expert Tips From Fashion Blogging Pros at the IFB Conference" slideshow. 

Image from teenvogue.com

Don't be a copycat

The process of becoming a successful blogger should be "organic." In the words of Bryanboy, "Don't try to be a 'blogger 2.0." Avoid trying to emulate an already-established blogger. Your followers should feel like they are actually hearing from you. "We already have one Bryanboy..." says DKNY PR Girl Aliza Licht. We don't need two!

Below is another street style photograph shot by Dustin Fenstermacher for Teen Vogue outside of the IFB Conference, which kicked off NYFW.

Jack by BB Dakota kimono, Margarita Saplala dress, Marc by Marc Jacobs shoulder bag, bracelet from Jessie James (designer unknown), Hue tights, Rebecca Minkoff wedges.

Which of the street style photographs is your favorite? If you went to Fashion Week, what did you wear? If you didn't go, what would you wear? And how do you feel about street style? I'd love to know your opinion, so please do leave a comment below.

I hope you're enjoying the Fall 2012 shows. Milan Fashion Week hasn't been showing much color, so I'll refrain from doing posts focused on individual shows. I do plan on doing a colorful highlights post at the end of Milan Fashion Week, so keep an eye out for that.

xoxo