Finding Fashion Data

My Assignment:

For your topic area, what are the best sources of data available? Link to the ones that are online, and describe the ones (with links that get you as close as possible) that are not. When I say data, I’m looking for things that can be quantified — such as numbers of all kinds including financial information, markets, etc. For example, if I’m writing about the city of Phoenix, I’d be using — among other things — data that the city makes available, Census information, etc.

Results:

This assignment was a little harder for me, because my subject of interest is fashion (fashion trends, DIY projects, the fashion industry, etc). What I was able to come up with are different ways to find certain products that you see on television or online with no sources, that you would like to buy. I know it has happened to me before; I will be watching a television show or looking at street style blogs and a shirt, or a pair of shoes will catch my eye. Then the problem arises that I have no clue where that person bought that item or if it is still available. One site that I love for this very reason is Polyvore.com. It is a website that allows people to post outfit ideas or pictures of other people’s outfits and links to where each item can be found. For example, everyone was raving about Rihanna’s outfit on the Jonathan Ross Show (picture shown below).

When you go to Polyvore.com there is a post that shows each piece, where she got it, and how much it is.  If you aren’t looking for an exact outfit, instead you are looking for a pair of metallic heels for instance, you can type “metallic heels” in the search box at the top, right of the page. Pages and pages of metallic heels will pop up on your browser. You can organize the selection by the price you are willing to pay, the brand you want, or the size of the shoe, etc. Each shoe shown will have a price and link to the website you can get them from.

Another site I use to find fashion data is http://www.modeaparis.com/en. This may not pertain to many people in the United States, but while I was studying in Paris this site came in handy when trying to find information about different fashion shows going on in the area during Paris Fashion Week. The site includes schedules and designer information for Ready-to-Wear, Haute Couture, and Men’s fashion shows going on in Paris. The site also contains information for press contacts, and after party events for Paris Fashion Week. The website is very informative if you want to research fashion in this particular area. It is also useful if you are interested in learning about designers and the particular line they are showing.

Article Analysis

This was my assignment:

Pick one major story published in the past 2 weeks in this area, and analyze it deeply. For example, discuss whether it is based on numerous sources or just one or two, and how that has affected the quality. If it’s on the web, how well does it use links and other web-based tools. What questions did the reporter fail to ask (or not address in the piece)? Grade the story as if you were teaching media literacy to the journalist.

This was my report:

In recent fashion news, Fashionista.com, along with other media sources, have reported that there are rumors going around that the clothing brand, Chloé, might be up for sale. The online article, “Is Richemont Looking to Sell Chloé”, written by Alyssa Vingan, sheds further light onto the situation. As of now the fashion brand is owned by Richemont, a Switzerland based luxury brand holding company. It is reported that Richemont is in the process of eliminating some of its fashion brands from its hold, to focus on luxury watches and accessories. The article includes two sources that have been published in the last month regarding the rumors. Both sources are credible, however both lean towards the accusations that Richemont is indeed selling the brand. One source, Reuters.com, is a news agency that suggests that in the past when rumors were going around about Lancel (luxury leather brand) being sold, it was true. Therefore, the article suggests that Chloé may have the same fate. The other source, Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) implies that Richemont is selling Chloé but is not rushing the transaction. In my opinion I feel that the article published by Fashionista.com is a “so-so” article. The author included credible links, but there should have more links throughout the piece. The sources that were used only showed one side of the story and I wish there would have been more information about how this rumor could be false. I still have so many questions about the rumors going around. Both links never really answered the question, “Is Chloé being sold?” At the end of the article the author wrote, “On Oct. 10, Richemont was forced to come forward and dispel the rumor that the retail group was up for sale in a public statement — an uncharacteristic move for the company.” This is the only definite information I got from the entire article, but there was no source or link to prove it.  If I were writing the article I would have included a link to the Chloé website. I would have included the two links that she posted because it does give reliable information about the rumors. Then if I found that the rumors were true, I would have posted the link to a video of the public statement or an article addressing it. All in all I think the article was good but it could have been better. I would give it a grade of C+.

Source:

http://fashionista.com/2013/11/is-richemont-looking-to-sell-chloe/

How to Learn More About Fashion

There are so many resources at our disposal to research the fashion industry. This post will cover which media outlets I believe are the most useful when looking to find information. For information regarding fashion photography I would suggest looking at tumblr.com and searching “fashion photography”. This will bring up an endless amount of pictures. To find examples of other fashion photography look in the pages or websites of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Nylon. I also would suggest looking at these photographer’s blogs/websites:

www.melissarodwell.com

topics.nytimes.com (search Bill Cunningham)

http://www.horstdiekgerdes.com

http://www.terryrichardson.com

http://www.alicehawkins.com

http://www.georgesantoni.com

When looking for style inspiration you can look at fashion magazines like Cosmopolitan, Elle, Teen Vogue (or Vogue), Nylon, Marie Claire, etc. I enjoy looking at magazines from other countries like Nylon Japan, or Rush Magazine to see what is popular in different areas. I also enjoy looking at websites such as http://www.nastygal.com, https://saboskirt.com, http://www.threadsence.com, http://www.shopplanetblue.com, http://www.forever21.com, http://www.hm.com, and http://us.asos.com. I follow different users on Instagram.com for fashion inspiration. Those users include:

http://instagram.com/joyhystericboutique

http://instagram.com/frontrowmode

http://instagram.com/chiaraferragni

http://instagram.com/shuku_newyork

http://instagram.com/wildfoxcouture

When looking for DIY ideas I look at sites like http://apairandasparediy.com, http://honestlywtf.com, http://matterofstyle.blogspot.com, http://www.feedyourstyle.com, http://www.abeautifulmess.com, and http://psimadethis.com. Each of these sites show a vast amount of information about DIY projects and step by step instructions to help you complete them.