Rise of the amateur fashion editor

From the bus stop, style dos and don'ts. AMANDA KWAN examines how bloggers are affecting the fashion discourse.

Around the world, camera-toting commentators are looking for someone with a zeal for fashion; a certain dresser with a little je ne sais quoi.

These eagle-eyed scouts aren't magazine editors or paparazzi. They're just ordinary — but increasingly influential — folks with Blogger accounts. And they're watching you.

The Web-savvy amateur fashion editors look for inspiration beyond that provided by mainstream fashion magazines. The photos on their sites aim to capture everyday style representative of a time, city, neighborhood or even block where the subject was photographed. While street fashion isn't a new concept — fashion magazines like Nylon have covered it for years — interest has risen with the popularity and accessibility of blogs.

"I had always been into Japanese street fashion magazines … so it was inspiring to see that someone had taken that format and translated it into a blog," said fashion blogger Matthew L. Gates, a 24-year-old literature major at the City College of San Francisco and fashion boutique sales clerk.

Read the full article at ASAP.org (via PSFK)