ABSTRACT
For a long time fashion has had a mixed reputation as a research topic. On the one hand, researchers have often considered fashion too “frivolous” to provide serious ground for scientific analysis (Barnard 2007a; Godart 2009). But, on the other hand, fashion has increasingly grown as a serious business engaging substantial investment and returning considerable profits in ever growing markets. According to Euromonitor International, however, global consumer expenditures for “fashion”
(an aggregation of “clothing and footwear” and “jewellery, silverware, watches and clocks, travel goods”) amounted to US$2 trillion, which is more than the US$1.2 trillion spent on the purchase of cars, motorcycles and other vehicles. Besides, fashion plays an essential role in identity construction (Arnold 2001; Davis 1992; Entwistle 2000), including consumer identity (Jackson and Shaw 2006), and contributes to shaping consumer culture (Jackson and Shaw 2006; McCracken 1986; Thompson and Haytko 1997). In a global context where consumers buy more and more fashion goods,1 a better understanding of how and why consumers make use of fashion products is highly relevant for marketers and consumer researchers. While fashion per se has attracted increased attention from scholars in the realm of cultural
studies (Barnard 2007b; Bruzzi and Gibson 2006; Crane 2000; McCracken 1986; Murray 2002; Thompson and Haytko 1997), fashion mediated through social media and specifically through weblogs, has been only partially addressed. With the rise of online communities, and specifically of blogs, branded discussions and word of mouth have dramatically changed (Hoffman and Novak 1996; Kozinets 2006; Kozinets et al. 2010). In particular, consumers have gained greater control over brand narratives by sharing and evaluating their consumption experiences through products and brands. Existing research has examined the consequences of new networked narratives within the so-called blogosphere (Kozinets et al. 2010) but only very few scholars have studied fashion blogs and blogging. And, yet, a better understanding of fashion blogging and its influence on consumer culture and audiences is important.
