I write a beginners mens style blog that recently turned up in SF's worst style blog post. Help me i

[WaistcoatWonder]

Hi all, lonnnnnng time lurker and only recent poster. I write http://dapper-on-a-dime.blogspot.com a blog for beginners (not that unlike myself) to mens style interested in finding their style on a budget. I was embarrassed as all get out to find that my blog is being laughed at on Style Forum in a thread about bad style blogs. I want to what I can to fix this and do what I can to both better learn about mens style and better write about it.

For reference, my target audience is younger men (under 30) whose wardrobe consist of tapout shirts and sweat pants (primarily other service members I work with) and wives who are hoping their husband can lose the skate shoes and graphic tees and pick up a fitted shirt and some trousers.

My ego has already been shattered, so please, give me your most honest critiques. I have massive respect for the collective knowledge and opinion of Style Forum and would really like to improve my advice and writing.

 

[SpooPoker]

I dont know where you read that about your blog, but I just clicked and read a bit, and I actually like your writing style, FWIW. Sure, you could improve on some stuff, but I happened to like it.

I think because your demographic, as you stated, is for military and such, which is not really SF kind of stuff, is why it does not mesh with the crowd here.

Kudos to you for doing your thing, and I wish you the best of luck with it. Ill check back.

 

[Claghorn]

I don't know which thread you are referring to (but am ashamed to say that it sounds fun and I would appreciate the link)...

...but some quick practical advice.

-Standardize a distance for the pictures of yourself and crop your head out of them. The focus of the blog is on clothes. If you look at a lot of style blogs, you'll notice you see very few pictures that go above the neck.


-Your writing is heavily focused on yourself...which is fine except that it gives the impression that this blog is about you and not your clothes. Maybe impose a limit of one "I" per paragraph and let your clothes take over as the sentence subjects:

"My bow tying skills leaves much to be desired when I'm in a rush. I should have taken more time to get a more even knot with a smoother center." My bow tying skills leave much to be desired when rushed, thus the uneven knot with a rumpled center.

"Pants from H&M, not a company I generally recommend due to the cheaper quality of their clothing, but these pants have held up pretty well." Pants from H&M. Not the greatest company in the world (quality issues), but these pants have held up pretty well.


-I would lose the tag line at the end of your posts; you don't dress dangerously (nothing wrong with that), so perhaps don't recommend others do.


-A number of style issues (overcoat without a coat underneath, for example)...but that's only remedied by practice and observation (not to mention it's highly subjective), not a random poster giving his .02, so I'm not going to go into that.



But as far as style blogs go, there are definitely worse out there. At least yours isn't pretentious. Not sure it's awful enough to warrant ridicule.

 

[WaistcoatWonder]

Phenomenal response with things I had not at all realized I was doing.

These are quick and simple fixes I can make, and you're absolutely right, the focus is on the clothes not me, so losing my face in it could certainly help.

I have another post in the works reviewing my Birchbox, I will try and implement these changes with that. I really appreciate y'alls advice!

 

[YRR92]

Your blog isn't too bad at all, though I'm afraid the clothes aren't really my thing. I agree with Claghorn -- I find writing is always more powerful when it's in the minimum possible words, and I have a fetish for short paragraphs. As you can see, I also tend to write run-on sentences, which I try my hardest to chop down. You've found a good location to take photos, which is very important, but working towards consistency in framing would be a good next step. I crop my photos very tightly, because my living space is far from inspiring.

I also make a distinction between fit pics and discussions about clothes in abstract terms. Not sure if that's germane to your blog or not. I use Tumblr, and it's a different beast.

Hope this helps.

 

[wj4]

To be honest, I think the most important aspect is to have fun with your blog...which seems like you are. Are you using a cell phone to take your pictures? Better quality pictures would help drastically, along with proper distance on the pictures. The back to back to back pictures with different depth aspect throws it off to me. Cheer up, man...if you enjoy blogging, then keep going. It sure beats the other blogs out there that just re-use other pictures with no original content.

 

[Holdfast]

A few pointers, some of which have been mentioned above but are worth reinforcing. Forgive me if I'm slightly blunt with some of the points. I also freely acknowledge that most of these points apply to myself, and to a good percentage of other posters on SF as well, but since you specifically asked for advice, here it is. This is a case of do as I say, not as I do...

• Many style blogs veer from being simple reports of what they wear or what clothes/trends they like into actual advice. This rarely comes off well when the person giving the advice is not a tremendously good dresser. Like most of us on SF, you probably dress somewhat better than your immediate peers, but you are not a great dresser. That makes your advice incomplete & unauthoritative at best, and sketchy at worst. The way to overcome this is either through more research & practice before educating others, or using a more objective style that focuses less on what you personally are wearing.
• Your writing style is fairly mediocre. It's not awful, but it's not great either. It certainly does not make for an engaging read. If you're trying to educate others, especially with prose, it's best to use short, unambiguous & grammatically correct sentences (my editors for the two For Dummies books I've written are laughing somewhere as I type this, given the amount of overexuberant purple prose from me that they've had to modify).
• The photography is inconsistent. Combined with the uninspiring layout work and theme, this creates an amateurish feel to the advice.

The above is meant constructively and written solely because you specifically asked for feedback. Otherwise, I would simply have considered your blog one of the many enthusiastic & well-meaning offerings out there. I hope you take the advice on board in the same spirit.

 

[VinnyMac]

Hi all, lonnnnnng time lurker and only recent poster. I write http://dapper-on-a-dime.blogspot.com a blog for beginners (not that unlike myself) to mens style interested in finding their style on a budget. I was embarrassed as all get out to find that my blog is being laughed at on Style Forum in a thread about bad style blogs. I want to what I can to fix this and do what I can to both better learn about mens style and better write about it.

For reference, my target audience is younger men (under 30) whose wardrobe consist of tapout shirts and sweat pants (primarily other service members I work with) and wives who are hoping their husband can lose the skate shoes and graphic tees and pick up a fitted shirt and some trousers.

My ego has already been shattered, so please, give me your most honest critiques. I have massive respect for the collective knowledge and opinion of Style Forum and would really like to improve my advice and writing.

....link to it in the worst style blog list? If you can't provide that link, then I'll assume that you're just trying to get more traffic for your blog...I won't read it until you provide that other link. I will say that if your "ego is shattered" because a bunch of internet guys didn't like your recreational internet site, then you may need psychological help or, at the least, some real-life friends.

 

[HansderHund]



....link to it in the worst style blog list? If you can't provide that link, then I'll assume that you're just trying to get more traffic for your blog...I won't read it until you provide that other link. I will say that if your "ego is shattered" because a bunch of internet guys didn't like your recreational internet site, then you may need psychological help or, at the least, some real-life friends.

I didn't know this thread existed either, but here it is:

http://www.styleforum.net/t/272980/the-terrible-fashion-blog-thread/150_30

Specifically, it begins at this post:

http://www.styleforum.net/t/272980/the-terrible-fashion-blog-thread/150_30#post_6086232

 

[Bounder]



(my editors for the two For Dummies books I've written are laughing somewhere as I type this, given the amount of overexuberant purple prose from me that they've had to modify).

Which two? My money is on Chromophobia for Dummies and A Jung Man's Guide to Psychology.

 

[Quadcammer]

i don't think I'd take advice from a man that doesn't himself dress well. The tuxedo you are wearing is at least one size too big.

 

[HansderHund]



Which two? My money is on Chromophobia for Dummies and A Jung Man's Guide to Psychology.

I'll take the dark horse and say "Auto Repair for Dummies" and "Betting on Horse Racing for Dummies."

Dr. Holdfast, please enlighten us.

 

[yessur]

i don't think I'd take advice from a man that doesn't himself dress well. The tuxedo you are wearing is at least one size too big.

To be honest, it looks like everything he is wearing is one size too big.

 

[Quadcammer]



To be honest, it looks like everything he is wearing is one size too big.

yup, as i looked through the rest of it, I totally agree. The tuxedo is really egregious.

 

[WaistcoatWonder]

Thank you to all that replied, this is a lot more honest critique than I'm like to get from my friends.

For those who mentioned fit, that is the thing I am trying to work most on, the tuxedo jacket was donated to Salvation Army as were a large number of my sweaters that I really just needed to part with regardless of how I liked the look.

Recurring theme is that I write too much and advise too much when I should just be showing (better) fits. I really appreciate everything that was written here and will definitely try to apply it in future posts.

Vinny, I was definitely exaggerating, though I was embarrassed to be listed there, it was no real blow to my ego, more a call to see what I'm doing and how I can improve. I Reddit too much to really give a **** about some people being unkind on the internet. I more just want to fix the mistakes I'm making, and from this (and that) thread I'm learning of quite a few more mistakes I was making then I had realized.

I welcome any more criticisms and critiques you all might have.