Debra Goldblatt of rock-it promotions is one of Toronto’s top publicists for fashion, lifestyle and celebrity clients, and has been a great connector and supporter towards the fashion bloggers in the city for years. Her straight talk, genuine warmth and love of the business makes her a total PR darling.

This year rock-it promotions launched their own blog called On The Fourth Floor, and one of the most popular features is called Media Darling, asking PR-related questions of various personalities in the media (including me). I turned the table to get her perspective from the other side.

Who are your PR heroes? What inspires you about the leaders in your profession?

I have many colleagues that I work with in the PR field that are heroes. Some are owners of their own agencies and some are more junior and starting out. I don’t kiss and tell, but I will say that PR people who handle themselves with grace in difficult situations as well as have a sense of humour are my favourite people in this profession. It’s not always easy and it’s a very demanding career and a smile can go a long way.

What do you wish people understood better about PR, especially when it comes to fashion events?

I wish people understood how difficult it is to please all the people, all the time. There is a lot of ego in the fashion world which, to be frank, is quite unlike the other fields we work in (film, lifestyle, health, hospitality, etc). During a really large scale event like a show during Fashion Week, we really do try our very best to ensure that everybody is treated with the utmost respect and occasionally, there is a mistake. It could be a seat forgotten, a volunteer making an error, or an rsvp missed. Trust us that we kick ourselves harder than anybody ever could when those situations happen, so no need to kick us when we’re down (unless you’re dealing with a PR person who isn’t remorseful – then you should kick them. Hard.).

How can an independent blogger grab your attention? What do you look for when you choose the bloggers you want to work with?

I think this is very similar to the feedback we hear from media about PR professionals. I hate spelling errors and I hate it when somebody addresses a note to another agency and sends it to me. It’s impersonal and shows they are saying the same flattering things to another agency to get into an event. I like sincerity and soul. And a blog that is clean, well written and has relevant content for my client(s).

What is your biggest pet peeve when it comes to bloggers?

Not acting professional. Don’t get hammered at an event b/c there is an open bar. If you want to work with us, save the slurred rants and drunk tweets until after you’ve been our guest. It’s no different than us inviting you into our house if it’s our client’s event. You look bad, we look bad. We want everybody to have fun, and believe in freedom of speech, but work with us, not against us. Positive energy is so much better than being a bitch.

Rock-it now has its own very lively, content-rich blog, On The Fourth Floor. What are your thoughts on the blogging experience?

It’s a TON of work! I’ve always had major respect for our friends in the blogging world, but it has been a really eye-opening experience to be the editor of our own site. It’s a collaborative effort in our agency, but most of it falls on a few specific team members and we def. feel the added work. We’ve had a ton of fun getting ‘fan’ mail and we just got our first piece of critical mail, which was equally fun. The Media, Darling posts have been wildly positive. I wanted to create a blog that PR professionals and students, in particular, would subscribe to because it was fun, digestible and offer something of value while being fresh. The fact that other agencies out there have been reading it and letting us know how much they enjoy it, totally rocks. I love that kind of good karma.

Full disclosure: rock-it promotions is a sponsor of Final Fashion. Thanks Deb!

It seems a bit quiet here on the blog, doesn’t it? Between a lot of work and packing and purging and so on, I’ve been experiencing the a little bit of the blogger’s block. I know that there needs to be a bit of a change for Final Fashion but until today, I’ve been uncertain about how that will look.

Today I made a decision to revise the categories I post under. Categories are really helpful, I find, for structuring and planning posts. I’m feeling a sense that I need to simplify, and also to be able to respond to the way that people access, consume and create blog content now.

Also, as I said before, I want to make the blog a bit more personal and raw. If there is a touchstone for Final Fashion, I feel like the essence is seeking an independent, creative career in the fashion industry. That seems to be the common thread in all the things that fascinate me enough to dedicate considerable attention towards. And everyone has a lot less attention to give these days, so I feel that the content needs to be very heartfelt. Its not about consistent posting, its about meaningful posting. So the more thinky stuff will be more infrequent, but hopefully stronger because of that.

In between, I’d also like to incorporate the briefer type of posting that has developed on sites like Tumblr. I want to experiment with a more curatorial approach to blogging in between the more creative, original content that is so much more labour intensive. Beyond fashion, I’d like to talk about the culture I consume and maybe even suss out why it is worth my time.

So I’ve created nine revised categories, and here they are with my thoughts of what they’re for. Let’s see what sticks.

thinking - is pretty self explanatory. It’s the category that came out of just a thought… except it is a less self-deprecating way to describe the things that are on my mind to such a degree I feel compelled to try and articulate them. I do a lot of thinking, and the purpose of Final Fashion from the very beginning was to provide a place for me to share those thoughts, whatever they are.

trending - this is to cover one of my fascinations – watching trends – especially business trends and macro trends – as they apply to fashion. I also occasionally do twitter updates titled “trend fatigue”, which call out stuff I think is overplayed, and I think that could easily adapt to a picture-and-caption blog update. Also, like any fashion person, I occasionally am pleased when things I like come into vogue, and I think it would be fun to mention those too.

drawing - I’m very grateful to get as much illustration work as I do, but the side effect of that is I don’t have the same time and energy to draw just for the blog any more. I think this category will mostly feature client work, and personal stuff whenever I doodle something good enough to share.

wearing - I put the call out there a while back that I would blog about the clothes and accessories that I actually wear. I’m grateful that a lot of what I acquire is gifted from some very cool brands. Believe it or not, occasionally I actually have the discretionary income to buy things too.

attending - I’m also lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to cool events and do neat things every once in a while, and even sometimes have permission to invite readers to come too if they’re in the neighborhood. So that’s what this category is for.

adoring - just sounds so much better than “digging”, “crushing” or even “loving”, and this category is a place for me to share all the beautiful stuff that hits me right in the heart.

watching - TV shows, movies, YouTube vids, I watch ‘em like everyone else. And now, I’m going to share them with you so you can watch them too. Lucky you!

listening - podcasts and music, as a freelancer I spend a lot of time keeping myself company with recorded voices and music. So now you’ll get an occasional audio update.

reading - books, blogs, newspapers, magazines, I like to read a lot, and I like throwing in my two cents too.

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Thanks as always to everyone who reads and connects, it is because of you that I find Final Fashion to be such a rewarding pursuit. And also, thank you for standing by when its time for me to figure out a new approach or direction. Expect to see posts under the new categories on Monday.

It feels like Final Fashion has reached the next level – after some requests from readers and new visitors, it finally feels like time to write an FAQ.  I always love getting questions and do try to answer them all to the best of my ability, so please feel free to send them!  The only difference is that in the future if they are asked more than once, I’m just going to send you a link to this page.

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How can I become a fashion illustrator?

This is in the queue for a future post – however the short answer is as follows. Draw a lot of fashion figures and a lot of clothes.  Have a website, even just a simple one, with examples of your best work. Make business cards with “fashion illustrator” and your website address on them. Go meet people, hand out your cards, draw, meet your deadlines, repeat.

Can I hire you for a fashion illustration project?  What are your rates?

Thanks for considering my work! Email me at finalfashion@gmail.com with as many details as you can, the most important information being what you want illustrated, how the illustration will be used, when you need it by, and your contact information.  Once I have a sense of the scope of the project, I can create an estimate.

My business is interested in advertising or sponsorship on Final Fashion. What are your rates?

Thanks for your inquiry! I have a sponsorship program in place on Final Fashion for businesses I feel would be a good fit for the site.  If you’re interested, please email me a link to your website and a request for the current Sponsorship Deck.  Please be aware that I do not do paid posts, banner ads, or text links.

Can I send you a product for review?

That is very kind of you, thanks!  You may email me to request my mailing address, along with some details of who you are and what the product is.  I do appreciate all offers, however I prefer to be asked first so you don’t waste time and money sending me an inappropriate product.  Please be aware that I do not guarantee reviews, and usually only post reviews when I find the product to be useful, lovely, or interesting.  Also, I very much prefer to receive press kits by email rather than by post.

I am new to fashion blogging, do you have any advice?

Independent Fashion Bloggers is a terrific resource for aspiring and novice fashion bloggers.  The best advice I can give in brief is as follows.  Get a great URL (the test of a great URL is if you can say it easily over the phone), choose a platform (I use WordPress), tweak the design until you have a look you can live with, and commit to posting regularly and reliably. Be patient – it took me years to develop confidence in my own voice and gather a respectable following.  Learning to blog well is mostly about persistence and practice. As with most ambitions, the critical thing is not to give up.

How do I get into fashion school?  Which fashion school should I go to?

Fashion schools have a variety of application processes, however in general I believe what they are looking for in applicants is raw talent and a willingness to work and learn.  Having a portfolio that demonstrates curiousity and effort is more important than having a very slick, “perfect” presentation. I have written on the subject of how to choose a school here, and if you’re lucky enough to get into fashion school, I have also written a post about how to make the most of it.

How do I attend a fashion week?

I have listed all your options here.

Can I apply for an internship at your organization? Can I submit an article to Final Fashion?

Final Fashion is a one-person operation and I cannot provide work experience opportunities, sorry.

Where did you get your glasses?

I got them at Hakim Optical at Queen and Bay in Toronto in 2002.  The brand is Gucci.

The first real hot ticket in Toronto this year, in my opinion, was the @Style panel discussion, part of the international event Social Media Week.  You had to get up pretty early to grab a spot on the RSVP list – naturally I’m a lark and signed up on 5:30am on January 29th, third on the list, seconds after Susan Langdon tweeted about it for the first time.

Four speakers, invited by Jyotika of exshoesme, brought four very different perspectives to the effects of social media on fashion.  At first I was a little skeptical – other than Cherie Federau of Shrimpton Couture, none of the speakers are bloggers – and even Cherie is primarily an online retailer, not a blogger.  So what sort of insights could an audience populated mostly by fashion bloggers expect?

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The first speaker was Susan Langdon of the Toronto Fashion Incubator (full disclosure – TFI is a sponsor of Final Fashion).  Susan introduced the new Social Media Guidebook (available here) that the TFI commissioned, and that I had a small part in contributing to.  The guide is made for fashion entrepreneurs who are unfamiliar with the current social media landscape and want to be able to use the tools available to help their brand. I haven’t seen the book in full yet so I can’t comment on it other than the brief overview Susan gave us; while the bullet points seem a bit jargon-y (what the heck does authenticate even mean?) the interviews with many interesting bloggers and entrepreneurs would be well worth the cost of admission.  The questions I answered for the guide were good ones and I gave very candid answers.

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The second speaker was Cherie Federau of Shrimpton Couture.  I was looking forward to hearing Cherie speak the most – the scribbly notes in the moleskine above are from her presentation (I don’t own a mobile, and I don’t live-tweet, ever). Of all of the speakers, I identify most closely with Cherie – not only do I admire her as a tremendously successful online entrepreneur, she is also enthusiastic and genuine with a great sense of humour.  Cherie is self-taught by trial and error (like me) and abides by a similar philosophy of relating to people online – essentially, be open to the world, stay on top of your correspondence, be a decent human being, and be true to yourself. Cherie’s talk offered the most real, applicable advice to living and working online.

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The third speaker was Dr. Alexandra Palmer, costume curator of the Royal Ontario Museum.  She began her presentation discussing buttons on 13th century jackets – and I was wondering what the connection was (because surely it wasn’t to buttons on mobile phones).  Over the course of her talk, her insight became a bit clearer – that the application of technology to fashion is what makes new fashions possible – for instance, the development of stretch fabrics made the innovation of pantyhose possible, and pantyhose in turn made it possible for women to wear miniskirts in the 1960s.

However, when it came to the application of social media technology to fashion, Dr. Palmer seemed dubious of the advantages – she expressed cynicism that the greater speed and dissemination of trends could do anything for the development of modern fashion, that somehow the overwhelming preoccupation with speed represented a sense of loss and “waste” to her. She drew some thoughtful parallels between social media and the development of the Jacquard loom, the first computer, which put many weavers out of work. She also discussed a bit about how technology is affecting the modern retail business – such as how prolific communication makes retail innovations like pop-up shops possible.  Another revelation on retail was about how shopping for clothing is so dependent on tactility – and how now bricks and mortar stores are being used by customers to try on clothing, and online stores are used to find the best price.

During the question and answer session at the end of the talk, I was able to ask Dr. Palmer whether she had any insights on how the invention of the printing press effected the fashion industry, and whether there are any parallels from that period of history now.  Her response was somewhat surprising to me – though she acknowledged that printing sped up the trend cycle, she dismissed that the technology of printing had a significant effect on fashion, which seems unlikely. Now I am more curious about this than before. Dr. Palmer is an esteemed historian and I have enjoyed reading her admirable work on costume history, but on media, she seems uncharacteristically uncurious.

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The fourth and final speaker was Lisa Tant, editor-in-chief of Flare Magazine. Lisa is the only EIC of a fashion magazine in Canada who is a prolific tweeter with a significant following online. She can seem surprisingly unguarded on twitter sometimes – just over a week ago she got some flack for “Sobbing to think that a 13 year old gets a front row seat to cover couture. No justice in this world.” which she obliquely alluded to in her presentation by saying that its best to avoid being “cute or sarcastic” on social media. I couldn’t help but find it a bit ironic that Lisa Tant would be telling a room full of fashion bloggers about social media the very next week – seating assignments really do seem unfair sometimes – and wondered if I could think of a slam-dunk question to ask her, but somehow I couldn’t.

Watching Lisa Tant speak, she seemed much more lucid and insightful than she appears on Twitter, which I think does reveal a limitation of micro-blogging. The major message I got from Tant’s talk was how magazines are concerned with the broader strokes of culture and celebrity – while what is important for bloggers is a sense of individual personality. Flare can be commended for recognizing the work of Tommy Ton before he became a phenomenon – but for the most part it seems like the publication is concerned with using the existing momentum behind individual brands – such as Lady Gaga and Perez Hilton, to drive the growth of the Flare brand.

This supports my own conclusions when it comes to the new-media vs. old-media discussion – that mastheads are becoming less valuable than individuals. Flare as a brand is not only hampered by its very corporate-ness (unsupportive Rogers policy tries to discourage the use of social media), it is more and more dependent on the brands of individuals to drive its own brand. Online, Tommy Ton is a bigger brand than Flare – and his fans will follow his work whether its under the Flare masthead, or Style.com, or on his own site.  I think that editors and old media say that the holy grail online is speed (Tant says “readers expect immediacy”) but the real prize we’re all after is actually an individual brand (Tommy often posts photos months after they are taken).  I think Tant knows this whether she says it or not – her own personal influence is getting pretty close to equal in numbers to that of Flare’s – I would even argue that it is more valuable in qualitative terms to Flare, and especially to Tant herself.

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All in all it was a terrific, thought-provoking morning, and the various perspectives provided some fascinating contrasts. If you attended, what did you think? I’m up for a discussion.

Hello, friends.  I am back out of the woods, for now.

If you’ve been following Final Fashion for more than a year, you know that I love the beginning of a new year.  I love making changes, making plans, and making goals.  Usually I make some personal resolutions (this year is all about skin and hair, among some more daunting ambitions), some business goals, and most importantly for you, some plans for the blog.  Last year was about posting a minimum of five times a week, a standard that I met and often exceeded.  Once the rhythm was set I found it an easy habit to have.

Once I did have that momentum going, and action was happening on the blog, I was able to start a unique sponsorship program.  I am incredibly grateful for the enthusiasm of my readers and sponsors – you all inspire me to keep Final Fashion going, and to make sure it is the best it can be.

As with keeping any commitment, I learned a lot.  And some of what I discovered is inspiring some changes in direction for Final Fashion in 2010.  In no particular order, here they are.

1. A more international focus. I love featuring the work of people that I know personally, and so Final Fashion has naturally become very Toronto-centric.  However, in 2010 I will be in the process of setting up a drastic life transition that will eventually take me out of Toronto.  Part of that preparation will happen on the blog – I’ll be reaching out more to foster internet connections with interesting people all over the world.  Also, I will no longer be posting local events – unless my sponsors or I am directly involved, or if they have relevance to people outside of Toronto.
2. More projects, less posting. Some of the most popular posts of 2009 were about projects – especially major ones.  This makes me very happy because I would love to do more projects, especially ones involving collaboration, new techniques, and even clothing design.  To balance a commitment to more studio work, I’m going to go easier on myself when it comes to posting frequently, and focus more on posting about the creative process, and of course exciting reveals of finished projects.
3. A monthly podcast. One of my favourite parts of blogging is the ability to have conversations, and I’d like to raise that bar even higher by having a monthly conversational podcast, featuring some of the smartest thinking people I know talking about fashion news and issues, project collaboration, as well as some more esoteric subjects.
4. Customized sponsorship opportunities. The transition from local to international will definitely affect the type of sponsorship that will fit on Final Fashion and I am up for the challenge.  In addition to the ability to connect sponsors with local influencers (for instance, with sponsored events), I am ready to come up with more ways to help sponsors make connections all over the world.  Want to do giveaways? Want to become the title sponsor for the podcast? Want to have a livelier online presence?  I would love to talk to you about your goals.
5. More audacity. Over the course of five years (!) of blogging, I’ve changed my mind many times about the level of transparency that is appropriate on Final Fashion.  Where do I draw the line when it comes to sharing my opinions, my hopes and fears?  Do I hide my weaknesses and failures? Do I have to avoid controversy? How can I be professional but still keep the humanity that makes a personal blog interesting?  The ability to navigate the nuances of so-called pro blogging has come with experiences, both positive successes and heartbreaking mistakes.  The way I feel about it now: the best blogging – as with writing and any type of art – is real.  I will not compromise expressing myself no matter what the medium, and I will strive to be as authentic as my ability to communicate will allow me.  Thanks to everyone who has rewarded me for pushing through the fear and being willing to take the risk of being real. I learned that I have nothing to lose and so much to gain by just being myself.

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions for the site – either by commenting or you can use the anonymous survey form.  I would also love to know what you have in mind for yourself in 2010.  What did you learn last year, and how have your experiences inspired you to make changes this year?

I am going to be taking some time away from the studio so posting will be few and far between until the new year.  Wishing you and your family peace and happiness, and a merry Christmas if you celebrate.  See you on the other side.

I am going away for a week for a big project, a little break, and some adventures, so I leave you with a sneak peek of the big project.

Thanks for your patience with site maintenance and correspondence – I’ll be back on November 20 with a big reveal, and a very exciting contest to make up for my absence.

Have a great week!

A model from Evan Biddell’s SS10 show.

Fashion week in Toronto is over.  It has been fun, absurd, exhausting and entertaining, as always.  I am very happy with the progress of the paper doll project – expect a few more to come next week as well as an announcement about the details of the paper doll book.  But first I need a little break.  I will be away from the internet until next Thursday the 29th.  Thanks for your patience.

Please forgive the slightly lighter and irregular posting schedule this week and throughout the month.  I am taking in the gorgeous summer weather up north for weekends in August.  Depending on when the rides are going it means that some weekends are longer than others so so it affects the rhythm of Final Fashion somewhat.  Thanks to all readers and supporters for your patience with posting and correspondence this month.  I hope you also have the privilege of enjoying summer outside and away from the internet, wherever you are.

As an experiment, I am picking some favourite books and DVDs from Amazon.ca and putting them in the far right sidebar below the sponsors.  Its a selection of items I recommend enthusiastically and will be updated from time to time as I figure this whole affiliation thing out.  If you are a Canadian reader interested in a way to support the site, consider purchasing these items by clicking the cover images.  Thanks!