L-A: It’s not that we’re so much behind on this as we needed to think about It. At least I did. It is blogger Tavi Gevinson of Style Rookie getting her own column in this month’s Harper’s Bazaar. Actually, it is all the fuss over her getting a column.
source (the picture everyone uses when writing about Tavi)
She seems adorable. I don’t read her blog all that often, but it’s not because I have any particular hate on for her or for teens with fashion blogs. I think it’s more a case of there being about seventeen million blogs on the internets and I can’t read them all, so sometimes I just don’t read the blogs that everyone reads. I don’t read Boing Boing either.
But folks have got their knickers in a knot over her column. Either they’re up in arms and bemoaning the state of fashion journalism or they’re rushing to her defense. Meanwhile, I’m left scratching my head and asking, “whaaa?”
To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure I get what sometimes seems to be the Cult of Tavi. I don’t know her. As far as I can tell, she’s a kid who can write and has a sense of style that can put most of us to shame (reminds me of how I used to dress before I made the conscious decision to conform to the jeans and Northern Reflections t-shirt look. True story. It was just easier than getting teased for how I dressed).
source (you know I’m dying for those shoes)
Maybe she is cult worthy. I’d probably drink the kool aid if I met her for reals. But I haven’t, so I can’t say for sure. From what I can tell, the cult isn’t one she’s started on purpose. She’s just writing away and people are going nuts for her. In which case, awesomesauce for her and her blogging skills.
Of course I’m jealous that she gets to go to NYFW and hang out with the Mulleavy sisters (the gals behind Rodarte) and gets to write for Harper’s Bazaar before she’s 14, but I don’t think it’s such a big frigging deal that we all have to lose our shit about it. Okay, yes, it’s a big frigging deal for her. I mean, I’d be peeing myself with excitement if I got to do just one of those things right now. And I can’t hate her for just writing a blog about something she loves. Had blogs existed in the early ’90s when I was 13, there is no doubt in my mind that I would have written one. And I can’t say for certain that it would have been half as good as Tavi’s. It would have been something embarassing like my Ode to NKOTB (thank god there were no blogs and all evidence of my Bop poster collection are gonzo). She’s not the best writer out there, but that’s okay. Neither am I and that doesn’t stop me from writing a blog. I’m pretty sure everyone’s got themselves all worked up because they are jealous of the kid and just can’t admit it. I’ll admit it: I’m jealous of her good fortune. Forget 13, I’d be jealous of her if she were 23 or 33. I’m particularly jealous of her use of the word berainbowed. That is an excellent word and I intend to use it in a sentence sometime soon.
And as for whether or not she writes the blog herself? I say pffflllttt to the rumour. I always assumed she wrote it herself and will carry on with that assumption. If she doesn’t, well, we’ll find out sooner or later when her alter-ego drives her car into a tree or does something equally stupid to become tabloid fodder and we’ll all tsk tsk for a month until they are forgotten (which is best punishment for plagerizers, famewhores, etcetera: being vanquished into obscurity).
AllyG: First off, can I say a big OMG re: your admittance of adoration for NKOTB? The best thing, and I mean the BEST thing, is that we would TOTALLY have been co-bloggers at 13 on a NKOTB blog. I loved Joey the best. Sometimes at night, before I went to sleep, I would smooch my pillow and pretend it was Joey after he ran over to me backstage post-performance. In my daydreams I was also a pop start. You know, Tiffany calibre.
How low budge is that vid? Even so, that opening line gets me every time…Children Behaaaaaave… [L-A: oh man…I’m not sure I’d ever seen that video. It makes the already funny Robin Sparkles video about 20 times funnier]
Back to Tavi…
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You see, I keep writing things and then deleting them because I cannot snark on a 13 year old. I mean, she writes shit like,
“Ah more inspiration posts. Unfortunately, however, I will be unable to apply any of this tomorrow. We have weird homeroom contests? Where we have to like…be athletic? Which is um, not exactly my prime..subject? Is that what they say? Anyway point is AAAFLARRRGEEEGARG.”
Even worse? She sort of writes like me? Or I sort of write like a 13 year old? Which leads me to the question? L-A? Should we have pretended to be 10? Maybe we would be like, rich and famous? AAAAFLARRRGEEEEGARG!
The editor of Elle Magazine was recently quoted in NY Mag as being anti-Tavi, she took to her blog to better explain her discomfort.
I think the discomfort some people feel regarding the age issue has more to do with the inherent contradictions of an image-based business that doesn’t always play nice and from time to time eats its own than with Tavi’s obvious love of fashion. It’s natural to want to protect a 13-year-old from this while at the same time celebrate her style and enthusiasm. But as there’s a fine line between embracing a sensation and exploiting one, I think there is a genuine concern for her well-being.
Anne also notes that she is not the only one to question whether Tavi is in fact writing the blog herself. This speculation could explain why more recent posts seem “dumbed down”.
I don’t know…it seems sort of sketch to me. I feel like we are always looking for the next novelty to trot out before we set them up for a magnificent swan dive. Remember Cory Kennedy? Exactly.
Can I talk quickly about a young talent that I can fully endorse?
A shot of Anna Kendrick in the Dec issue of Vogue. Love her so much.
(ps. from L-A: I briefly liked Donny, but Jon was totally my main NKOTB. I get embarrassment cringes just thinking about it).
