By: Jenn Ortiz, guest blogger

There’s that blurred line again. Lucky magazine featured the Bleach Black girls in the May ’09 issue. These ladies frequently post DIY and rock-LA chic fashion on their blogs, and now lo’ and behold, they are guest blogging for Lucky! Could a more perfect segway have been provided for Pt. 1 to Pt. 2 of “Hi-Lo”? I think not. See, here is the other way blogs have changed fashion. Blogs have allowed high fashion to be brought in a very personal way to the public. However, unlike most fashion glossies, there are no clothing allowances in blogging. That means that fashion loving bloggers must rely on their own creativity and style. Most bloggers are not rolling in it, so quite often you’ll see a high end frock paired with shoes from Top Shop.

Fashion {and non-fashion} bloggers tweeted and blogged from fashion week and also from the opening of TopShop in NY. Bloggers like Luphia Loves, Tavi the 13-year old super-child, Kingdom of Style, Fashion Toast, and Style Bubble all post pictures of themselves in their own outfits. These girls are not models and most are not stylists. They are just “regular” people with an interest in fashion and expressing their own style. {Ok, yes, Rumi is now a model, but she wasn’t when she started her blog.} For readers, that is extremely persuasive and encouraging. It makes a reader think, “If she can do it, so can I.” Some retailers and designers have realized the power in this formula, and have begun to send samples to bloggers to try out and hopefully don in their self-styled photoshoots.

As mentioned before, bloggers like Bleach Black, offer DIY lessons on their blogs. Everything from how to revamp old shoes, to making studded jeans and shredding shirts. Can’t afford the Balmain jacket? Look here to DIY and get the look. Ruffled Louboutin’s? Bloggers have you covered. Love that outfit you saw on a celeb or model? Well, how about looking here for similar “styled down to the bracelet” affordable looks.

Or, you could do as Garance Dore suggested in an interview and on her blog: just shop your closet. If you must shop for real, don’t worry. Plenty of bloggers shop e-bay and/or have their own e-bay stores. You can also find e-bay shopping and shop owners in the blogosphere. The same goes for etsy stores. Etsy, is the current darling of the blogosphere. Quite a few bloggers have their own Etsy store, shop on Etsy, and have Etsy days. So on a blog like Tavi’s Style Rookie, you’ll see and hear about Commes, Louis Vuitton, and Rodarte paired with Topshop, Goodwill finds, and Etsy sellers like Norwegian Wood.

So who does a better job at high and low, blogs or mags? The answer is painfully simple at the moment. In a time where the majority is claiming to feel the pinch of the recession, a blog is a style lovers best friend. Glossy guardians of couture, when your finance department is breathing down your neck, you might want to run to a blogger for a lesson.

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Jenn Ortiz is a graduate of the University of Florida with degrees in History and Latin American Studies with hopes to pursue a PhD in Child Development. She believes there is beauty in everything around us; from the inside out, outside in. She currently runs {Bits of Beauty}, a place you just feel good about.

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