Blogging is an interactive form of publishing content on the web. While the practice dates back to the late ‘90s, it has become the foremost means of self-publishing in the ‘00s. With so many cyber platforms inundating the World Wide Web, it can be overwhelming as a highly-in-demand collegiette to find the time to nestle up with your laptop and narrow down the best blogs for your lifestyle. Here to offer you some direction, Her Campus has compiled the top five blogs you need to be following!
Fashion
For You
Painfullyhip.com – “Fashion-Forward Fare for the Weak of Wallet”
Painfully Hip is a fashion blog operated by the always fabulous Amber Mortensen, an award-winning wardrobe stylist and fashion editor. Her work and writing have been featured by Foam Magazine, Velour Magazine UK, Bust Magazine, Lucky Magazine, Vogue.it, Elle.com, Ben Trovato Blog, Urban Outfitters Blog, Chicago Tribune, and the Arizona Daily Star, among others. Her clients include Levi’s, Gap, Express, Buffalo Exchange, Crossroads Trading Co, Hush Puppies, Skagen, CBS, and the New York Times. With a meticulous eye for trends and a prolific stylistic portfolio, Mortensen should be every aspiring fashionista’s go-to for trend predictions, fashion advice, DIY, outfits of the day and exclusive editorials on emerging designers and online boutiques.
For Him
SteezexSuave.blogspot.com – “Urban streetwear and High end fashion, the guide to everyday life”
For more alternative girls who want to take a ride on the wild side, check out Steeze x Suave, a recently launched venture operated by Sean Massey and Evan Scott, aspiring urban fashion designers out of the Indianapolis, IN area. Whereas some high-profile designers are featured intermittently on the site, the audacious blog is principally oriented towards aficionados of urban street wear. The site not only provides announcements about the launch of new products for avant-garde lines but also features concise yet holistic assays on the quality and ingenuity of clothing lines, including hyperlinks to purchase products. As proponents of underground hip-hop culture, Massey and Scott also feature music videos from local artists on the blog, thus seamlessly fusing both verticals—fashion and music—to create a truly inimitable blog experience for visitors. If you find yourself disillusioned by the commercialization of men’s fashion and are looking for a “dope” piece for your beau, then this is the blog for you!
Entertainment
Lamebook.com – “The funniest and lamest of Facebook”
Ah, remember the golden years of Facebook? When our parents and their 50-something friends hadn’t yet infiltrated the domain and bombarded us with friend requests, forcing us to watch our fudgin’ mouths? When people weren’t posting unequivocal statuses like “LMS if you inhabit planet Earth” or “LMS if you like air” in a stale-face-worthy attempt to get likes? When Jesus or the military weren’t guilt trips to share posts? Yes, those were the good old days. I have to catch myself from reaching for my cane when I get to thinking about it. But there is still some merit to the social media giant – in fact, the launch of lamebook.com has proven to be its redemption. The blog consists of screenshots of WTF posts and snarky responses to them—and because it’s a screenshot, you know it’s not contrived, which ups the comedic factor. If you’re ever bored at work or just feeling bummed out, lamebook.com is the perfect pick-me-up.
Myhusbandisannoying.com – Self-explanatory.
Let’s be honest. As women, we love to bit—I mean, vent, especially about men. And why shouldn’t we feel free to? They’re frustrating creatures. I mean, you have to feed them, make sure they’re washed, shower them with love but be careful not to hold on too tightly to the leash….and they just slobber ALL over you. That is not to say that they aren’t perfectly lovable in their imperfections, but sometimes they can just be really annoying. For those days, the anonymous curator of myhusbandisannoying.com is your best cyber girlfriend. With her brash sense of humor and candidness about the mini-wars of everyday married life (including but not limited to her husband busting into the bathroom every time she tries to take care of business), this blog is both relatable and hilarious.
Life Advice
Tinybuddha.com – “Simple wisdom for complex lives”
As a college student (and as a Carolina student, especially), it can be easy to get swept up into the “collegiate culture”–that is, the sort of frenetic atmosphere that seems to encapsulate the student body on campus, driving them to join 50 million clubs (assuming leadership roles in half of them) all while trying to juggle a job, internship, stellar grades and an enviable social life. Oh, and sleep. Whereas this competitive spirit can be exciting—even inspiring—for the smart collegiate with the more-than-occasional penchant for procrastination, it can also be debilitating at times. Constantly being under pressure to perform when you have overstretched yourself with sundry extracurricular commitments can be physically, mentally and emotionally draining. It is then that positive eustress converts into negative distress, essentially undermining your relationships with others as well as compromising your own well-being. On a large campus where the spirit is so energetic and the students seem so unruffled, it’s easy to feel like no one understands—and thus, become increasingly discouraged. For those times, tinybuddha.com is a collegiette’s godsend. I know for me, it’s a refreshing change of pace to sometimes be told that slowing down is okay, that I am not a failure because I elect to indulge in some R&R every now and then. So, there, you have it: judgment-free advice and reassurance right at your fingertips.