New kids on the blog

The fashion world might once have been elitist – but the rise and rise of the online commentator has injected a democratic and fresh perspective. Harriet Walker logs on

It used to be a dream realised by only the privileged and ambitious few: going to fashion shows and writing them up for Harpers or Vogue, before swanning around the international style circuit with the rest of le beau monde. After all, the fashion industry is hardly known for its inclusive approach.

But something changed when labels, magazines and liggers alike noted the rise of a new type of fashion powerhouse: the blogger. "Traditional fashion journalists maintain an authority that has not yet diminished," says Dolly Jones, online editor of Vogue.com, "but the point of blogs is that they encourage discussion and give everybody the chance to offer an opinion."

Working alone, unendorsed and with a spontaneity that many readers are unused to – the biannual shows work a season ahead of what's in the magazines, remember – bloggers, whether they capture street style, investigate their own or other people's wardrobes or simply comment on what they like, are a new fashion force to be reckoned with.

Click here or on the image to the right to launch Harriet Walker's guide to the best fashion blogs