Wednesday, September 19, 2007

my sister on the National Post

A fashion blog for posterity

Strike a pose for future generations!

Adam McDowell, National Post

Published: Saturday, September 15, 2007

While most guests were trying to track down hors d'oeuvre at Ultra Supper Club Wednesday night, Yvonne Kai was on a different hunt.

When something catches Kai's eye -- a unique dress, hard-to-pull-off red boots or just the way an ensemble is put together -- out comes her digital point-and-shoot. A couple of head-to-toe shots later and the fashion blogger presents the accidental model with a card advertising her URL, longoverdew.com.

As at other sites chronicling fashion, such as thesartorialist.com, there's no room for fashion don'ts at Kai's site. Being posted implies one's outfit is worth sharing with the world--and worth archiving.

"I decided to start the fashion blog because I was already doing all these notes almost every day on Facebook," says Kai, who founded her site about a year ago. "I got 3,000 hits within the first week."

Taking pictures of grinning partygoers in their Friday best may seem to be a superficial enterprise. But Kai, who has a bachelor's degree in cultural studies, says longoverdew serves an important purpose. "I find it's important to document this," she says. "It's hard when the only medium to study fashion is through fashion magazines. They often only show high fashion and not street fashion. We're going to look back and have nothing to study."

While Kai still needs her job in marketing, she says, "I am making a bit of money" from blogging, through advertising and fees to appear at events.

The filmfest is a busy time for Kai. After an hour at the Ultra party for photographer David Drebin's book launch, Kai has five usable outfits on her memory card. It's time to head to another party at Cheval. More events means networking, and therefore more work, Kai says. She estimates she goes to six or seven events on a busy week (though she's not always diligent about posting all her material). For any socially active Torontonian, it's only a matter of time before Kai or someone like her sizes you up -- so dress your best.



No comments: