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The End of An Era

9 years ago by

The End of An Era

Style.com closed down yesterday and, I don’t know about you, but it makes me a little emotional.

Style.com is where I got my start in fashion.

It was Style.com who opened the doors to the fashion shows, Style.com who made online fashion legitimate, Style.com who hired real writers to review shows, Style.com who captured the essence of streetstyle and hired Scott when people barely knew what a blog was, almost ten years ago now.

Style.com was there when fashion became fashionable. All together — bloggers, editors, photographers — we all contributed to a really cool movement that just kept getting bigger and bigger, until it grew beyond us and has then slowly lost its momentum, which is normal and even a good thing at the point when egos are starting to flare up and we don’t even know what we’re looking at anymore, and quite simply, we’ve kind of lost a taste for it.

Style.com is now integrated into Vogue.com and the URL is turning into an online shopping site. It’s probably going to be big, since it’s being created by Condé Nast, and I think it’s an interesting direction. What it says about us and our habits. It’s neither good nor bad. It’s just a progression.

But even so, it means that a page has turned for fashion, the symbol of that era is moving on and will never be the same again.

I feel relieved and nostalgic at the same time. But in the meantime, I wanted to pay homage to the old Style.com, say thanks, say great job, and say that a few years from now, when we’re talking about the “Style.com days”, I’ll be happy to be able to say I was a part of it.

22 comments

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  • It’s so unfortunate, but I’m glad for all the excellent impact it made for the time being.

    http://www.sheridadaily.com

  • Oh c’est vraiment dommage, c’était une référence…

    Cécile

    http://www.maxcebycecilej.com

  • Stephanie September, 1 2015, 1:20 / Reply

    Wow!!! I remember when I discovered the site in the,early 2000’s, when I was only a teenager. I was obsessed. It informed my whole perception of high fashion

  • Danielle korneliussen September, 1 2015, 4:21 / Reply

    What a shock this is! Garance, what you wrote will really be reflected in so many fashion-loving hearts near and far around the entire globe. It’s official: when the likes of Style.com passes into the realm of memories, our world (of fashion) will forever be changed.

  • I know it is kind of crazy and sad, but I guess that is life, things change, progress and move on and forward.

    Allie of ALLIENYC
    allienyc.com

  • camille reddress September, 1 2015, 8:13 / Reply

    i am so gutted about style.com , i look at it almost everyday. although i read u.k vogue i don’t enjoy to u.s mag and don’t see it as a fashion mag – i.e about the actual clothes. today when i clicked on style.com and was redirected to vogue, i thought, ” there must be a mistake” , i kept trying and ending up at the same place, actually becoming anxious! it is a disorienting feeling in the modern age, how a site becomes a physical space, psychologically . they have wiped somewhere off the map that i used to visit . very weird and sad …sad for the people who lost the jobs and sad it’s been co opted by an organisation many don’t relate to . i don’t want show biz gossip i want to look at clothes!

  • Style.com opened up the fashion world to those outside of it, and helped greatly with fashion’s movement towards accessibility. I don’t know how I feel about the whole e-commerce thing but I like the idea of Vogue Runway and having all the shows, details, and reviews all in the same place. But it is, indeed, the end of an era, and inevitably, the beginning of one.
    Sophia
    http://plaidismyfavouritecolour.blogspot.com/

  • So disappointing. I loved Style.com’s attention to detail. Vogue just gives an overall photo of an editorial. While that appeals to many, it doesn’t work for me and is one reason that I am not subscribed to Vogue.

  • eh – fashion has become so boring… nothing exciting. This was coming – and turning style.com into an e-commerce, well good luck.

  • SunnySide September, 2 2015, 3:31 / Reply

    Quel dommage c’était un moyen simple de regarder les collections. Leur ouverture a permis à Scott d’exister, j’adorais aussi Tommy Ton ! Ta gratitude envers eux est compréhensible, ils ont été des pionniers qui vous ont permis de vous exprimer avec originalité. Right now business is business … !

  • N’empêche qu’il y a toujours des défilés de mode à voir online. Style.com était la porte d’entrée pour tous les autres qui l’ont suivi, n’est-ce pas?
    But it’s great that there are still fashion shows to be seen online. Style.com was the opening door for many others who followed, didn’t they?

  • It’s the end of an era! I’m sad that it’s over but maybe this will open some new and amazing things in the world of online fashion!
    xo
    styleontheside.com

  • Ah j’ai l’appli de Style.com du coup c’est remplacé par Vogue Runaway! Pour moi aussi c’était l’un de mes premiers souvenirs de mode. C’était en 2006 pour moi pendant l’heure de gloire de Marc Jacob à Louis Vuitton et Nicolas Ghesquière à Balenciaga. On peut aussi “sauvegarder” les photos de défilé, à la Pinterest et c’était cool! J’avoue que c’est l’un des pioneers de la mode sur Internet et effectivement, the end of an era :)

  • C’est le site qui m’a suivi pendant mes années d’école de mode, dans les débuts d’internet. C’était bien utile de pouvoir voir les nouveaux défilés gratuitement ! J’espère que Vogue en fera quelque chose de bien.

  • Really Sad news!! Garance, do you know if they will be in competition with Net a Porter? There are already so many luxury online shops..

  • Really sad living in Africa , Kenya, it was my window to fashion street style and everything thats happening in the fashion world for years it was my oxygen and inspiration ! just before the shows …….. :(

  • it’s like an old friend . . . you simply rely on the fact that it is always there and will be there when you need it most.

    i will miss Style.com. it was my online fashion encyclopedia. adieu.

  • i feel the same …Nicole Phelps….is a director…I love her reviews ….let see how fashion week plays out…Tommy Ton has his own site too

  • It will surely be missed…

    Best wishes to the new project Style.com!

  • Je suis d’accord, je suis ultra triste, c’était mon site préféré pour aller voir les défilés…

    http://www.pardonmyobsession.com/

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