The Who:

The Sartorialist, Scott Schuman– a seasoned member of the fashon industry– started his, now famous, photo blog by apparently simply taking photos of stylish people he saw on the street. His subjects are people of style in a variety of international locations, many with already stylish reps, and featuring a number of people in the industry.

The Sartorialist’s approach has been credited for being a part of the “democratization” of the fashion industry. Proving that good style is not exclusively the domain of glossy magazine editors, and fashion week catwalks– but is being determined by a global community of style aficionados who make fashion trends, classics and quirks their own.

The extent of that notion is definitely debatable but there is no doubt he has had an impact on the accessibility and definition of “style” amongst a certain chattering class.

This tongue and cheek piece pokes fun at the somewhat formulaic quality of the Sartorialist’s subjects and aesthetic.

To his credit though, the Sartorialist has created a following of 1.3 million+ (the number of page views his site gets per month!) from a simple, interesting and well executed idea. Leading to lucrative ad campaigns, site sponsors, video features etc.
Further giving pause for us to ponder that, though mediums might change, perhaps the dynamics of power and privilege of who succeeds in the fashion industry (as with so many other industries) remains. 

The Where & What:

With a new book coming out of his favourite shots from around the world, he made a stop in Toronto today.

Of course, visiting the only “luxury” department store in the city which has become a shrine of sorts for his influence– featuring both a store window designed by him (as well as other popular fashion bloggers) and an extensive installation dedicated to his work and personality in the men’s department.

The gaggle of adoring fans (many upstart bloggers themselves) greeted him at this visit and hung off his every word…looking for a chance to (maybe, just maybe) be a featured look on the Sartorialist site (or simply settle for a fan photo with him), or to rub shoulders with the Sartorialist in hopes of capturing some of that good fortune he has found.

Despite the largely chaotic (ie. zoo-like, free for all) arrangement of the event, Mr. Schuman was very friendly, gracious about every compliment given & business card received, generous with his time, and patient with every fan photo (in which his careful posing would make Zoolander jealous).

However, even more interesting than the little man himself are the many offshoots inspired by his work.

People have taken the broadly appealing idea of capturing everyday style and put their own spin on it with some success too.

Check out these noteworthy takes– some unique and some conventional:

Hijabs High :: “Inspired by the stylish and dynamic global community of Muslim women who fuse their identities and pronounce their place in the world everyday through beauty and fashion.”

Advanced Style :: “Proof from the wizened and silver-haired set that personal style advances with age.”

Street Peeper :: “Global street fashion photo site, featuring the best street style from cities like New York, Berlin, Paris, London, Tokyo, and more.”

Your Boyhood :: “shoot in Seoul. street snap in real seoul. love clothes and your boyhood”

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The Fashionist :: Like the Sartorialist, but based in Stockholm Sweden

fashionist :: unadultered street fashion

My Style Diary :: “From the creators of StyleDiary, now you can view fashion and style from Thousands of people around the world, check out their daily fixes and cool finds - or create and manage a style diary of your own!”

Facehunter :: “a man out and about in london and beyond: eye candy for the style hungry”

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Got your own style site recommendations?
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