Reality Programming like MTV's The City are changing the magazine business

MTV's The City (starring The Hills' Whitney Port) is an extremely important reality show that changes the face of fashion, fashion magazines, television, and advertising. The show is essentially placing advertisements/endorsements right on the screen.

Magazines run by their ad sales. Magazines have been in the toilet, losing more and more money each year. They don't get the ads, they don't get the money - and if they don't get the right ads, they lose their demographic and the magazine merges into something completely different from its original premise and following. There's a reason Vogue is Vogue. There's a reason we find D&G ads in Vogue and Skecher ads in InTouch magazine. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)

Why are advertisers backing away from what used to be their bread and butter? Because no body's reading magazines anymore, subscriptions are down. People are on the computer reading blogs and visiting direct websites. And what else are these people doing? Watching TV.

So in The City we see Elle accessories editor and socialite Olivia Palermo searching for styling options for a trends segment for the TODAY show. She dashes into an uber-stylish chain boutique in Soho called MANGO. And how do I know this? Because the information is provided on the screen: MANGO. SOHO.

Now I know everything for a proper Google search, don't I?
fashion mango soho = www.mangoshop.com


Lo and behold, the storefront from the show! It really is real and now I must stop by because it was on MTV and TODAY and it's even been featured in Elle Magazine! It's cool, it's chic, and most importantly, if I go to the store I'll be living the show!

But wait. We're getting ahead of ourselves. Aren't reality shows fake?




Yes, reality shows are fake; especially if it's created by Liz Gateley. Ms. Liz brought us Laguna Beach, The Hills, and now The City. Each show uses its geographic landscape as the through line of the show. Laguna Beach wasn't about teens; it was about these teens in Laguna Beach. Luckily most of the series was shot on beaches and in people's homes. It wasn't until The Hills that location became an issue. Remember, it isn't about young women trying to make a name for themselves (right?), it's about young women in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, deliberately and diabolically making names for themselves. That means they have to go to clubs, clubs, more clubs! And that means getting permits, permits, more permits. And that requires planning. And staging.

And, The City isn't just about women in their twenties, it's about women in New York City who love and live fashion. If I know anything about New York, it's that location is everything but it won't get you everywhere. So if I were a 'lil chain boutique in SOHO/NYC, I'd realize it's in my best interest to allow someone to use my store as a location for their hit MTV reality show so long as they reference the name and its awesome location. Then magically, a conversation that would normally have never been seen or recorded by anyone is seen by millions, and MANGO/SOHO has it all: 1) a daytime segment (TODAY), 2) a shout out on prime time reaching your exact demographic, and 3) featured in Elle Magazine.


Advertising and publicizing aren't the only ones making deals. Fashion icon Kelly Cutrone gets free press for her PR/Branding agency People's Revolution. Meanwhile, aspiring designers Port and Lauren Conrad got support and publicity behind their collections.

For some reason, reality programming remains a largely disrespected genre. Yet The City has all but replaced the fashion magazine with our TV monitors and it's redefining how we get our fashion. Stay Tuned.

Letter to Kelly Cutrone

Hi People's Revolution!

My name is Ally Davenport and I'm a real fat fashionista with an opinion about the future of the plus size fashion industry. I think it's time for everyone to start seriously considering reaching out to the plus market. There's a ton of money out there to be made. The average size woman no longer applies to most of what the mainstream industry has to offer. Should fashion downgrade itself to appease what they consider to be those "less desirable," hence less worthy of their vision? Of course not. But brand expansion is good business. The average woman is a size 12-14 in the U.S. and she's saving a lot of money NOT BUYING because she feels isolated.

I happen to spend money because I know what I like and how to find it. That's the type of attitude that has me writing to you at 5:00 AM when I could just as easily be sleeping or bitching about it on my blog. I think it's time for People's Revolution to reach out to the plus market. Helping them to expand on their branding ultimately helps you. I should see Lane Bryant, Torrid, Ashley Stewart, Avenue, Monif C., Evan's, Igigi, Missphit, Anna Scholz, Donna Ricco, Kiyonna, etc. publicized and advertising in Elle, Vogue, Glamour, InStyle, W, Cosmopolitan, Nylon, MarieClaire, Lucky, and more. The plus market is expanding, but it remains a largely untapped resource. There's so much revenue out there just waiting to flood throughout the industry. Why shouldn't People's Revolution be part of it?

So, who am I? Really, I'm just a fat chic who loves clothes. I love fashion and I'm tired of reading and researching a market that doesn't relate to me. But it's not just about me. There's millions of us out there waiting, we just happen to be spending most of our shopping time in Target because they've actually taken the time to include us in their ad campaigns; albeit not as much as they probably should be. Many "fationistas" like myself know there's a delightful plus shop inside Saks, Bloomie's, Neiman's, etc., but we're less prone to shop there because, for what ever reason, they wish to keep the majority of us unaware of what they have to offer. We have just as much money to spend as a size 0, and if they want to cash in they better start telling us, directly, that they're selling what we're buying. Any good business person can see the good sense/cents in that.

Do you know there's a pathetic plus size fashion week in New York? It's very new and very un-fabulous at the moment. Sure, there are designers whose aesthetic caters to the plus market. Sure, their work deserves to be showcased. But what about the rest of it; the stylists, publicists, advertisers, marketing, branding? Once again, this is an untapped resource just begging for the opportunity to make a lot of people a lot of money.

I love fashion and I would thoroughly enjoy sharing more of my ideas with People's Revolution, esoteric as they may be. I know a little about online marketing and publicizing, and a lot more about writing, research, and development. I would love to work for a company like People's Revolution, but I also want to play an integral part in the revolution of the plus market. This is where all my skill sets coincide with my personal insight and passion. The plus market will explode a lot sooner than many industry people believe. Wouldn't you like to be among the first?

The Journey

Face it. You’re fat. Not curvy, voluptuous, full-figured, plus-size, fluffy… You’ve got numerous inches to pinch, bulges hanging over the sides of your bra, and folds in your midriff when you sit.

Forget all the cutesy terms. You’re fat. And if you’re anything like me, you’re tired of apologizing for it.

People in the U.S., along with the rest of the world, are getting bigger. Well, fatter. Is it evolution? I don’t know, but I’d be inclined to say so. I know what a thin person reading this would say: “It’s not evolution – you’re eating too damn much! Get off your ass and hit the gym, fatty!”

Hey, sure! No arguments from me. Hell yeah, I need to exercise more, and my diet is due for a re-evaluation. Fair enough. But according to the CDC, there has been “a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States” over the past 20 years.

I imagine it has a lot to do with our lifestyle. Our society is geared toward a sedentary lifestyle. People stare at a computer monitor most of their time at work and go home to surf the Internet (or blog) for hours on end. Factor in the amount of time people spend watching television or going to the movies (Don’t try to deny it. We are a pop culture obsessed nation.), the amount of processed foods on the shelves and the huge portion sizes we serve ourselves, and it’s no wonder Americans are among the world’s heaviest. I actually salute those of you who have managed to stay slim.

When I stop to think about it, I say to myself “Isn’t that what evolution is?” As humans continue to advance, our societies change, and with that comes lifestyle adjustments, which leads to a change in our appearance. This has been a gradual process over 20 years.

Now, calm down. I’m not a fatness zealot or advocate of any kind. I’d like to lose all this weight once and for all; not for vanity’s sake, but because it’s unhealthy. I know I’m great just the way I am – so are all of you – however, the overweight face a number of health dangers, including but not limited to, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, asthma, blood clots, stroke, depression, joint pain, and advanced arthritis. The list goes on and on.

If you’re one of those fit-fat folks out there, your enigmatic capabilities continue to astound me. Congratulations, I guess… Sorry to rain on your fat, yet toned (?) parade, but something just tells me you’re living on borrowed time. Or you’re delusional.

Seriously, I could raise my hand right now and join the Fit, Fat, & Lovin’ It! party. I don’t have diabetes. My blood pressure is and has always been normal. Plenty of doctors over the years have commented on the good state of my health despite the numbers on the scale. But, what can I say? I guess I could say what the skinny bitch with the bottomless pit of a stomach always says… I’m just lucky, I guess…

But I won’t. I’m tired of being fat. Aren’t you? I know this might sound like sabotage. You’re probably reading this right now and thinking, “Wait a minute – what? I thought this was a fat-friendly blog.”

Well, it is. I promise it is!

You know how fat-friendly this blog is? It’s so fat-friendly it’s going to be dead honest. The truth is, for most of us fat wasn’t an intentional destination. It was a long, complicated road that got us here and it’ll be a long road back. But there’s light at the end of the tunnel, people. You see, obesity is one of those fortunate diseases that's 100% curable. And you don’t even have to take medication – although if you’re anything like me, you wish the answer was in a pill!

We don’t have to apologize for our struggles with weight management. And we don’t have to apologize for wanting to overcome it… And having integrity about that isn’t going to make me any less fabulous!

I encourage all of you to join me on a Journey Down the Scale. I guarantee each step of this adventure will be paved with nothing less than big girl fashionista glory ‘n swagger!

-AllieYogaBall, July 16, 2009