One Year of "StyleSpace by JBM"

Today is the one-year anniversary of "StyleSpace by JBM!" Part of making this blog was part of a decision I made long ago to filter some of my poorly-viewed fashion topics on "John's Blog Space" to a more fashion-specific blog. Over time, it has amassed over 42,860 views all-time as of this post. It has 150 blog posts up to this point. This blog post is a retrospective of my blog as well as how I feel I've done with this blog.

Welcome to the fashionable space of my blogging universe- "StyleSpace, by John B. Marine!" This blog post features many different points as I look back on one year of starting this blog. Enjoy your reading!

--- One Year of StyleSpace by JBM ---

Before you can understand "StyleSpace by JBM," I must offer some retrospective on the creation of this blog you are reading right now. So allow me to provide the retrospective.

As "John's Blog Space" was transitioning from a Gran Turismo-specific blog to a blog about almost anything, I introduced fashion to JBS. I slowly began to introduce many different fashion and fashion-related topics to my main blog. Over time, JBS would get a lot of views. I never realized just how much of a hot topic fashion would be in my blog until I noted a lot of people visit my fashion-related topics. I saw just how much people tried looking for fashion-related topics and ended up finding "John's Blog Space." This gave me increased courage to make my main blog popular. Five of my all-time most viewed blog posts on my main blog- "John's Blog Space" are all fashion related. One such topic I never thought would be so popular was when I simply blogged about long hair. "Long Hair" remains my most viewed post of all time in my main blog.

I figured at one point that I make a blog to where I fully can concentrate on fashion while also giving fashion lovers a blog to gauge my fashion commentary. To be consistent with the other blogs and with my love of stars and space, I named this blog to be my stylish space. There was one problem with that, though. I don't want to have two blogs with "JSS" as its initials. Therefore, I couldn't call this blog "John's Style Space." I attempted to think of this as Style Space, but it is (for lack of a better term) stylized as "StyleSpace." I learned that one other Blogger/Blogspot blog had the name "StyleSpace" used. So I ended up calling the blog "StyleSpace, by John B. Marine"; or by its other titles- "StyleSpace by JBM," "SS by JBM," or simply "SS."

Now that you know about its past, let me discuss what one year of this blog has brought for me.

--- StyleSpace by JBM: Most Popular Posts ---

This is my opportunity to share with you my thoughts on this blog after one year.

Popular Posts.

According to my Blogger/Blogspot statistics, here are the ten most-viewed blog posts all-time as of this initial post. You can click on the links to each featured item if you want to read any of my posts featured in this part of this section. The top ten most-viewed blog post on SS by JBM are listed in ascending order (last to first):

10 - "Party Time!"
This blog post was about night-out fashions. It was one of my most famous topics on "John's Blog Space" that was faithfully brought over to "StyleSpace by JBM." I have been very pleased that this blog post has been a notable one for StyleSpace.

09 - "Barefoot Sandals"
Most people don't wear any kind of footwear on the beach. However, barefoot sandals can be stylish to wear. There are also barefoot sandals for males even though I primarily featured barefoot sandals for females.

08 - "Platforms and Flatforms"
Elevate your style with a hot pair of platform shoes. If you don't fancy platforms, there are flatforms that offer the appeal of flat shoes while also picking you up off the ground. This was also a popular post from "John's Blog Space" made available for "StyleSpace by JBM."

07 - "Palazzo Pants and Wide-Leg Pants"
If you are tired of slim-fitting and skinny pants and jeans, palazzo pants and wide-leg pants are for you. This blog post highlighted on such wide-leg pants. It was another topic from "John's Blog Space" that was edited and made available for StyleSpace.

06 - "Sweet Petite!"
Petite fashion was first discussed on "John's Blog Space" before I introduced it to "StyleSpace by JBM." This was one of two topics on JBS that gained me respect among various female readers. It was popular on JBS along with "Plus Size Fashion" on JBS. Anyhow, "Sweet Petite!" was a blog post where I made a general digest on petite fashion. I have shown that you can be short in height but big on beauty. Apparently, my petite female audience approved of my efforts to showcase petite fashion with this post.

05 - "Warm Weather Tunics"
I honestly never thought this topic would take off so well and be so well-viewed. I simply focused on tunics for warm weather. A tunic can be complimented with shorts, jeans, or pants. I focused primarily on tunics for this blog post. I'm glad people got to enjoy reading this.

04 - "Gaucho Pants and Culotte Pants"
In the mid-2000s, gaucho pants were at the height of their popularity. These are skirt-like pants that are still worn by various females today, only not in any trendy capacity. Some feel these pants were the precursor to the popularity of yoga pants. Despite the comfort of gaucho pants and their skirt-like appeal, one aspect of their downfall as a trend was twofold- how unflattering the pants can be and just how much they make females' butts look big. I personally admit those elements to be a guilty pleasure as to why they are hot to wear. This was a post that is popular both on "John's Blog Space" and here on "StyleSpae by JBM."

03 - "Wedge Sneakers"
"Wedge Sneakers" is the most-viewed original post on "StyleSpace by JBM." The fact I never discussed wedge sneakers in an entire blog post on "John's Blog Space" gives this topic plenty of appeal on SS since it is an original post. I mostly discussed wedge sneakers ranging from the highly popular hidden wedge sneakers trendy today to various other wedge sneakers. I've been pleased to see people check out "StyleSpace by JBM" to read my thoughts on wedge sneakers.

02 - "Sweater Dress With Boots"
For cold weather, pairing a sweater dress with a pair of boots is a great-looking way to stay warm. This blog post featured a number of sweater dresses along with boots that I thought looked great with them. It is very pleasing fashionable types found my post to be popular. It was a topic from "John's Blog Space" that found its way to "StyleSpace by JBM." And according to its popularity, talking about this look was well-appreciated and approved by the general public-at-large.

And the top-viewed one is...

01 - "Converse: The Sneakers"
Converses are the most popular sneakers for males and females. This blog post was a look at the ever popular Chuck Taylor sneakers. Now why you might wonder why is it called "Converse: The Sneakers?" The reason why is because in addition to discussing the Converse sneakers, I wanted to also discuss Converse clothing. I did two blog posts on "John's Blog Space" regarding Converse sneakers and clothes. I never got around to posting about Converse clothing up to this point. Maybe it's something you can look ahead to in a future "StyleSpace by JBM" post?


Thanks to all of you for making these posts popular.

--- StyleSpace by JBM: Talking Points ---

Here are individual points after one year of this blog:

Getting People to StyleSpace by JBM.

One of the big challenges is in simply trying to drive traffic to "StyleSpace by JBM." So what I did was create a banner in my main blog to bring fashion lovers to this blog. "John's Blog Space" is a blog about multiple topics. While JBS is my flagship blog, I want my fashion-conscious audience to visit a more fashion-specific blog apart from my main blog. All of my blogs feature ways to follow ranging from Google Friend Connect to Bloglovin'. I am pleased my fashion lovers eventually found my fashion blog and decided to view it for their fill of fashion goodness.

Fashion is a hot topic for seeking material online for. I know I probably will never create any Triple-A popular fashion blog like "The Sartorialist" or "The Man Repeller." All I want to do is make my own fashion blog and make my own contributions to the variety of fashion-related topics.

Goals for "StyleSpace by JBM."

When I created "StyleSpace by JBM," I knew there were certain things I know I was unable to provide in discussing fashion. I say this is a non-traditional fashion blog because I don't have any outfit posts of my own, I don't offer commentary on entire fashion collections, I don't do any sort of giveaways, I don't even offer a basic journal of fashion... basically, what you see in most fashion blogs are things I don't do here. This is still a fashion blog regardless. The blog is all about fashion. Only thing is, this is a fashion blog as I see fit. While I am a male, I feel more comfortable discussing feminine fashion. However, in the sense of "anything and everything," I have to introduce masculine fashion topics as well to keep this blog interesting.

I have made various opinions that I feel people would agree with and disagree with. Part of my wanting to create a blog post was so that I knew I was responsible for myself for the views I present in fashion. Being a male means that discussing feminine fashion will be MUCH different from what another female would discuss. I noted the beauty of things like mary jane shoes, maxi dresses/skirts, flower crowns, and things like that. Conversely, I noted on SS my dislike of skulls, certain boyfriend fashions, jeans with patterns on them, clear shoes, over-the-knee and thigh-high boots, and other fashion items and trends. I also noted that I don't really like things like oxfords and brogues (don't hate them, though). I always make sure not to hurt anyone's feelings by discussing fashion in ways that go outside the realm of fashion. For example, I won't go attack a certain subculture and its people because of its fashion. I am not going to talk about how some female is a streetwalker for wearing certain clothes or certain clothes in a certain way. Even when I noted my dislike of over-the-knee boots, I made sure not to attack certain types as being streetwalkers or adult entertainers. The Internet already has enough negativity; why add to the negativity?

In addition to these items, I also feel that I don't want to only focus on a certain audience or a certain style. I usually fear people only care about certain fashions that are cute and not consider anything tough. So to show I am mindful of other styles, I make sure to discuss various fashions and styles in a professional (or at least acceptable) manner. What am I talking about? It would be common for me to consider certain styles as cute. However, what about people who wear dark and edgy clothing? Do I want to only focus on cute or chic fashions, or do I try to please as many audiences as possible discussing a multitude of fashions- including those I normally don't care much about? Part of my fashion blogging is about trying to appeal to everyone. Appealing to a broader audience means more attention and respect. Plus, it helps image-wise in marketing my material.

Of course, these are all my own personal opinions on things. I am free to agree or disagree with almost anything.

Other Goals for "StyleSpace by JBM."

One of the other goals for this blog is to offer relevant material for those who want to do some shopping online. I make sure to offer various items to others in hopes of getting people to shop for items in case they enjoy my material. The one thing I always fear (though no one really tells me) is the feeling that people think I am blogging for money rather than for posting material people will use and enjoy. This is what makes my blogging different from most others. The Internet is full of great resources, and all I'm trying to do is point people in the correct direction as far as getting and reading quality material is concerned.

After I make my final thoughts on certain topics, I usually offer items people can shop for. I do this because I want to feel like I am actually profiting for my work. I don't want people just to hit my blog and then leave. You chose to visit my blog, so why don't I thank you by offering you other material you might be interested in? Let me provide you an analogy- all I want to do is offer visitors a restaurant experience: give you an appetizer (a preview of a post), present you with the main course (the main blog post itself), and offer you dessert (resources to other relevant topics, items to shop for online, etc.) if you choose. I call it the "full experience" of my blog posts.

I honestly wish more people would find and read more of my posts. I mean, I feel like some of my blog posts could get more views than what I eventually get for them. Even topics that I think are popular don't get as many views. One example is my post on tattoos and piercings. Even if my own contributions to a topic aren't popular enough, I feel some posts are worthy of a bit more attention than what certain blog posts usually get.

Pleasing Aspects of Fashion Blogging.

As I take note of the fashion topics I post, I become most intrigued when people find my blog asking if a certain look is in style or not. For example, I sometimes see if people think gaucho pants are still in style. Some people even wonder how to style certain outfits. Being a blog owner or a website owner gives you happiness when you learn that people search material online and come across your material. It certainly makes me happy knowing people find my material in my own blog(s). It is not only about finding what you want online, but finding what you want online and being satisfied with what you find. Satisfaction is what I aim for more than simply posting anything online.

Your viewing and involvement of "StyleSpace by JBM" are helping both myself as well as the rest of the Internet. I thank you for this.

My Own Evaluation of My Fashion Blog.

I've done good enough, but I can do better. My goal is to describe fashion in my own way. I prefer a mostly opinionated and educational look at fashion as my method of discussing fashion. I do try to be casually professional with my work. However, I don't want people to see this as some sort of educational blog because I want to keep things entertaining and useful. Everything I post in blogs and videos has to serve some sort of value that people can use and share. I am just not going to post anything just to draw a quick reaction. If someone is going to visit, I want someone to visit and continually visit if he/she enjoyed my work.

There are many things I can discuss regarding fashion. So I introduced a number of different topics and labels to expand the fashion discussion. If you are looking at the desktop version of this blog, try to find all the labels in the sidebar to all of the various topics this blog features. One example is of folk fashion- fashions exclusive and indigenous to certain cultures. For example, I recently blogged about saris/sarees that Hindu women wear. I even briefly discussed certain topics like fashion education. I even critique certain popular or interesting garments or shoes. I feel like I never have a shortage of topics. While there is no shortage of topics, actually coming up with material worthy of being posted is the real challenge of my work. I hate disappointing my readers in any such way.

I know people don't want to do a lot of reading, but I sometimes feel the best way to nail down something is to discuss as many details as possible without leaving the reader feel like more can be expected from me. The perfectionist in me wants to make sure each blog post is as complete as possible with quality content. I want to accomplish this in all of my posts ranging from casual posts to my most detailed ones.

--- Final Thoughts After One Year of SS ---

Thank all of you for visiting and caring about my fashion blog. I do all I can to try to make this as enjoyable and as useful of a blog as I can make it to be. There is no shortage of topics either considered or being worked on. I don't usually announce whatever topics I am working on unless I feel it is special I share online. And sometimes, what I announce will be my next topic in my blog(s) may not be the next topic I release. I may not release something on that topic at all! The element of surprise is always a good way to entertain my readers/subscribers.

One other note... I almost forgot to come up with something to commemorate one year of this blog. All I have done mostly was create a new header. Still, thank you for making this all possible. I will try to come up with all kinds of topics for this blog. You can always pitch me ideas for what you may want to see me blog about next. If I like your idea, I'll consider adding it to my many different topic ideas for my blog(s). Do so by contacting me via E-mail or through my Facebook fan page. My Facebook fan page can be reached at www.facebook.com/TheJohnMarine.

Besides that, thanks for reading!





Thank you for reading my now one-year old blog! Here's to perhaps many more posts and maybe even more years of "StyleSpace by JBM!"

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