Chictopia - a New Approach for Fashion

While the fashion runways are still quite alive and active (as evidenced by the popularity of shows such as America's Next Top Model), public outcry against much of the "model" image is also louder than ever. Claiming that the fashion industry is pushing young women to become anorexic or develop other eating disorders because of their desire to become "model thin" is just one of the complaints lodged against the industry. With the ever-developing technique of photoshop airbrushing, this industry has gone beyond simply pushing the limits of reality in their magazine advertisements; most of the time the flawless skin of their model's head shots is beyond the reach of any real human's skin. In effort to respect the public's cry for "real" images, many fashion magazines are publishing special edition articles of popular celebrities appearing "un-airbrushed." While this method has somewhat appeased the public's complaints, there are still those who remain unsatisfied with the conventional approach to modeling and the fashion industry. It is voices like these, who both love fashion and yet wish to avoid the mainstream catwalks, that are gaining recognition for their "fashion senses" through the new approach to the fashion community-through organizations like "Chictopia."

Chictopia is an online community that approaches the fashion industry through encouraging "community" between its members. The appeal of Chictopia is easily understandable by anyone who loves fashion yet is not a part of the mainstream modeling industry. Chictopia members are encouraged to post pictures of themselves in outfits that they consider fashionably sensible. A brief description of the outfit is encouraged, as well as where each clothing (or accessory) item was purchased. Other Chictopia users can them post comments on the outfits, which can be read by the initial poster to boost their fashion ego/self esteem.

However, besides this little vote of confidence for fashion choices, Chictopia users also enjoy much greater benefits. Instead of offering monetary payouts for popularity or number of posts, Chictopia offers "chic rewards" that can be redeemed for various amounts of "chic points." These rewards range from designer nail polishes to dresses originally sold at retailers such as H & M to hats, jewelry, shoes, books, and more. The number of points required to redeem each item varies extremely with the type of reward; a stylish summer sun hat might be redeemable for 4000 points, while 1500 chic points could be used for a pair of floral earrings from H & M. The way that points can be earned also varies, including (but not limited to) posting on the forum, posting fashion photos of your own outfits, commenting on other user's photographs, and accumulating large numbers of following fans.

As the fashion industry continues to evolve with the coming of each new season, some consumers will choose to become their own fashion models through communities such as Chictopia-"the people's fashion destination."