A Time to Get

Voice Post

Nick Maggio of the high traffic fashion blog called “A Time to Get,” has a very distinctive voice in his posts. Although brief, Nick comments on many aspects of the fashion industry besides just upcoming lookbooks and fashion updates. For instance, the basis for his blog, or the way he describes it, really conveys his short and simple manner. Here he describes his blog:

A Time…

Not for this. Not for that. For everything in between. For work. For avoiding work. For inspiration. For a resource. For entertainment. For a minute. For an hour. The good, the bad, and yes, even the ugly. In a world that has no time for anything, there is always a time to give, and every now and again... a time to get.

In Nick’s introduction, he uses a very blunt and “a matter of fact” voice in how he presents his blog to the world. His diction is non academic, and very colloquial. For example, when he says “Not for this. Not for that,” we get a sense that Nick is just trying to be short, simple, and to the point, as if he is speaking to us directly. Also, his short sentence structure and punctuation further highlight this fact. Furthermore, It seems as he is almost poetic in conveying his purpose for the blog by starting off the first two sentences with what the blog is Not, and then telling us what the blog is For, in the next 8 sentences. This really communicates his main intentions with his blog. He wants it to be something that you can go to any time or day, no matter the premise. Maybe you are a designer and look to his blog for inspiration, or maybe a student looking for a resource of information, or maybe at work or home just trying to kill some time and use it as a form of entertainment. Nick has all bases covered. If anything, his introduction makes me want read on because I like simple. Simple is good.

Another example of how Nick’s voice in prevelant is in a recent post entitled “17, 18...” Here he says,

For most of us, Day 19 has now become a household name. Despite what Jeremy and Claire think, I have personally been in a meeting where a client has referenced the "Day 19 look." As far as I'm concerned, that means you've made it. Well, we don't need some "suit" mentioning them to know they've made it... we just need to look at their recent work with Converse.

Every now and again I come across a photo campaign that nails it -- tells the story -- and all with the images alone. Day 19's FW '11 Converse campaign puts those to shame. A few of my favorites below, and the rest here. Oh, you wanna know where my camera is right now? Broken. In the street.”

Here, Nick talks to us like he knows us. He uses the names “Jeremy” and “Claire” as if we know of them, but it is the first time in the blog that we see their names. I think that he is not afraid to tell us what is on his mind, and no matter what, the audience will listen.

In addition, we also come to understand that Nick is interested in companies that have a real story and put a lot of creative effort to sustain their brand equity. Evidence of this comes in when Nick says, “Every now and again I come across a photo campaign that nails it -- tells the story -- and all with the images alone.” He clearly is interested in people who take pride in the aesthetic, and tell a story far more than what is at the surface.

Lastly, we can see a little bit of humor in this post from the last lines,

“Oh, you wanna know where my camera is right now? Broken. In the street.”

Nick is not afraid to tell it like it is. He is almost sarcastic in how he views what happened to his camera. He is very upfront and conversational. We can see evidence when he uses everyday diction like “wanna” and short sentences like, “Broken. In the Street.”

Altogether, I really enjoy reading Nick’s short and a-matter-of-fact way of giving press to new and interesting ideas created by people in the fashion/apparel industry. I think his no BS outlook and content rich posts will relate to my blog posts in the future.