he evolution of the fashion blog over the past couple of years has been nothing short of astonishing. What used to be a collection of lonely musings on a blogger’s favourite things and daily outfit shots has become a platform for fresh insight into the latest in the fashion world. If Jak and Jil, Style Bubble and Garance Dore are any indication, the move towards editorial-flavoured content proves blogs can be as influential trendsetters as magazines can.

For former RUSSH editor Stevie Dance, setting up Shop Ghost seemed like a natural progression. Having spent six years at RUSSH, as both fashion editor and for the final year editor-in-chief, Dance established Shop Ghost as something of a passion project, to compliment her long list of current projects, including her role as contributing editor at Oyster and as a freelance stylist for the likes of Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue.

Dance aims for Shop Ghost to be unedited, whole and pure – a goal she has definitely achieved. The zine comprises magazine-style content, such as interviews with ‘Guest Ghosts’ (industry insiders like fashion editor Christine Centenera and model Hannah Holman) and regular lists of covetable fashion goodies titled ‘Ghost Gets’. But what separates Shop Ghost from Dance’s glossy magazine projects is the scrapbook feel one gets from the Tumblr-friendly collage of images included with each article. Dance’s signature lo-fi photography also adds to the irreverent vibe.

If you’re looking for daily outfit posts, you’ll be hard-pressed to find much, and you definitely won’t find any of Dance’s outfits. In this sense Shop Ghost isn’t a blog as such; it’s more of a bridge between blogging culture and that of the glossy magazine. If anything, knowing that the content arises from one woman’s ideas and opinions on fashion makes for a convincing and approachable source of inspiration.

shopghost.com