Eleven years ago, on February 1, 2007, a fashion website captivated people into making an account and from that amazing idea, people became loyal and valued members. A website where creativity reigned supreme and fashion is the opiate of choice. That website was called ‘‘Polyvore.” Over time, the fan base for that grew and grew until they decided to modernize by coming up with an app for smartphones as society increased with their usage and convenience. I am proud to say that I am a loyal Polyvore fan, even before I signed up for the website.
Seeing those beautiful outfits that were created for movies, books, TV Shows, characters, fanfiction stories for OCs, and collections for everything and anything came in plenty: collections on spy gear, princess gowns, Disney Princesses, superheroes, etc. I still remember visiting their website, looking at ‘The Clique’ series outfits and loving every single one that was made.
As I grew up, that passion intensified until I made an account of my very own and I was happy. Now, that joy has turned to despair and disappointment as we say goodbye to this wonderful website that has become not only a part of our daily lives but as an escape from reality from which a world of ‘Pure Imagination’ comes to life.
Millions of fans have downloaded, shared, created, and enjoyed the fashion app Polyvore, who gave users - men, women, and children alike - a chance to express their individuality and imaginative creativity. An app that I, and countless others used daily for fanfictions, pure enjoyment, and a way to bring a little sense of joy to our hectic, stressful lives.
This morning, I went straight into the app for some morning inspiration for one of my many OFC fanfic fashion sets, when I found it to be completely closed off. Naturally, I thought they were having some system problems, so I thought nothing of it. Thinking to myself - and those who use the app and/or website - by this afternoon or the evening, Polyvore would be fixed.
Needless to say, I was thoroughly disappointed with that naïve idea, when all it said was ‘No Network Connection.’ I didn’t know what was going on and, naturally, I panicked. Alright...some of you might think of me as over dramatic and a wuss for that, but I was scared. Everything that I’ve done in the name of self-expression, art, fashion, individuality, creativity, and imagination, was not available for anyone to see, much less me. Even friends and followers who I’ve made and commented on their ‘art’ has been completely shut out from us.
When I saw the blog post and read that another website company bought Polyvore, I was heartbroken. Having taken a look at the new website, “SSENSE,” it’s without a doubt: a disappointment...with a capital ‘D’. There’s not a shred of individuality, no sense of creativity; just a fashion site to buy things from like Barney’s, Saks, or even Macy’s. The once independent, one-of-a-kind, interesting fashion website has become just like every other fashion website out there: dull and uninteresting. This is a website that people would rather not sign up for, much less buy from it. If I wanted to buy something, I’ll go on the infinite number of websites for different companies and buy from there.
Honestly, this is what they’ve done to Polyvore. To them, it was a great move, but to the loyal and dedicated fans who signed up for these accounts, made friends, expressed their artistic vision of what they see it as for themselves - and receiving positive criticism for it, nevertheless - it was the single most horrific deal ever made. And I hope someone brings it back because I want to express myself through fashion and Polyvore has always been a way for me to be an artist through that medium.
In the immortal words of fashion icon, Blair Waldorf: “Fashion is the most powerful art there is. It’s movement, design, and architecture all in one. It shows the world who we are and who we’d like to be.”
And, I, for one, would feel very lonely without it. Share, reblog, retweet, and comment on your feelings about this.
For those who would like to bring it back and fight to keep Polyvore up and running, sign the petition by clicking on this link and make your voice heard:
https://www.change.org/p/former-polyvore-users-creative-minds-bring-back-polyvore?recruiter=508840244&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_message.nafta_milestone_share_ask_victory.control
