When and why did you start blogging?

We graduated in 2010 and at the time, newspapers were full of gloomy headlines about a generation of graduates without any prospects. Warnings stated that we would be wallowing in debt and self-pity until we retired aged 90, but this didn’t reflect how we felt at all. We were (and are!) surrounded by young, smart and successful women, who were bucking the trends of unemployment and endless negativity.

After graduating, whenever we caught up with our female friends, the conversation always veered towards careers, salaries and promotions, rather than boys and bodycon. This seemed to be the same for everyone we knew, but while we devoured career profiles and advice, we found that lots of careers content in conventional media was aimed either at people who have already made it a few rungs up the career ladder, or current students. After lots of plotting and rounding up career profiles, we started Professionelles in August 2012 to try and address this.

What’s your blog about?

Professionelles profiles the daily working lives of women in their early twenties. We also offer careers advice that’s relevant to females in their first or second job after education (nothing here about juggling the school run with the boardroom!), and we also try to round-up further inspiration from across the web.

Who inspires you?

Spending our days reading and writing about the careers of other early twentysomethings is continually inspiring, and really makes us think harder and more critically about how we work ourselves. Tons of our friends are doing all sorts of excellent things both in and out of work, so spending time with them always gets our creative juices flowing. We’re also regularly inspired by our brilliant northern mothers who get more done before breakfast than we do all day, by other bloggers and by other women who are doing something different.

What’s your day job?

Olivia: I’m a public affairs consultant in London, focusing on healthcare policy.
Natalie: I’m a consumer PR account manager at a big integrated advertising agency.

What do your family and friends think about your blog?

Our families love it – Natalie’s mum has even had Professionelles mugs and phone covers made! If women in their fifties were our target demographic, we’d be golden. Our friends have been forced into liking the blog by being featured as career profiles; it’s pretty handy being surrounded by women with excellent jobs, but they’re all probably a bit fed up of us talking about it every time we meet up and using their birthday parties as fertile recruiting ground for new career profiles.

Do you read any other blogs?

We try and round-up the best careers advice from across the web every Friday in Work Wide Web, so we read a lot of careers focused blogs like the Levo League.

O: I read a lot of news and current affairs as part of my job and I really struggle to find the time to fit in reading much of anything else! I love reading food and lifestyle blogs though – Salad Club is my current favourite (partly because I enjoy their outpost in Brixton Village so regularly), and I occasionally browse through The Londoner and Decorator’s Notebook.

N: I read so many blogs as part of my job – predominantly mummy, lifestyle and foodie blogs such as The Botanical Baker. In my spare time, Suri’s Burn Book is my absolute favourite pastime. It’s genius. I work in PR is also excellent (and by excellent, I mean hilarious). Miss Thrifty is also fantastic for money-saving tips and tricks.

How do you use Twitter and has it changed how you blog?

Natalie: Since I work in PR, social media is a huge part of my day job, so I’ve essentially started to treat Professionelles as a client in its own right. I’ve added it to my Hootsuite account so I can schedule tweets, and I refresh who we follow from the account on a daily basis. Since I work full time, I don’t get as much time as I would like to spend promoting Professionelles on Twitter, but it’s been unbelievably handy in helping us to make contact with potential career profiles. We’ve met some amazing women on Twitter, and we’ve also had a lot of reactive requests come through to us from ladies interested in featuring, so it really is an essential cog in how Professionelles works. We also Tweet all of the blogs and companies featured in Work Wide Web, which always goes down really well and has scored us a number of RTs on feeds with huge follower numbers.

What couldn’t you live without?

Olivia: My Filofax and my bed – double duvet, three blankets, six pillows and four cushions. Like sleeping in a cloud!
Natalie: My morning cup of tea. Don’t speak to me until the mug is empty.

How do you stay motivated?

Blogging with a friend is brilliant because when you really can’t be bothered to get your brain back into gear again when you get home from work, you know that you’re letting someone else down if you don’t bother – and when things are going well, it’s good to share the fun! That, and lots of coffee.

Typical blog wardrobe?

Olivia: Most of my blogging gets done in my lunch break, so the same as my work wardrobe! Lots of dresses from Whistles and blazers from Zara (and heels!).
Natalie: As Olivia said, we generally blog while we’re on lunch at our day jobs. I tend to wear jazzy trousers (you cannot beat patterned hareems; hello comfort), flats and a casual tee or jumper. It’s really relaxed in our office.

Blog soundtrack?

O: In reality, the sound of my colleagues eating lunch and BBC Parliament in the background. In my head, a mixture of Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Bastille and Diana Ross.
N: Radio 1. It’s on ALL DAY, so at the moment while Fearne’s off, it’s a mixture of Sara Cox and Scott Mills – and the same songs that I heard on Grimmy’s show earlier the same day (and the day before…and the day before that…).

Favourite European city and why?

N: Ahh, so many to choose from, and Olivia and I are lucky enough to have visited lots of places there. I think I’d either have to say Budapest or Munich, because I like thermal spas, Goulash and steins of German beer.
O: I like Amsterdam lots – pretty but not pretentious, and you can cycle everywhere! I’m also a big fan of Budapest.

What do you think is the biggest problem in British society today and what is the most positive thing?

O: I work in politics so I’m pretty biased, but I think that the lack of engagement in politics (both formally and informally) amongst the public is a huge problem. I don’t think it’s anything new, but I do think it’s something that isn’t addressed enough, and I think that there are huge swathes of the population with a really poor understanding of how what goes on in Westminster, Brussels or across the globe impacts on their lives. I’d love to see politics lessons as part of the curriculum throughout school!

In terms of the positive, I think that the ongoing impact of the recession has had the unintended consequence of encouraging people to appreciate local businesses rather than global monoliths and think more sustainably about consumption – you really get a sense of this in London and hopefully it will continue.

Do you ever get blog block?

O: There are always days when blogging feels like a chore, but looking through old posts often sparks a burst of motivation! We keep a big list of post ideas which we add to whenever we’re inspired so we can always draw off that if we’re feeling stuck, which is helpful for when a post just isn’t going anywhere.

Dream purchase?

O: A flat somewhere lovely, with a roof terrace.
N: A Sunseeker yacht. One day…

Is blogging a viable career?

It certainly has worked out for other bloggers! From our perspective, it’s certainly not an option at the moment. We run Professionelles as a hobby and we’re perfectly content with our day jobs, but it would definitely be nice to make some pocket money moving forwards. Further into the future, who knows?

Where do you see yourself in five years?

N: Hopefully I’ll be sailing around the Caribbean on my Sunseeker yacht. It’s certainly motivation to work hard! In reality, I’d like to be nearing the top of my game in PR and have worked abroad.
O: I’d like to be higher up the career ladder and better at doing grown up things like getting regular haircuts, poaching eggs and getting up early. I don’t like to plan too far ahead in case I miss out on an adventure!

Can you run in heels?

O: Without a doubt.
N: Only when I’m drunk.

So what’s Vine All About?

The idea behind Vine is simple – it provides little windows of video footage; an insight into the people, settings, ideas and objects that make up our lives. Via the free mobile app, users can capture and share short looping videos of just six seconds or less. The six seconds don’t have to be consecutive; you can stop and start the recording to create a six second mash up of mini clips.

To get started, all you need to do is download the app, create your profile and then click on the little film icon that appears. Simply tap the screen to start recording, and lift your finger off the screen to stop. A bar at the top indicates how many seconds you’ve used up. Et voila – you have your very own Vine video. You can then share your little masterpiece with other Vine users or upload it to Facebook and Twitter. You can even embed the videos onto your website or blog.

One of the criticisms facing Vine is that you can’t set your profile to private which means the content you produce is visible to everyone. Plus, you can’t edit videos or re-order clips, and it only picks up ambient sound. But surely, it’s the lack of these features which make the app more appealing – it’s simple to use and it presents the world around us, just as it is. So yes, it means we might have to get over our obsession with posting ‘perfect’ content.

How is Vine social?

In a similar way to Twitter, the Vine app has a home feed that populates with videos from the users you follow. There’s a handy explore tab too, which includes the editor’s picks and you can see all the weird and wonderful stuff that’s trending. Vine was designed to ‘inspire creativity’ and despite its six second limit, you’d be surprised at how people – and brands – are making use of the app. The fashion world in particular has been quick to embrace Vine, using the app to capture real-time clips of models strutting down the runway or make-up artists busy at work behind the scenes. Users should also look to magazines and top brands like Dove, Gap and ASOS for forwarding thinking ideas on how to use Vine, as they’re all creating some truly original content.

Vine might not have the same kudos as Twitter and Instagram (yet), but if you’re into social networking and looking for a new way to present content and interact with friends, colleagues or other professionals in your industry, then this is the app for you…until, that is, the next big thing in social media comes along.

When I started the Everyday Sexism Project a year ago, I never imagined that by now it would have attracted some 25,000 entries and be about to spread to 15 countries. Nor even that I’d be writing about it in the Guardian – or that this would be the latest in a chain of articles that has encompassed the Times of India, Gulf News, Grazia South Africa, the Toronto Standard, French Glamour and the LA Times. Read more: The Guardian.

The portal provides an insight into a historical moment that defined feminism, and some of the women who pushed for social change. How to use the resource? A timeline highlights important events including the Greenham Common Peace Camp, the introduction of the contraceptive pill and the election of the first black female MP. You can also explore Sisterhood and After by browsing themes such as Sex, Love and Friendship, Equality and Work,  and Changing Cultures and the Arts. A unique and fascinating resource.

Working from home is not the perfect solution for mothers with career ambitions – interruptions from children and household responsibilities damage a woman’s performance too much, says Sally Peck. Read more: Telegraph Wonder Women.

Oh, sorry. We’re talking about a dog here. A long-haired miniature dachshund and much-loved social media presence, to be precise. Plumptre, during his short life, was a tribute to petworking, a trend whereby proud owners produce and update social media profiles for their animal pals. A study commissioned by PetPlan in 2011 suggested that one in ten housepets in the UK are on some social networking site. Some animals are even proving more popular online than us bipeds: Twitter-savvy Sockington the cat had over 1.4 million followers at last count; Boo, a Pomeranian on Facebook, has been liked by nearly six and a half million fans and has been officially categorised as a public figure – as well as ‘The World’s Cutest Dog’.

YouTube sensation Maru The Cat’s videos have racked up millions of views…

Where else would this be possible but on the internet, that great virtual souk of the discounted, the pornographic and the totally absurd? Taking on a pet’s persona online allows internauts to assume another identity – often one funnier, more light-hearted, and apparently more likeable than their own. Doing so has unsurprisingly proved popular at a time when there’s great pressure to keep one’s own social media profile spotless. These days, when we’re encouraged to ‘manage’ our online identities with Stalinite precision, taking on those of our non-human friends offers not only more freedom and creativity, but also a bit of fun.

Like everything else ever, though, petworking has suffered its critics. Some say it’s a waste of time, that it’s a sign of a broken, mangled society if we can’t find anything more ‘worthy’ to fill our online hours. But in these sorts of critiques, what counts as a time-wasting activity isn’t always made clear a priori. Does updating one’s own profile count as productive, by contrast? Considering that an estimated half of the UK’s (human) population is on Facebook, spinning their mental wheels at any given time in aid of their next witty status update, it’s a question worth posing.

Others say petworking treads perilously close to Too Much Information (TMI) territory. It qualifies as oversharing, which at present seems to be the most grievous possible breach of internet politesse. It’s worth noting that expressing an opinion about anything, from what you ate at midday to your views on the Middle East, may also be lumped into this category. Now, one cannot be faulted for taking the appropriate precautions when putting private information into the public realm. This is common sense and nothing new: loose lips sank ships long before Facebook. But along with all this paranoia about social media palavers, we treat the appearance of anything “too personal” with the same kind of smugness and exaggerated vexation accorded the now very controversial “Christmas letter”.

Isn’t this, though, what social media is there for? For swapping stories and viewpoints and expressing excitement, shame or sorrow in the company of others; for telling the world how smart your kids are, how cute your cat is, or vice versa; for doing that most basal of things that people do with each other (let’s call it “socialising”, for ease of reference)? Provided that people are comfortable with, aware and in control of how much or how little privacy they do have, I fail to see anything wrong with this. In fact, I genuinely thought that this was the whole idea. Social networking that’s not at all social, isn’t it kind of missing the point?

It’s a funny thing being human. Despite our love for schadenfreude, for scandal and disgrace, we also desperately need positivity in our lives. We spend bales of cash each year on therapy, self-help books, life coaching and meditation retreats just to wring ourselves dry of the negativity in which we’re daily steeped. All this, when research actually shows that what might help us would be to spend more time socialising, with each other and with our companion animals.

There is already so much negativity in the world, much of it draining into a bubbling, mewling cesspool of anonymous ire on the internet. Why do we go such pains to pretend we’re not interested in the little glimmers of joy that appear there – the holiday pictures, the happy pronouncements, the amusing insights of pets? A little social interaction goes a long way to lightening things up, no matter where in Kingdom Animalia you come from. In short, I think non-human animals have as much a place on social media as us homo sapiens, bringing some much-needed positivity to an otherwise dog-eat-dog place.

A Day in the Life of the World’s Cutest Dog, Boo. Yes, really…

Photographers capturing street style…

Once upon a time, street style photography captured fashion at its finest: self expression rendered in a mix of high street and designer, vintage and customised clothes. For a few seconds as you scrolled Facehunter or flicked through a magazine, you had a fleeting insight into a stranger’s personality and the image that they wanted to project to the world.

Today, however, marketing has found its way into the arena of sartorial individuality. Fashion bloggers too numerous to name (and I won’t shame them here) have fallen prey to the ‘sponsored post’ – meaning that they’re paid by brands to feature their products. Some brands even tell bloggers what to write, and even worse – there are a few bloggers that don’t explain to their readers that they’ve been paid to create a post. And those spontaneous street style photographs? Many are now a bland tick list of designer pieces that have been strategically gifted to bloggers to ensure brand exposure. You can’t buy style. Or can you?

Not all bloggers fit into the fashion cookie cutter though. There are still blogs out there that inspire and delight readers with their unique insights and opinions on clothes and how to put them together. Here are some of my personal favourites…

Sydney-based Hannah-Rose Yee of Capture the Castle writes about clothes with a poetic beauty and a sense of wonder that make you hope that one day she will write a novel. A mix of travel photography, cinematic style analysis and extracts from fiction, with a healthy dose of food porn thrown in for good measure; hers is not a daily #ootd outlet. Hannah-Rose delves into the beauty of simple dressing and reveals the infallible feeling that follows the discovery of the perfect Breton top.

Dylana Suarez of Colour Me Nana is a So-Cal girl living in Philadelphia, and she has kept her surf country roots close to her heart. Just as likely to quote Fleetwood Mac lyrics as she is to wear denim cut-offs in the middle of winter, Dylana’s outfit posts perfectly capture her free spirited hippie style. Also worth a visit is her model sister Natalie’s blog Natalie Off Duty.

Ellie Loughran of Pretty Much Penniless gives an honest account of her experiences of living in London without being able to afford a new designer handbag each year (or lifetime). Her creative ways of looking continually elegant and also her homemade preparations for her upcoming wedding are crammed with inspiration for anyone looking to update their look on a (very) small budget.

I am still a firm believer in the fashion blog: its universal accessibility allows people who might otherwise have slipped under the fashion radar to have a platform to share their style. While some may have been corrupted by advertising and sponsorship, others take blog ethics seriously and go on to triumph over big business and shine through their originality.

Color Me Nana’s Dylana Suarez; a dreamy Paris photographs from Capture The Castle; a stylish outfit post on Pretty Much Penniless

Meet Buff Beauty blogger Gem Bolton…

The blogosphere’s become a mighty crowded place. With a plethora of new fashion and beauty blogs popping up every week, it sometimes feels like blogging might be the new black. So how do you stand out from the crowd and make your voice heard above the noisy hubbub of the blogosphere? You need a watertight USP.

And Gem Bolton has just that: her blog Buff Beauty is all about natural and organic beauty. Rather than pages of makeup tutorials or new product reviews, you’ll find a carefully curated selection of features on the very best products from brands with emerald green eco-credentials, alongside interviews with industry insiders and suggestions of healthy food and wellbeing goodies. We found out more about the lady behind the blog…

When and why did you start blogging?

I launched Buff Beauty back in Dec 2011. I felt there was a real need for a natural beauty blog that was just was glamorous and enticing as it was green and with my love of writing, products and previous brand training, I felt I should give it a go.

What’s your daytime face?

A concealer, bronzer (and sometimes cream blush) combo for the skin, with black liner along the upper lash line and plenty of black mascara. Always lip balm and nearly always gloss.

And evening make-up?

More brows, more eyes, more lips! I favour a soft powder brushed into the brows for gentle definition and golden eye shadows to bring out the blue of my eyes. For lips I’ll line with a very natural shade and apply plenty of plumping gloss in a pale pink for the fullest finish I can create.

Favourite niche European brand?

Själ: a Swedish brand that fuses European technology with Eastern methods. Such clean and understated packaging too.

Always in your make-up bag?

Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lip Balm and Organic Glam’s Mascara and Bronzer in Golden Bronze. The mascara truly is incredible – ultra glam and so good for the lashes too.

Current make-up crush?

Miranda Kerr’s perfect radiance. She’s said to be a fan of the RMS Beauty Collection, and I’m not surprised as the formulas really bring the face to life.

Favourite DIY home treatment?

I’m not trying to cheat, but it would have to be a full on spa session! Exfoliating top to toe, applying face and body masks, soaking in the bath, a mini pedi and creams and oils all over. The experience isn’t complete without some Neom candles, a huge mug of detox tea and a magazine or two.

Best luxury buy?

Bodyism’s Beauty Food. It contains a mind-boggling number of ingredients in one supplement and makes you feel fantastic. It’s an investment for full body beauty!

Buff Beauty’s can’t-live-without products: skincare, make-up and well-being goodies from the loveliest natural and organic brands…

Favourite skincare product?

It’s counted as skincare, but it’s not for the face. It’s Orico London’s Full Cup Bust & Neck Treatment. My bust grew by several centimetres in just six weeks. Results I would never have believed if I hadn’t tried it myself. Who wants to give up those extra centimetres?!

What beauty addresses can we find in your little black book?

At the top would be my hairdresser, the delightful Zac Fennell, a Director of Bath’s Artizan. He was a finalist on E4′s Great British Hairdresser and his talents, along with his charms, mean he’s always in high demand. It’s an Aveda salon, so the products are much more caring than the standard salon offering. For total relaxation there’s also Bishopstrow House.  The Hotel is perfectly situated between Bath and Salisbury, so makes for a great meeting place for spa days with my Mum or Sister-in-Law. The spa menu is also a real treat!

Do you read any other blogs?

Yes, too many to list them all! For beauty I love The Beauty Shortlist, Biteable Beauty, Bare Faced Chic, Sugarpuffish and Mademoiselle Nature!

I’m also a big fan of the foodie and fitness blogs Francesca’s Fitness Kitchen and The Model Foodie, both of who I’ve enjoyed interviewing for Buff Beauty.

What perfumes can we find in your fragrance library?

Patricia Gallagher’s Embrace, which is super sultry and Jo Wood Organics’ Tula for a lighter, floral feel.

Favourite beauty trend this season?

The naked face with a vibrant lip, which I might brave but only on my freshest faced days!

How should brands engage with beauty bloggers?

I find most do it really well. I’d say for brands yet to engage with bloggers (or those not having much success), take the time to read the blogs you’re approaching for an understanding of their work. Contact the blogger to find out which posts they’re working on, or to promote particular products you think would best fit. And always take the time to promote the feature from your end; a prospective customer might be looking at your corporate or Facebook page for more information and would love to see some genuine reviews.

Can you run in heels?

Of course! For evidence do come and see me racing around the cobbles of Bath. Though please politely avert your eyes when I trip.

To find out more, see the Buff Beauty blog. You can also follow on Twitter @BuffBeautyBlog.

Buff Beauty’s favourite addresses include Artizan and Bishopstrow House. On the trend-to-try list: bright lips at Giles for S/S ’13

A Great Revolution?

Most brands are completely attuned to Twitter and Facebook and use these two outlets as their biggest points of outreach beyond their websites. Louis Vuitton cleverly developed a Facebook app which allowed viewers to take still photos from the live streamed footage of a new store opening. The viewers then built up a photo gallery on their Facebook profile, so their photos from the event were posted as if they had attended the opening in person, which created social proof, recommending Vuitton to their friends through their newsfeed.

With around three million and ten million likes respectively, Topshop and Dior are definitely engaging with their fans via Facebook…

Topshop is currently celebrating a landmark three million Facebook fans, whilst other big hitters include Converse (33 million likes) and Dior (10 million). But whilst most of us become fans to find out about special offers, it’s also worth remembering that you can choose to hide all those pesky Facebook updates, so a company’s social media strategy is never being applied to the full audience figures.

Meanwhile Twitter is a fashion playground, which was literally pointed out when Nicole Scherzinger recently wore an LED dress that displayed live tweets, made by a company called Cute Circuit. Fashion Weeks around the world are documented by Twitter, in a mixture of industry and fan tweets which deliver swift verdicts on new collections. Smaller, but still significant, outlets such as Pinterest and Tumblr are also on the rise in terms of users and are becoming major points of contact for companies we know and love, whilst YouTube is the place to find catwalk videos and promotional short films, from aspiration-filled luxury stores like Agent Provocateur to everyday labels like River Island.

One of the most innovative brands when it comes to blogging is Uniqueness, an Italian range from designer Alessandra Facchinetti, who uses her blog as more than just a mouthpiece; it’s a way of finding out what customers and fans respond to and what they would want to see in their clothing. She also posts amazing mood boards to let you immerse yourself in the inspiration behind the designs. Rather than having the usual six month wait between showing a collection and putting it on sale, Facchinetti has also made everything instantly available so that what you’re tweeting about could be bought the same day, rather than being out of your reach. Other designers who are big on blogging include Vivienne Westwood, who spreads the word about her ethical campaigning at Active Resistance, whilst on the high street Republichas worked with a series of guest fashion bloggers month by month to develop freshly updated and on-trend content directly from its target audience.

Over on Google+ you’ll find that H&M is one of the biggest names in terms of fashion and it’s one of the recommended profiles to add to your circles (like following or friending someone) when you sign up to a G+ account, with a whopping 2 million people watching for updates. Their big trending campaigns such as #BeckhamforHM and #MargielaforHM focus on image and video-laden posts that you can’t help but want to share. Meanwhile Burberryhas over 1 million people tuning into its G+ feed, which is mainly full of product images but has the rather brilliant personal touch of Christopher Bailey’s #MusicMonday, giving viewers a glimpse into the world of the brand’s Creative Chief Officer.

Uniqueness designer Alessandra Facchinetti uses online moodboards to show the inspirations behind her latest fashion collections

A Whole Lot of Noise…

With all of those different channels churning out so much content, it can definitely be overwhelming and even off-putting to feel so overly connected, and it’s a wonder that the companies themselves can keep up. We’re experiencing social saturation: too many forms of communication with no respite, unless we physically disconnect and unfollow or un-like every last business. Even on holiday we are bombarded with tweets and Facebook posts begging us to carry on clicking, and somehow we do, whether it’s out of boredom or convenience. It can also be hard to spot the good updates amongst the pointless, when everything is ‘totes amaze’ and we’re seeing grainy Instagram images in our sleep (yeah, ok, maybe not in the case of Chanel or Dior, but you get my drift).

What’s also worth remembering is that you’re not getting the full picture from a label’s social media feed. Many of the larger companies have separate Twitter accounts to deal with complaints, meaning that you don’t see the backlash from unhappy customers that might allow you to decide whether or not to part with your cash. Some labels have actually become more cautious since the technology boom, because they’re so worried about getting negative feedback on Twitter or Facebook that might go viral; others are just struggling to monitor all their different new outlets, juggling updates on handfuls of different platforms with their own unique type of audience.

For the classic fashion houses there’s also the problem of exclusivity; they are offering couture that comes with a huge price tag and is deliberately not open to everyone, whereas you can follow their Twitter or blog updates without buying into that expensive world but still feel involved. This changes the state of play if you have access to that hidden world without paying for it, which can anger the diehard designer consumers who don’t want everyone jumping on the bandwagon. “Fashion is fundamentally elitist,” says theorist Lucy Norris, founder of the trend analysis website Prêt-à-rêver, “but now everyone is part of the elite.” Yes, it’s democratic, but it’s also confusing for brand identity.

Social media is something of a Pandora’s Box; now that we have all of these channels we cannot ignore them, as they have changed the way we interact with each other – whether we’re on a high street budget or we’re running a whole host of accounts for a designer. However it is mostly a positive tool for fashion brands and their major fans, as well as potential customers, and it should be treated as an asset as long as you don’t let yourself become dominated by it. Make sure you have some real people amongst your ‘following’ list on Twitter – not just clothing labels – and don’t become addicted to refreshing your feeds or checking Tumblr for new photos. Just like the couturiers who don’t want to dilute their niche appeal, use social media sparingly; let it widen your fashion sense and inspire you, not dominate your social life.

H&M and Burberry reach out to fashion brand enthusiasts using Google+ with exclusive video footage and regular music features…