Remember way back in the Summer of 2008 when we were all enamored with Tavi, and we all get pretty miffed at New York Magazine for suggesting that she was a fake?

My how the tables have turned.

Before Tavi was cute, brilliant, and we all wanted to hold and protect her. She was blogging! At 12! Her taste was amazing!

But now, she’s what – 13? 14? And she’s sitting front row at New York Fashion Week,  she’s in and on the cover of magazines, and she’s even sitting in front of journalists from Grazia Magazine at Paris Haute Couture Week at the Dior show.

And she’s not just “in the front row”, she’s in the front row with a gigantic hat in the shape of a big ass bow that’s blocking people like @grazia_live’s view of the show.

Fashion bloggers are pissed. Elle has even tried to weigh in on the issue:

But honestly, who cares? It’s all mere conjecture about conjecture.  No one is picking on Tavi by discussing her provenance, writing skills, or style. They are just fascinated by her and asking obvious questions. Is it gimmicky to hire a 13-year-old au courant “sensation” to write about fashion when the mean age of your reader is over forty? Maybe. I’ve heard comments from “it’s fantastic” to “ridiculous.”

Some are obsessed with whether it’s really her writing, but aside from overly angry blog commenters, I think the rest of us are just left wondering why she’s gone from being treated as a cool blogger that’s received loads of mainstream press attention, to being in the front row at Dior. (With a huge fucking hat on, no less.)

It just all seems like some terrible PR stunt. 

Put Tavi in the front row! The people will love it! Oh here, give her a pink iPhone and teeny tiny netbook while we’re at it. Those bloggers! You know how they are!

I don’t hate Tavi, I hate what PR and those in charge of who sits where at fashion shows have *done* to her. They’re surfing on the OMG fashion blogs! wave, and giving those who will get the most attention, Retweets and page impressions primo spots that were usually reserved for fashion veterans and journalists for Vogue.

Is it smart on their part? Yes. Obviously, as here I am talking about it.

But is it right?

If I were Tavi, there’s no way in hell I’d turn down front row tickets or magazine covers just because it might piss a few people off, or because it stunk of PR. She’s doing her thing and making the most out of it, so good for her. 

Also, it's brilliant that people - no matter what the reason - are taking a blogger who knows her stuff seriously. She can write incredibly well for 13. (The catch being she's THIRTEEN.)

It’s just frustrating as the lines are no longer clear. The “work hard and you’ll be rewarded” message seems to be getting more and more blurred as it seems as though what matters is how *quirky* you are or if you're a Twitter sensation.

Things have probably always been this way, and it’s just the Internet that is making things seem a bit more obvious and bizarre. 

But as blogging is a very powerful thing, I feel like those in charge and hold the golden tickets to things like catwalk show tickets and spreads in magazines should understand the weight of their decisions to give  Internet *sensations* premature entry into coveted (never mind professional) positions and places.