Magazine sales are declining, leading some to decree the industry is dying a slow and painful death.

The Audit Bureau of Circulations December 2012 report highlighted the fact that our favourite women’s monthly magazines are losing readership. Bauers’s Harper’s Bazaar declined 2.8 per cent, Cleo slumped 23.6 per cent, Cosmopolitan fell 16.2 per cent, Madison dropped 23.3 per cent and Shop Till You Drop receded 14.9 per cent year-on-year.

Likewise, Pacific Magazines’ InStyle dropped 8.2 per cent and Marie Claire lost 9.6 per cent of its sales.

Even NewLifeMedia’s iconic high fashion magazine, Vogue, slipped slightly by 0.5 per cent.

So where are the readers? Where are fashionistas going to find their next new look if magazines fall?

The answer may lie in fashion blogs – the new addition to our style diets.

Fashion blogs are popping up all over the internet and the great thing about these is that they’re on trend, so they’re updated much more frequently than their magazine counterparts. And best of all, they’re free.

Indeed the quality of writing and world-class imagery mark fashion blogs as a legitimate outlet for the public to get information on trends, see an amazing photograph or a well put together ensemble.

The audience that fashion bloggers are now receiving is proof of how successful the medium really is. Australian fashion blog Gary Pepper boasts over 16,000 followers on Twitter, 113,000 likes on Facebook and 432,000 followers on Instagram.

Bloggers are also quickly gaining respect in the media and fashion industry – with bloggers Jasmin Howell and Fenji McCall being named ambassadors of this years L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival.

Even the big companies are seeing the benefit of blogging to get their product out there, shying further away from printed publications. David Jones, Westfield, Myer (Miss Shop), Sportsgirl and Witchery are just some retailers that are blogging to survive and keep in touch with the ever evolving fashion media.

There is a sea of fashion blogs out there and if you’re new to the scene, it can be hard to find the good ones. I’ve trawled through and found some noteworthy reads.

Here are my top five Australian fashion blogs to compete with magazines for your daily fashion diet.

Gary Pepper features clever and elegant photography which has earnt Nicole Warne an amazing following and status as a style icon. Warne describes herself as, “fun, quirky, confident, passionate, exuberant, with an eclectic sense of style” and the fans seem to agree.

Tuula, written by Jessica Stein, is a blog described as Stein’s, “personal diary of wanderlust and an overflowing wardrobe”. Not only does Tuula show off Stein’s seemingly effortless wardrobe from around the world, but she also shares tips for an amazing vintage shopping experience in Melbourne, Sydney, London, Paris, Berlin and beyond.

Studded Hearts’ author, Yenny, proves that age does not matter. The Melbourne-based student not only presents her own outfits to the world, but her blog also serves as a scrapbook of photography, editorials and other images that inspire Yenny – presenting her whole fashion ethos to the world.

Styling You is a great blog that gives you more than just clothes. There’s a little something for everyone, with some beauty, fashion and food included in the mix. Not only that, but Styling You is written by ex-journalist, Nikki Parkinson, so each post is well written and entertaining, however, probably more aimed at an audience over 25.

Love More is written by Annabel Wendt and features street style photographs as well as inspirational images. Wendt’s look is stylish and a little grungy, with Doc Martens, top knots and vintage tees at the forefront of this blog.

Keen on writing your own blog? Want to make it successful? Freelance Switch has some tips for getting revenue on your online publication.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be out and about in Melbourne trying to find a street style blogger to approve my next outfit.

Stephanie Azzopardi is a third year Bachelor of Journalism student at La Trobe University and a part of the upstart team. Follow her on Twitter: @StephAzzopardi.