Wearing Everyone But Ourselves
Has the rise of fashion media undermined the art of personal style?
If you’re reading this, I’m sure you (like me) are a fashion lover whose social media feeds over the years have merged creating one giant, chaotic, and inescapable fashion vortex. I cannot escape it, my phone has basically become a portal to a continuous stream of fashion content, from scrolling through TikTok OOTDS to analysing Pinterest outfit boards, and brand ads interrupting my Instagram stalking. Fashion media is unavoidable.
And, if I'm being honest, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
This content inspires me. Wearing an outfit I love gives me confidence. Fashion is creative, expressive and fun. However, recently I was doing an aimless online shopping scroll when I had a realisation: I’ve become completely disillusioned with my own personal style.
The term ‘personal style’ itself is already complicated. You could easily argue that we’re all just products of media, microtrends and marketing. I disagree with this. I truly do believe that, even in the tiniest way, a person's identity is reflected in the clothes they choose to wear. But lately, the sheer amount of content I consume everyday has made me feel lost. My outfits don't reflect me, they are just echoes of the people I follow.
Often I’ve looked in the mirror and seen a hodge podge of different people’s aesthetics staring back at me. I’ve consumed so much fashion media that it’s created this weird identity fragmentation, where nothing I wear feels cohesive, intentional or like me. This realisation hit me hard when a friend described the contents of my wardrobe as if boho chich, middle-aged mum, shoreditch vintage girl and British roadman (yes, I love my Adidas trackies) had a baby.
I am fully caught in this content driven consumer cycle, all it takes is my favourite ‘boho chic’ influencer convincing me to buy a new pair of studded boots from vinted, a ‘Stockholm style’ girl explaining why I really need a matching orange pinstripe shirt and trouser set, and an instagram ad showing me the anya hindmarch x uniqlo beanie is 50% off. Then before I know it I have 3 packages sitting in my room- none of which contain items that could be worn together.
Now I know I may be an extreme case. Not everyone is a fashion obsessed uni student who uses online shopping, and social media scrolling as a way of procrastinating writing their dissertation. Nevertheless, I am sure I can’t be the only person experiencing what I can only describe as style burnout.
I’m tired.
Tired of new trends emerging weekly.
Tired of feeling like I am constantly having to buy something new.
Tired of looking in my wardrobe and releasing none if it can actually be worn together.
This could well be just a me problem, born out of boredom and a minor (okay, major) Vinted addiction. But maybe, hopefully, someone else might feel the same as me. Because as empowering as this new era of fashion can be (and it really can be) it also creates pressure. We’re more confident and expressive than ever, but we’re also more confused and overwhelmed.
There needs to be a balance.
Yes, let’s be inspired (I mean I literally have a blog trying to inspire people) that’s what creators are there for. But let’s also leave room for our own autonomy. By slowing down and being more mindful we can discover what we actually love, not just what we’re told to love.
Style should be a form of self-expression, not a copy and paste exercise. So maybe it’s time I stop trying to parrot every aesthetic I scroll past, and instead figure out how to inject those influences into something that actually feels like me.