I remember a time when personal style wasn’t so prescriptive. It was 2005, and the tightly edited and highly-editorialized production of fashion magazines, while still influential in the physical world, remained largely absent in the digital one. It was also the era of blogging, where emerging platforms like Tumblr and Lookbook.nu cultivated communities of “niche” interests for those broadcasting an interest and documenting in personal style.
Often, these early fashion bloggers (me included), used style as a way to experiment and express a developing identity. As a 14-year-old girl on the internet, I played into my various interests: I would interchangeably switch between a feminine ballet dress one day and a leather jacket and a distressed band t-shirt on another. Dressing for one community (my dance class) and sometimes a disparate activity (a punk concert) helped me switch between different social codes.
I look back at these schizophrenic images in my exploration of personal style with cringe but also with gratitude: while good taste was clearly a missed mark — there was freedom and liberty to dress for oneself without the constraint and present-day pressure to "be on brand." Currently, it feels that style now is equated to designer access and affiliation rather than individuality and idiosyncrasy.
Codified clothing have always belonged to subcultures, but today they bend to the aesthetic guidelines of luxury houses. Today, personal style online is a tightly-wound edit. It is propelled by Instagram mood boards and color palettes, often in reference to campaign imagery. “Chanel stopped working with me when I started dressing edgy,” a fashion influencer at a closet sale recently told me, whose recent style reinvention included bleached eyebrows and burgundy-red hair. Her closet sale racks, filled with Ottolinger and vintage Vivienne Westwood, confirmed that the new look rang far from the “classic luxury” codes of a French fashion house. It seems that in fashion, there’s an unspoken level to commit to a particular aesthetic code if you wish to continue existing in the universe of a brand.
Am I A Miu Miu Girl?
Sitting on the bleachers of fashion month this season allowed me to observe some of the more pervasive trends that go into personas and personal branding. While I fall into many (if not all) of these categories, it is all in good play and humor that I present an analysis of the five types of fashion girls.
The Austere Aesthete
She wears Toteme and The Row. Every third image on her highly curated Instagram grid is a black-and-white photo. She drinks a dirty vodka martini with three olives. She is a self-described discerning design file; her clothes are all “classic,” but her living room is on-trend. She loves beige. She misses the old Céline. She is newly into interior design, and what once started with a West Elm vernacular evolved to the Wassily chair. She has the eye: she sources collectible furniture from her online travels: namely an African milking stool sourced from the deep archives of Etsy. Yes, that’s a Jeanneret reproduction in the corner. After all, she took a fast-track BA in Instagram Interiors.
Her philosophy is: Less is more, design is a lifestyle.
The High-End Honey
Her Instagram reads: Stop being poor. If LVMH does not power it, she’s not interested. Her AirPod case is Bottega Veneta. Her keychain is LOEWE. Her handbag is Gucci. Her favorite restaurant in Paris is L’Avenue. Aspen is a backdrop for the new Moncler collection. Her top travel rec is the Prada outlet in Tuscany. She’s in Saint-Tropez every summer, at bottle service beach clubs only. PJ is a vehicle, not bedtime clothing.
Her philosophy: I like my money right where I can see it…hanging in my closet.
The Streetwear Simp
She owns more sneakers than heels. Her wardrobe is filled with capsule collaborations between streetwear brands and trendy artists. Her favorite artist is Murakami and KAWS. She receives brand mailers where the word “culture” is frequently used. She gets gifted Supreme. Her Instagram is full of fitness and food pics. Her boyfriend is/was a skater. She is frequently featured on Hypebae and the Nike blog.
The Full Time Fashion Blogger
She does 22 unboxing videos a day. None of which include any purchased items. She goes on a three-day trip and brings three check-in bags. The travel content will digitally live for two weeks on the gram. Her boyfriend is her agent, manager, porter and personal photographer. She might be reserved in real life but is animated on Tik Tok. Her reels feature her walking down the street with countless outfit changes. She wears Valentino, Louis Vuitton, and Dior, gifted or on loan. When she’s not posting fashion content, she is live-streaming her facial.
The Haute Hipster
She went to art school but fell into fashion. She’s what marketing agencies dub a cultural insider, an anti-influencer with influence. She avoids filters or a highly staged Instagram moment. She’s foreign but white-passing. Her ex-boyfriend (not the artist) works in music. She prefers Copenhagen Fashion Week because it’s less commercial. There’s always a Contax camera in her bag. She’s friends with Maryam Nassir Zadeh. She chains smokes — never mind that the cigarette packs are labeled with lung cancer warnings. It’s chic and cool to be unconcerned. She says things like, “I lived here when it was called Chinatown, not Dimes Square.”