Is Social Media Killing Personal Style?: The Digitally-Induced Decline of Individuality
*Article from Lexington Line Spring/Summer 2024 Issue, pages 22-23
Check out the full issue here
In the past few months, we’ve seen the Mob Wife Aesthetic, the Office Siren, and the Eclectic Grandpa on social media. What could possibly be next?
Social media fashion trends threaten to destroy the last vestiges of unique personal style—users, it seems, get more out of being included in the latest craze than by defining one for themselves.
The technological advances we see in today's world are amazing, but is it crazy to think that, even with the emphasis on individuality, everything we do, we do to fit in? With the constant emergence of new trends and “cores,” how does one find their own personal style?
Everyone is going to have their own take on what constitutes personal style, but half of those takes probably don’t have it.
“Personal style is not following one particular brand or going to the store and having the associate dress you head to toe,” says Banu Reynolds, a former stylist and current professor at Academy of Art University. “It’s mixing and matching brands, taking inspiration from your culture, your environment,”
Most style articles will say it is something you hone and curate over the years; as you learn more about who you are, it will be reflected in your style.
It takes half a second for the social media platform of your choosing to generate what you enter in the search bar. I am personally guilty of being on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok searching for “outfits with ballon skirts” or “how to style_.” Every outfit we wear doesn’t have to be recognizable, but it also doesn’t have to have to be some well-kept secret. Social media homogenizes, but it also gives us access to ideas and products that we otherwise would not know existed.
“Social media puts a bigger scope on personal style,” says Ricky Tegarden, owner of the fashion brand Thursday. “Being able to see millions of different styles could push those consuming the content in both directions: becoming less original, or pushing you to try new things and take them to the next level.”
As a fashion brand owner, being aware of these trends is vital to success, Tegarden says.
“Part of the job is being creative enough to participate in different trends—putting my own spin on it and seeing how my audience reacts to what I come up with,” he says.
If the shoe doesn’t fit, don’t wear it. In this context, we can consume trends online without having to participate in them. It is okay to be selective with trends (I don’t see myself skipping on anything plaid) or to find small ways to integrate them into your eternally-developing personal style. Try things that resonate with you and give you confidence, not that match to a T what you see on your phone - that will keep your personal style alive.
“Fashion is a trend. Style lives within a person”