The clothes you choose to leave the house wearing in the morning are a very personal choice… or are they? The extended influence of social media trends on our decisions raises the debate about how personal style choices truly are. Walking around campus, it is not unusual to see the same jumper or jacket two or three times or someone in the jeans you have at home, breaking the façade of uniqueness. Even if the items aren’t the same, the style of the outfit doesn’t break the mould (baggy jeans and sambas, I’m looking at you). Why is it harder to find a more personal style nowadays, and is it still possible?
Social media influencers mean that we are constantly consuming different fashion possibilities. We see massive hauls of online shopping, and all the items are easily accessible with their “link in bio.” As this type of content becomes more mainstream, more people are seeing the same items, so it is no wonder everyone ends up with the same items in their wardrobe. Only ever consuming fashion in this way makes it very difficult to create a personal brand for yourself that is unique and feels like you. Even if you aren’t buying everything the latest influencer has, all the main shopping brands play into the microtrends, making it increasingly hard to find unique pieces when shopping for clothes.
The rise of microtrends and consumer culture are two of the main culprits for the death of personal style. Trends go out of fashion as quickly as they come in, and they are very easy to grab and then dispose of a month later. With these microtrends hitting mainstream media, they are very accessible to the majority. The fact that trends come and go so quickly creates an exclusivity around the items, meaning if you don’t get it quickly, it’s gone. Lots of people then buy these items to be part of the trend, again reducing the ability to develop a personal style. Is it therefore possible at all to feel unique anymore when it comes to fashion?
There are a few things you can do to start creating your own look. First, and most importantly, is to stop buying into every single trend. Trends happen so much faster today, so it is important not to engage with every single one, to both avoid buying the same pieces as everyone else and also save your money for more unique pieces that you find. Investing in good quality pieces, either second-hand or new, will help you cultivate a more personal style for yourself. This is because you are buying less clothing and having to think about it to make sure you truly like it. Fewer, more timeless, pieces in your wardrobe, with the occasional trendy item, will make it feel like the clothes you wear are more “you” and personal style will not seem impossible.
Photo by Becca McHaffie on Unsplash