Social Media’s Impact on Fashion

Madeline Epstein ’28, Arts & Entertainment Staff Writer

“Social media is the paradox of fashion.” (Image courtesy of Paulina Castro on Pinterest)

I scroll, I save, I pin. I download, I share, I scroll — repeat. When I get dressed, I open my phone. I scroll, I save, repeat. 

So quickly, we all fall into trends. Who’s wearing what? How do they wear it? Where did they buy it? Fashion has always been a form of self expression, and a trend, something for corporations and celebrities to influence. Now, the number of people who can control how you dress has expanded. This constant influence begs the question, who are you? Trends help you avoid this question; they change too quickly for you to ever have to think about yourself.

Online, you can save, pin, download, scroll and share, but the internet is so catered to you that trends aren’t as overarching as they once were. New microtrends appear every single day. As clothing becomes more accessible, fashion becomes less personalized. Quickly, we claim an aesthetic to distinguish ourselves, but only when we know someone else is wearing the same thing, too. This fear of being either too basic or too unique has only caused more and more microtrends to be created. Now most fashion videos start with “can we bring back this” or “can we normalize that,” but fashion should not be asking for permission. Social media is the paradox of fashion, it only allows for perfection— experimentation is prohibited, but at the same time social media is the vessel that allows people to get into fashion. 

“Honestly, [social media] helped me a lot. That’s how I got into fashion, [through] trends,” Tory Ortega ’28, self proclaimed “victim of fashion trends” (most recently Adidas Sambas), says. To her point, everyone is constantly online. Even if you aren’t seeking fashion out, the people you see online subconsciously affect how you dress, and the moment you do seek it out, fashion is all you see. For better or worse, fashion can quickly become all you consume online. For Tory, social media didn’t only force her onto microtrends, but it also sparked a passion and got her into sewing, which she believes plays into her personal style, “I think if you sew it makes things more unique and more catered to you.” she explains.Tory likes to dress for herself and her friends, not for internet, “I just sewed [this graphic on] on the other day and I was like ‘wait I really want to wear this today because it’s really cute and I want to show it off to my friends.’” Wearing an outfit for the reasons Tory talks about lies at the very center of fashion, not trends. Getting up in the morning knowing that you can wear something uniquely yours, whether you made it or not, is what keeps Tory interested in fashion. When I asked Tory how she would describe her ‘aesthetic’ or ‘core’ she told me “I don’t know what I’m even dressing as nowadays.” 

But truthfully, she doesn’t need to. Tory finds joy in clothes beyond simply getting told what to wear, but don’t mistake her, media and personal style are intertwined. She explains this by saying, “your own style, specific to clothes, is cultivated by the media you consume.” Fashion is understanding what you like, connecting what’s online with what’s offline. “Like, ‘I liked how this girl wore her boots’ or ‘I like this girl’s style for her hair.’ That’s how you create your own personal style. Through a lot of different pieces taken from a lot of different people.” Trends aren’t evil but they can be limiting. They have to be followed in moderation. What is personal to you begins as a collaborative process, it is what you take from that process that makes it fashion.

Fashion is a strange art, it is deeply personal but so widely seen, and it can be easy to disregard clothes as nothing more than a necessity. Fashion is whatever you want it to be.Maybe personal style has fallen generally, but nothing has fallen for the individual. You can always wear what you want. Social media allows you to start, but only you can allow yourself to continue. Dressing is about getting better, making mistakes, and learning. Like all things that surround social media, the way to get the most out of it is to not use it in excess but allow yourself to discover things with the internet. You are not merely a trend, but don’t let that stop you from discovering something new you love. Find a spark and let it shine. Fashion can be whatever you want it to be, so find the joy in exploring your passions.