In the digital age, personal style has changed due to individual expression and societal conformity. With social media, fashion blogs, and digital influencers, personal style has grown from a private personal matter into a public spectacle.
I believe that personal style doesn’t exist anymore, so you see similar outfits on everyone. We can’t make up our minds. We let everyone and everything inspire our outfits. It’s hard for us to put our twist on things.
This transformation in fashion has democratized fashion, making it accessible to us globally, while also imposing new forms of conformity throughout our lives. Our style is based on algorithms. The pressure to fit in within the digital age is based on algorithms.
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The Evolution of Personal Style
Early Days of the Internet:
In the early 2000s, the Internet democratized fashion. Platforms like MySpace allow users to share their style with a broader audience. This period marked the humble beginning of digital self-expression. Individuals could explore and showcase their fashion choices beyond their social circles.
I was quite young at the time, but when the Internet came out, that's where our self-expression and style went downhill. In the 80’s they didn’t care about what they were wearing. They wore it for themselves because they liked it.
The Rise of Social Media:
Moving onto the mid-2000s we saw the rise of Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, which further expressed personal style. These platforms allowed us to share in real-time all of our fashion choices. This is creating a culture of public validation.
Influencers began to emerge, which set trends and shaped public perception of style. These platforms emphasized aesthetics, which led to a surge in creativity and experimentation.
Social media is something so powerful when used right. Influencers can reach us, and create new ideas and trends. These influencers inspire us and they inspire our wardrobe. Whether we know it or not.
When influencers show us an outfit or convince us to follow a trend we trust that they know what they are doing. We trust that the aesthetics are going to make us popular and well-liked. We trust them with our style more than anything.
Social media caused scrunchies and Hydroflasks to spread across the country. For almost a year scrunchies were bought and used as bracelets. Hydroflasks were bought left and right.
Girls didn’t care whether they were real or not. They just want to fit in with the other girls.
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Fashion Blogs and Vlogs:
Along with social media, fashion blogs and YouTube channels became popular. Bloggers and vloggers offered a more personal and detailed look into their style choices. This provided inspiration and advice to those struggling to discover their style.
YouTube vloggers shop for us, and they give us a review of the clothes we desperately want to own. Sometimes, we go to YouTube to get others' opinions or validation. Their opinion helps us decide if it’s truly worth it to purchase the clothes or the item.
E-commerce and Fast Fashion:
The growth of giants like Amazon and fast fashion brands such as Zara and H&M made trendy clothing affordable and accessible. Online shopping and social media worked together, users could easily purchase items that were featured by their favorite influencers. This convenience contributed to the rapid turnover of trends. This pressures individuals to constantly update their wardrobes.
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The Conformity of Personal Style
Algorithm-Driven Trends:
Social media algorithms play a huge role in shaping personal style. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok use complex algorithms to promote content that aligns with the current trends. The desire for likes, shares, and followers often drives individuals to conform to these popular trends.
Influencer Culture:
Influencers hold a considerable amount of power in the fashion industry. Their endorsements can make or break a trend, and their style choices often set the standard for their followers.
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Brand Collaborations and Sponsorships:
Brands frequently collaborate with influencers and celebrities to promote their products. These collaborations present an ideal version of personal style that is so aspirational and so attainable.
The influence of these campaigns can lead to uniformity in style as individuals strive to replicate the looks of their favorite influencers. That’s why when you go out, you tend to see similar outfits and shoes amongst similar groups of individuals.
Fashion Forward Advice
The digital age has transformed personal style into a complex design between individual expression and societal conformity. The combination of technology and fashion has provided new avenues for creativity. It has introduced new pressures for us to conform.
The digital age has created so much for us. Our style is a direct representation of social trends; not much of it is our own. You can step out of the box and add your spin to things. Try shopping without thinking about others and their opinions about your new outfit. Think to yourself, ‘Do I like this.’ If the answer is yes, add it to your cart. I try to do this every time I shop. It can be hard. I’m sure you’ll find an outfit that is so out of the norm that people will start following you.
