The Inbetweeners: Not the TV Show

 

When you’re scrolling down your Instagram feed, how often do you pause to think, “Hey, I look like that!” On the other hand, how many times do you think, “I love what he/she/they’re wearing, I just don’t know how it would look on my body?” 

More often than not, Instagram influencers and their incredible styles are relegated to thinner people; not necessarily size zero, but the lithe and slender figures of Kendall Jenner-esque figures. Most of us don’t look like that.

When we think “curvy,” we think of the Kim Kardashians and Kylie Jenners; their body types are also lean, but with fuller hips and chests. Most of us don’t look like that either.

When we think “fat”––which is, by the way, not a bad word––we think of Tess Holliday or Lizzo; their body types are not lean and often demonized, but you already know that. Most of us don’t look like that either. 

We love representation, and body positivity is only one part of it. We want to look on a screen and relate to the people we’re looking at. I, for one, love looking through style inspo on Instagram; finding new ways of pairing x with y, or styling x with z. What I don’t love is only seeing these outfits on people who don’t look like me, because they inevitably don’t look the same on my body; whether that displeases me or not is a separate discussion, but it would definitely be nice to have a realistic idea of what I’ll look like when I try certain trends.

We all want to see different shapes and sizes in the media, bodies that deviate from the convention of a socially ascribed “good body.” However, we often forget that those of us that don’t look like Instagram influencers are also allowed to want to dress well, to have our unique, trendy sense of style. Fortunately, more and more “midi,” “inbetweeners,” or midsize influencers—often wearing sizes 10, 12, or 14––are coming along. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for any stylists of any size, but the appeal of a diversified feed and realistic models is undeniable. For the last few months, I’ve made a conscious effort to look for influencers as diverse as I can find, exploring styles radically different from mine. It’s definitely spiced up by my Instagram scrolling, and I think it will yours too.

In the following list, I hope you find at least one person who either dresses or looks like you. And I hope they inspire you––to either dress more freely, or live more freely.

1. Francesca Perks (@francescaperks)

A more colorful Y2K aesthetic, Francesca destroys the notion that prints and light colors only look good on thinner people. Side note: Her room is gorgeous. 

2. Winnie Parker (@winnieparkerr)

Real and unfiltered, Winnie’s style is simple and classic. Her wardrobe and her feed, however, are enviable.

3. Joanna Pincerato (@joannapincerato)

Y2K princess meets modern minimalist, Joanna is proof that your Pinterest board looks phenomenal on everyone. 

4. Lauren-Nicole (@laurennicolefk)

A contributing curve editor for Cosmopolitan UK, do I need to say any more? No, so I have only one word: glam. 

5. Sarah Kim (@iamsarahkim)

Sarah has the modern minimalist look down. Classic nudes, beiges, and browns, her feed is the dream Tumblr aesthetic.

6. Ishini Weerasinghe (@ishiniw)

Proof that the Desi and Western aesthetics can coexist, and look sexy as hell––together and individually.

7. Holly Ah-Thion (@thekittyluxe)

You probably own at least one of the pieces she has but have just never thought to pair it like that. Holly’s nailed the girl-next-door vibe, with a prettier feed to accompany it. 

8. Rosa (@rosariummm)

“I Only Wear Black” is a song from The Wombats and that’s all it should be. Rosa proves time and time again that you can be hot and fat and wear more than just black. 

Hot tip: Her Depop store is incredible and incredibly affordable. You’re welcome. 

9. Javiera (@javiera)

Her tattoos, her make-up, and the way she mixes vibes. Also, her Youtube channel has phenomenal style inspo, Instagram advice, and brutally honest confidence tips. 

Bonus feature to round out the list, my current crush: Mikayla Klewer (@mikaylaklewer).

And a reminder: You can wear whatever the fuck you want, whatever size you are, and whatever you look like.

Thumbnail via.

 

Get The Look, or Maybe Just Look

Among the plethora of trends that Tumblr gifted us during its heyday, collages of celebrities’ style are some of what sticks out in my mind the most. Stemming from long-standing magazine and internet blog motifs—certainly, “steal her look” has remained a staple of celebrity culture—the collages stick in my head due to their distinctly sporadic organization, text and arrows, and side by side comparison with whichever celebrity the collage is breaking down. Notably, such uniquely-2010s graphic design was present in various other internet fashion trends, such as the “starter packs” trend Alexandra Fiorentino-Swinton discusses here.

Most recently, the trend has found new footing on Instagram. Choose your most favorite celebrity, and it’s likely that a fan has created an Instagram page for their ‘style’ or ‘closet’. But is this desire to know what celebrities are wearing a form of fashion FOMO, or is it an evolved form of the ever-growing "stan" culture of our time?

With just a few scrolls throughout these types of accounts, the reality that you are looking at a celebrity's wardrobe becomes quite clear through the captioned prices. Like with most luxury items, it is often surprising to realize that they bear the luxury price tag, so when you read that Beyoncé is wearing nearly $14,000 on a random summer day, it is both completely baffling but also not surprising at all.

Although such extravagance might be expected of Beyoncé and celebrities of her caliber, taking a look at the comments on a page for Timothée Chalamet shows a different perception from commenters—many of which are taken aback by the lofty price tags to his streetwear. These pages are a good litmus test for how fans view celebrities, and whether or not they admire their lack of frugalness.

Not all pages revolve around a single person, with some devoted to specific TV shows such as The Bachelor(ette). While the contestants on these shows will become celebrities in their own right, it’s clear that some of the pages exist simply out of an appreciation for the art of fashion hunting.

These types of pages may be seen as the epitome of “stan” culture, given their tendency to become detective networks for the smallest details of a celebrity’s life. It’s not uncommon for the tiniest of accessory to be found, or for background objects in their homes to be searched for. Both are usually done with rapid speed, as the existence of more than one of these pages for a single celebrity creates competition for who can find the items faster. The glory that comes with finding a piece first is valuable within fandoms.

Some pages are at least self-aware enough to be comedic about some of their postings, like this Lana Del Rey page:

Noteworthy is the post's caption, which thanks the account’s followers for helping with their posts. Indeed, a crucial part of these types of accounts is the collaboration between fans to find the pieces. This highlights one of the reasons why Instagram appears to be the perfect vehicle for this genre of fandom: accounts can ask for help on their Instagram Stories without clogging up their official, highly curated feed. Such a function is more difficult on other social media platforms where calls to action like that would have to be posted then deleted frequently.

While accounts dedicated to finding dupes for celebrities’ clothing are also prevalent (though often these accounts double up and just post dupes now and again, since dupes are rarer to find), the more time you spend scrolling through them, it becomes clear that the appeal of these accounts has little to do with actually wanting to steal someone’s look. It is more often an extension of a fan’s admiration—the desire to know every last detail about their idol. Other times it's just another way to look at expensive and shiny things, which just happen to be worn by people we admire. This mix between fandoms and social media has created a new vein of window shopping that is sure to not fall out of fashion any time soon.

Featured Image via here and here.

A Small Conversation on At-Home Photography

No, no. I will not give advice on how to shoot the perfect Instagram post while you are chilling on your couch. Consider this as a gallery of what has been done for the last couple of months (the writer realizes that ‘the last couple of months’ is about to add up to a year. gasp.). Or at least a grasp of what I have seen on my feed, on the sites, on my gallery, etc.

I am not one who likes to share much on social media. Yet, I travel (was traveling. These in-parentheses writings are starting to make me sad.) a lot within the boundaries of my city. And as I discover a scene that is worthwhile to time-capsule into my memory card, I would just hit that button that makes my phone go “click.” Sometimes it was a silhouette of a friend, sometimes a pair of old Levi’s filled with soil and used as a wallflower. Yet, the thing to notice is that these moments were either aesthetic coincidences within friend meet-ups that I didn’t want to forget or things that I happened to see while wandering on the street that I would probably vaguely recall if I hadn’t shot. Now, that I don’t have the option to sail beyond an approximately 1 km radius of my apartment, having those discoveries got harder. That’s when I started to dig deep into my home.

Apparently, it is not only me who turned her head inside the four walls. At-home photoshoots are getting increasingly popular -or, perhaps they were already popular. Whichever way you want to believe. Decreasing the number of crew members and allowing people to stay in-doors, it is definitely the safest choice of this virus-ruled era.

The shoots I’ve seen usually consist of one to two models and home-departed props. The majority of the compositions focus on the beauty of our homes, on how much more we can do at our homes, or on the basic chores of daily life, as most of the artists are currently revolving around these topics. The rest are again the appreciation of home life, yet in a more artistically composed way.

At first, it was hard for me to find things that were worth shooting. I played with shadows on empty, monochromatic walls. Then, I tried placing the aesthetic-enough objects that I discovered in the closed doors of wardrobes into a composition of cacophony. Later, I dressed up and used myself as the focus object. I tried shooting the sky. The people I see from my window. The park. The bird that nested on the balcony… The list goes on. I definitely kept myself busy, definitely trained my mind to find something worthwhile to look at in the borders of home. I am happy that I am somewhat developed in Photoshop.

However, would I trade the outdoor shooting? Nope. 

nOPE.

Thumbnail image via Su Karaca

Spotlight Time Deserves Your Follow

I don’t know about you, but I love discovering a good fashion Instagram. This summer, I stumbled across Spotlight Time while writing for a small fashion and lifestyle publication, and I’ve been in love ever since.

Ofri Cohen, a 30-year-old midwife-in-training from northern Israel, started the account in 2014 as a platform to showcase the work of as-yet-unknown designers and creatives. Cohen grew up on a kibbutz, and magazines were the only access she had to the fashion world. Even without exposure to the physical inspiration of fashion capitals like New York, Paris, and Milan, Cohen fell in love with global style, and that love eventually translated into Spotlight Time. The account now has almost 230,000 followers.

One of Cohen’s biggest success stories happened a few years ago when she began posting images of Shahar Avnet‘s designs. The Israeli designer’s pieces caught the eye of Beyoncé’s stylist, Zerina Akers, and her assistant DMed Cohen to ask for Avnet’s contact information. It was really the only thing Akers could do. I mean, just look at these freaking c o l o r s! the tulle! the embroidery! I swoon.

Since then Beyoncé has worn Avnet’s designs more than once, and many other creatives, including Zendaya and Elizabeth Moss, have discovered her as well.

In case you needed more convincing that Cohen is someone you should support, let me give you some more background. She’s been running her account, consulting for Italian Vogue (connecting up-and-coming creatives with the magazine and writing profiles of artists she’s discovered), and simultaneously working towards a degree in nursing. She hopes to be a midwife, and sees similarities between that role and the role she’s created for herself with Spotlight Time. Her hope, in both pursuits, is to make a positive difference in people’s lives.

I am always surprised by the content she features, my horizons continually expanded, and it gives me hope for a fashion future that is innovative in ways I cannot even imagine. Let Cohen improve your life. Go give Spotlight Time your follow. You won’t regret it.

Images via (1) (2) (3) (4) (5), thumbnail image via (1)

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CD3JwtQpPCg/

Feeds to Follow: @pimplesandprada

This week I had the pleasure of speaking with @pimplesandprada, arguably the most exciting of the recent wave of archival fashion/pop culture accounts with over 3,000 posts and nearly 50k followers. I use the qualifying terms “archival” and “fashion/pop culture” with the utmost liberty, as the account’s curator, Madison Potter, notes that her page might more aptly be called a moodboard which contains at once pop-culture memes, paparazzi photos from all of the great moments of the last 30 years, film stills, and even photos of the curator herself. Asked about the inspiration for the account, she relates; 

PimplesandPrada curator, Madison Potter. Image Via

PimplesandPrada curator, Madison Potter. Image Via

“So in high school I was super into tumblr (like I’m talking 2013-2014 tumblr, the peak!) and I grew a large following there. But, as tumblr died and people moved on I didn’t have anywhere else to get content. I hated pinterest (don’t know why I love it now, no hate on Pinterest) but I’ve always needed this sort of expression I get out of creating mood boards. I got really into photography which led me to looking at editorials, fashion photography books, and photographers. Again, I hated Pinterest so I had this envelope on my phone where I kept all my inspiration. I had an iPhone 5 with NO storage (rip) and eventually would have to delete personal pictures to keep my inspiration photos. I decided to just make an instagram account as a place to keep these photos. That’s how it happened, I didn’t even know about other “mood” accounts or anything.”

PimplesandPrada feed at time of interview. Image Via

PimplesandPrada feed at time of interview. Image Via

Given away in the very name of the account is the fact that the Potter’s favorite designer brand is Prada, and, being based in Chicago and now finishing her senior year at Columbia College with a bachelors in advertising and a concentration in strategy with a minor in fashion, one can understand the attraction to Miuccia Prada’s chic, metropolitan practicality.

Potter crossing the street in an all black outfit, punctuated by a classic Chanel double flap. Image Via

Potter crossing the street in an all black outfit, punctuated by a classic Chanel double flap. Image Via

For those who just became followers, @pimplesandprada is definitely worth stalking, but the future of the page is just as bright as the past; concerning future content Potter says, “Well, more of me! Before COVID19 I was pushing styled content and more photos of me! I had to take a pause on that, but you’ll definitely be seeing a mix of my current content and photos of me after the stay at home order is lifted!” 

So, unable for the time being to admire fits on the street, @pimplesandprada is a wonderful way to stay inspired.

Put on something comfy and browse @pimplesandprada. Image Via

Put on something comfy and browse @pimplesandprada. Image Via

Featured Image via

Source: https://www.instagram.com/pimplesandprada/