The Instagram Effect and Five Ways to Fight It

You know that feeling you get when you scroll through your Instagram feed and see pictures of girls all posing in the same hotspot restaurant and wish you were eating there?  Or an unrealistically tanned and toned Instagram couple traipsing on a private, tropical beach somewhere hand in hand, and next thing you know, you’re looking at flights?  Or back to the same group of girls all posing together in the middle of a Parisian boulevard or New York City avenue, oddly dressed the same, and finally that urge kicks in where you tap on each of their profiles looking for the links to their outfits?  Yeah, that’s call the Instagram Effect.  And it’s bad.

What is the Instagram Effect?

Simply, it’s the influence of our spending habits through Instagram.  Booking more trips, eating/cooking the most picture-worthy meals, and of course, shopping for the trendiest clothes.  I can’t really hate on people expanding their horizons with more travel and culinary tastes, but it breaks my heart to see all the WASTE we are influenced into buying.  Fashion blogger influencers dominate this market, but sadly most don’t realize how the unrealistic constant rotation of clothes (seriously, most never wear the same thing twice!) has been the number one cause in the rise of fast, and now ultra-fast fashion.

What Do We Do?

The good news is, unlike social media highlight reels, conscious fashion is inclusive for EVERYONE!  Choosing to live more consciously benefits the entire planet because it helps the environment (you know, our deteriorating home), it disrupts the terrible cycle of human rights violations in clothing factories, and it helps save money in your wallet so you can book those Instagram-worthy vacations! 😉  Here are five ways you can fight the Instagram Effect:

  1. Appreciate What You Have.  My life mantra ‘gratitude is the attitude’ plays a big part here.  In the last year and a half, I’ve notably cut down my shopping habits, by choice, and have really learned to appreciate my capsule-esque closet as it is.  And for all you Marie Kondo fans out there, choose to keep what sparks joy!
  2. Try A Capsule Closet. Now I’m not totally living off a capsule closet, but I have learned to stick to a neutral color palette I enjoy wearing and re-wearing.  Do I still get that urge to invest in another pair of black skinny jeans?  Yes!  But do I do it?  No.  I’m very happy with the two I’ve kept in my closet.  Plus, it’s just so much more chic to have a more minimal, neutral closet.  Case in point: Gabrielle CoCo Chanel.
  3. Invest In Better Pieces.  You can read all about how I invest in pieces on my millennial budget HERE!  But think about it, wouldn’t you rather have a basic white shirt that stayed intact for years instead of buying a new one at Zara every few washes?
  4. Try Closet Sharing.  Rent the Runway is the ultimate source for your never ending closet!  And if that doesn’t work, there’s always thrifting and resale!
  5. Learn How To Accessorize.  And now for my ~*lEwk*~.  What do you notice about the following photos??

I’m wearing the same thing!!! Same jeans, same sweater, same boots, same bag.  I only switched out the sunnies and added a leather jacket and voila!  If you’re really observant, you might even recognize that I’m wearing the same jeans, boots, and bag as my last style post HERE.  Why does this work?  Because I’m using timeless pieces in classic colors that I’ve invested in and look good on me—and I can re-wear as many times as I want and still look fierce AF!

A few years ago I was busting my wallet and accepting all the clothes-for-posts trades I was offered.  But I became so overwhelmed looking in my closet and I realized how unrealistic that was!  Fashion week commences this week and I know a lot of street style bloggers have invested in new looks per day, some even multiple ones, but I’m here to encourage you to not fall victim to closet-FOMO when scrolling through your Instagram feed.  Don’t fall victim to trends (which you already know how I feel about anyways, ugh) that will end up collecting dust in your closet in a month or so.  Don’t feel bad about re-wearing what you actually love!  Own your closet, own your style, but don’t let the Instagram Effect own you.  And in case you missed them, here are a couple more pictures I had already posted in my ~*lEwk*~:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsLfL9Tg1e5/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Br50ivSg7_P/

Kisses,