Why can't I look like the women on my Pinterest board?

[ethelfleda]

I have a huge board of outfits. Thought I'd cleverly picked a nice summer capsule wardrobe. Organised all my drawers and wardrobe etc so that I would only have these pieces to wear in the hope I could look stylish every day. Put on the clothes and the outfits just don't look the same. Where am I going wrong?

Slightly light hearted obviously but do you have any tips to really 'pull' an outfit together?

You fried is Photoshop, the strange easy your skirt hangs alter it etc

Do your clothes fit perfectly? Not well, but perfectly. I bet that's the biggest difference. Depending on where you are getting your pins from - bloggers will spend ages finding the exact right jeans. Celebs will get clothes tailored to fit perfectly. Models probably have the clothes pinned behind their back.

Also, are the details of the items you have right? The right materials, quality, drape, fit, etc. There can be a lot of difference between two outfits that are both just jeans and a t-shirt, depending on these small details.

Because the photo on Pinterest is the best, most perfectly posed photo they have of that outfit, whereas actually wearing it in RL it can't always look like that. Plus it's probably heavily processed and filtered on top of that.

Wear what you really like most and what feels like "you" and makes you feel relaxed and confident - that's what will make you look your best.

Adding accessories/details can also pull a look together - e.g. painted toenails, jewellery, a scarf, cool shades, amazing bag. Again if you have something you love along these lines, wear it to make you feel good. I have some funky white sunglasses that make any outfit seem better.

Why would you want to look like anyone from Pinterest as mentioned above they've probably spent hours fining the "perfect" pose, filtered and photoshopping. It takes the fun out of fashion but if they are making money from it it's in their interest to make it look amazing.

I had a similar conversation with my hairdresser yesterday.
She said it's mostly wigs and hair cuts which look good for about 10 mins before the regrowth starts!

Are you standing on your tip toes, one leg bent, looking down at the floor with your beachy waves all pushed to one side? The clothes are fine You’re just not posing properly.

Also, you are a real life woman, probably somewhere in the 5-6ft range not a 2in tall one.

My point is that miniaturizing something hides a lot of the things that are more obvious when everything is to scale. Plus also, mini=cute.

For a start, practically all the photos on Pinterest feature insanely high heels. I would not be able to walk in those so every time I save a picture for inspiration, I have to factor in the fact that it will look very different on me just because of the heel height. Also, unless you're specifically looking for plus size, the models are likely to be model-thin (size 8 or less) rather than just averagely thin (size 12 or so). But I think also you have to bear in mind that most of those photos are taken by very good photographers. I was recently on holiday with a friend who is a serious, semi-professional photographer, and her pics of me were so much better than any anybody else has ever taken, not because she was trying to "flatter" me specifically but because she really thinks about the light, angles and backgrounds.

Also, we all put ourselves down all the time, and I suspect that even those of us who don't do it openly are still instinctively more critical of ourselves than other people, at some level. When was the last time you thought, "Wow, I look really amazing today!"? If you never do, chances are those models don't either, in fact they are probably super critical of themselves because they're in such a competitive business where looks are everything. Other people will think you look good if you look comfortable and as if you're enjoying yourself!

Are you 5'10" and size 8? Do you have an army of hairdressers, make-up artists, stylists, photographers, specialised lighting techicians and the rest? No? That may have something to do with it
Remember your wedding photos? Remember the effort that went in to that day? You looked fab I bet. There you go. You too can look Pinterest worthy. Just have time, nothing else to do, and all the above artistes to help you do it. Oh and yes, 6 inch heels!!

I always end up ordering clothes based on what the model looks like. Forgetting she’s a size 8 and prob 5’9” tall. I wonder why I don’t look like her when I wear the clothes as a size 14, 5’3”