Can we chat about fashion Instagrammers/influencers..

[Cherrypie32]

..because I don’t have anyone in real life to carp about it to. So, I follow a few, am addicted to the stories/feeds of some but don’t always know why. The ‘high end’ ones, The Frugality, Dress Like A Mum, Emma Hill etc pop up but quite designer and high end for me. I like the ramblings of Does My Bum but I’m nothing like her body shape so don’t wear her clothes. There are a few more ‘high street’ ones I follow, Steal My Style, What Kathy Did, Forty not Frumpy and more but they tend to be repetitive. Is this because they are so heavily sponsored to flog something? At the moment they are all banging on bout All Saints leather bikers and maxi skirts. And they all copy each other so there’s not much new to look at. There are a few I follow with nowhere near the amount of followers that seem more creative and have different body shapes so I presume that they have more liberty to do this as aren’t under afflilate deals.
I don’t need advice to ‘unfollow’, I enjoy looking at it all, just interested in how it all works really.

[ChardonnaysPrettySister]

I've given up on the mumstagram accounts and follow the ones who at least don't pretend they are just like us.

Wardrobe Icons, Net A porter, various designers and retailers - at least I know where I stand with them.

[Eesha]

Agree about Stylemesunday and the finger however I do like a few of her outfits!

[KimchiLaLa]

Just went on stylemesunday and yes the finger thing is weird. I don't like the idea of glamourising flipping the bird!!

Monikh is very unique, I like her. Of course she does sponsored content too but her style is very different. I've worn more colour in the past few months because of her inspiring me to.

[AtHomeInFrance]

MidlifeChic is wonderful. She really writes well, not just the usual formulaic tosh that accompanies the sales pitch of some of them. Have followed backofthewardrobe since she had a very small following - hope she doesn't sell out now she has a larger audience. MOD/FOD are the very definition of salespeople. The Insta dynamic is such that people don't often unsubscribe so it will be interesting to see if their numbers continue to rise and how their engagement stats play out as we become more and more aware of the negative impact of flogging your kids for a quick buck.

[SuperstarDJ]

I still like The Frugality and Wears My Money.

Have stopped following the likes of My Fashionable 40s and pretty much all she wears now is either #gift or #ad.

The whole insta thing as also put me off some brands. Hill & Friends, for example, is massively expensive but they seem to have sent their bags free to literally hundreds of bloggers. Every other one at some stage has been wearing a hill & friends bag tagged as #gift. It really cheapens the brand imo. No way I would pay £800 for a bag if they so readily send it to so many bloggers for free.

[championquartz]

Agree with SuperstarDJ. All the gifting does cheapen a brand for me. There are some footwear companies that do it too - can’t remember the names - really cheapens the brand, and they’re usually quite expensive brands.

I do like wearsmymoney. She also does it well.

[ooglyboo]

I follow DMBL40, frugality, erica davies and fashion lift. I started out wanting to see what they wear and how they style things. I am now totally put off by the sheer amount of stuff fashion lift and kat farmer have! Just never ending me clothes! For me it feels wrong. But also weirdly compulsive to watch. And the things they wear offer little inspiration. Frugality and erica davies have made far more effort to engage with sustainability issues which must be hard as it's basically a straight contradiction with the business model. How to make money by influencing people to buy more when sustainability required buying much less? A conundrum i would think. Kat farmer seems to just ignore it!!

[PeroniZuchini]

I agree ooglyboo, it’s one of the reasons I had to stop following. The sheer level of consumerism and general disposability of the clothes made me feel a bit sick. It’s so at odds with the whole ethos of sustainability too. 🤮

[MulberryPeony]

I found mintlabel after pinning dozens of outfits and realising it was the same person. Lots of repetition of the same basics but with different colour combos (mostly neutrals/b&w). If you like we are twinset you might like mint.

[MulberryPeony]

That should be mint label all one word

[Pagwatch]

The best thing in the world is following some of the women who follow and copy the insta influencers.
I know it’s mean but watching people copying the studied photos of coffee cups pressed against fashionable jumpers and the endless pigeon toed photos - middle aged women trying to present like beguiling teenagers is so good for the soul. The exasperated teenagers knowing they are being posed for mums grid
It allows you to sit in your fav jeans and t-shirt playing hungry hippos while watching muppets Christmas carol instead of having to pretend you are having a quick game of chess before you swan off to a swanky party
It’s life affirming

I know I’m mean - don’t message me

[JessicaPeach]

I follow a few but I agree they've evolved so much that I'm not buying anything they post about anymore, it's too far removed

I noticed that about the all saints jacket as well but I think that's because that particular group are all friends, I came to one through the other so I end up seeing their same content on a few feeds. One who I really like is 40plusnotgivingup I feel like she is almost having a bit of a wrestle with herself at the moment though as her account is getting very big and it must be hard to stay true to h&m etc while other brands are throwing gifts at you

[mamaslave18]

I’m so bored with most of the instagrammers! I used to like DMBL40 but it’s all Ads and free holidays these days. Her outfits seem to be getting more and more OTT as well. I think she looks a hot mess most of the time and must elicit stares when out and about dressed like that.

I’ve started following thingsineedinmywardrobe. Not very exciting but a lot of her clothes are things I would wear and from places I can afford like Zara. Not everything she wears is new though so it can be frustrating if you like something and discover it’s years old.

[Pagwatch]

I follow #averagesizedgirl which I love
It’s just mostly ordinary women putting great outfits together and looking brilliant regardless of shape, weight, ethnicity etc etc - no type but just women looking like they feel great

[ChardonnaysPrettySister]

I don't think I'm leading the kind of life where a stripy sequin skirt counts as a neutral.

Sad, really.

[Pagwatch]

Yep Chardonnay

[strangerthongs]

are there any instamums who have a job other than instagramming / blogging etc?

I'd like to see a mum who manages to stay fashionable, great make up, keeping a nice house, whilst working and raising kids.

All the mums I find on instagram have instagram as their job which makes it easier to portray the perfect life.

Is there anyone on instagram who actually really manages all the above whilst doing a mundane away from home job?

[ooglyboo]

I think the having a job thing is interesting. That's why i find relatively few influencers inspirational in that sense - i just don't lead a life where the outfits they post are relevant on the whole. Not their fault obviously and i am sure there are plenty of people who disagree. I am totally fascinated by DMBL40's evolving look though, especially who else is buying all the dresses and maxi skirts. I would look like a toddler trying on my mum's clothes unfortunately. I know criticism of this type is not seen as sisterly but i would add that i am criticized ALL the time in my job and do think that is part of working life. But the most interesting thing is for me the sustainability thing. I see some like frugality trying to square that circle which i really respect but it must be hard and ultimately limit earnings.

[Mrs9C]

The advertising has changed the vibe and the style, so boring now

[Mrs9C]

"are there any instamums who have a job other than instagramming / blogging etc?

I'd like to see a mum who manages to stay fashionable, great make up, keeping a nice house, whilst working and raising kids."

yes! This!!

[JuneFromBethesda]

I liked your post at 17:23 Pagwatch 😄

[HeffalumpsnWoozles]

My biggest disappointment has been 40plusnotgivingupyet as for the last few weeks it’s been the same items linked over and over, bikers being the worst! I enjoyed Helens account up until recently and the only thing stopping me unfollowing is her personality.

DMBL40 lost me some time ago as her purchases aren’t anything you could wear without feeling ridiculously overdressed and out of place.

[SingingSands]

I l

[SingingSands]

I like to follow mylillookdiary. Partly because I know her in real life! She's always had a unique style, shops mostly in charity shops and has great fun with her clothes. She's very petite so deals with that in her outfits.

I'm not brave at all with my everyday fashion, but I did put together something a bit different for me in the summer and she said it inspired her to do a similar "outfit of the day". I was very flattered!

Another I like to follow is vintage_dahling as she handmakes most of what she wears and upcycles vintage materials and clothes. Unique and lovely to see some originality.

[Cherrypie32]

//Heffalumps agree 40plus was one of the ones that inspired me to write this post! Literally the same old links to H&M, Office and All Saints on loop and then she starts with the bloody ‘Bon Vintage’ t shirt and jewellery cloning about 10 other grammars I follow. I quite like her stories but she hasn’t inspired me for months now.
It’s interesting to me that most of the big players only work with a handful of high street brands, consistently Zara, H&M & New Look & Top Shop.Then they get a bit of stuff thrown at them from Brand Alley or similar. As a forty something size 16 I tend to have to look further for quality cuts and outfit inspiration.
I noticed a few of them felt the need to comment about the sheer amount of clothing they promote/buy/photograph a little while ago after Stacey Dooley did that programme about fashion waste but seemed to revert quite quickly but they wouldn’t have a job without it would they.