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.

Cleanmean spoilt and entitled - absolutely! So many have been gifted expensive household products, furniture, kitchens and the vast majority of a wardrobe!! Are they grateful and own it? No. They have hid it from the very people that have enabled them to live a spendy life they may not otherwise have. Treat the people who put you in such a privileged position (all of them... not just the ones in your little echo chamber) with respect not contempt and perhaps this thread would not be so full of disappointed followers.

The simplest thing surely is just to not wear something gifted. Maybe they don’t have anything that isn’t!

This is unquestionably what I'd do if I was concerned about my account failing the authenticity test.

Yes it may impact on small businesses then, if more people tsrt declining gifts.

@ElspethFlashman I’d like to see more of them support small business by buying their stuff then tagging them. But they probably won’t as there aren’t many things you can buy with an barely worn &OtherStories cardigan..

Yes I do wonder how may of them would be zipping down to Scamp & Dude if they actually had to pay for it.

Though I will say that a tiny amount do put their money where their mouth is with small businesses - Susie Verrill is big into buying from small businesses. She gets gifted things but does seem to buy a lot too. But with her it's a personal ethos. With the others their support may dwindle sharpish if it's a choice between a relatively pricey item from a small business or a bang on trend cheap thrill from H&m.

Of course, there is presumably nothing to stop an influencer from contacting a small business owner when they receive a gift that they really love, and insisting on paying the full retail price for it...

Agree - SV seems to buy a lot from small businesses and often shouts them out. From now on I am only going to follow people who actually create decent and interesting content rather than just take a picture of free stuff or stuff they’ve been paid to promote. With these people I will actively click on affiliate links and support what they are doing with my hard earned cash. Also reconsidering my use of brands who participate in murky influencing. Watched the FYRE doc over the weekend and it has reinforced all of my doubts about the integrity and authenticity of many influencers.

This #adnotpaid sounds very petulant - really as if they think that rules shouldn't apply to them.

@ MaryPoppinjay. Yes. I am really happy to support the good ones through affiliate links - I do appreciate their good eye, their creativity and their integrity. Less likely to click through on a shameless ad with no content just strung together with #bollocks.

I’ve noticed this #adnotpaid nonsense today too. I put it down to a mix of the influencer being a bit thick and also petulant. Is it a deliberate ‘stand’ she is trying to take them? A nice hefty tax bill is what is needed to sort these people!

This #adnotpaid nonsense is a great way to whittle down my Instagram feed.
Any whinging, petulant nonsense about being 'forced' to declare gifts, and they get unfollowed.

BloomingLovely - I suspect HMRC will start to take a lot more interest in Instagram 'influencers' .

I think it is better for the consumer to report non compliant influencers than unfollow them (which is exactly what they want anyone who disagrees with them to do!).

@Bloominglovely yes! Although staying as followers after reporting gives them traction when on the blag. Ultimately we are their bread and butter if they are relying on using Instagram as a source of income. If we know they are breaking the rules and are misleading us are we not complicit in helping them do this by continuing to follow?

They probably don’t mind if 70 people unfollow but if they lost a big chunk of their following this may encourage them to be more forthright and respectful of their audience.

MaryPoppinjay what’s the FYRE doc?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-46995847

It was a luxury music festival heavily promoted by influencers who got paid large sums of money to do so. As it turned out, the whole thing was basically a scam, so badly organised it could never have lived up to what the influencers were endorsing. The main organiser is in prison and it's thought some of the influencers involved might be taken to court now as well. It's very interesting (and also quite funny as lots of the people who went were also influencers and not used to being duped the way they dupe their followers!)

@fancynancyclancy a documentary on Netflix about a music festival called FYRE heavily promoted by huge influencers (paid) which turned out to be pretty much a fraud.
They used influencers to massively hype and generate a buzz for something which basically didn’t exist as advertised. Worth a watch.

Can I ask a silly question that I must have missed from reading the articles?

If an influencer doesn't tag where a product is from, it's just in the background, or being worn but they don't directly say, or tag the shop, do they now have to state this? Or is not tagging shops ok?

@YouWereRight not sure. I suspect it is good practice to be clear on anything gifted/spon in the image, tagged or not. If it’s tagged it needs to be declared full stop.

@YouWereRight but of course this is just to followers. All gifts need to be declared (whether you have used them on Insta or not) to HMRC. Even a gifted (from a brand with the intention of creating a business relationship - not from your Mum... ) lip gloss is a taxable.

I’m a bit unclear as to where the likes of Celebs fall re the ASA guidleines. Holly Willoboughy’s Insta is mainly full of her showcasing outfits that she’s wearing each day with the shops tagged. Am assuming that neither her or her stylist paid for these clothes so should posts like these not be declared as well? Though I’m not sure as what - gift? ad? Or if the clothes are only on loan does it not count? (No idea if the clothes are on loan or not).

Oh my goodness, the amount of passive aggressive postingt about this I have seen over the past couple of days.

Including from one of my favourite IGers, who did the whole 'this is going to affect my content and mean I am going to be posting less' spiel, and then listed a jumper from H&M as being gifted when I had no idea she had any sort of commercial relationship with H&M (who she features a fair amount). Point proven I think.

Who was that onemouse? I didn't think H&M did much gifting, my eyes are opened if so!

Thanks & I do now remember reading about that festival, just didn’t make the link. Will try & catch the documentary.

@SuperstarDJ agree. Loan or not does the stylist/performer get a kickback from the brand? Any transactional relationship should be declared.
Suppose you could argue that the royals (if they were receiving gifted clothing rather than paying) also have a responsibility to declare given everything they wear that is remotely affordable sells out.
The thing is I’ve also known/assumed that celebrities probably don’t pay for much of their own clothing. I had no idea this was also the case with lower tier instagrammers (who I kind of thought were sort of just like me).

@onemouseplace also saw that and was v disappointed with her as had always liked her style and content provision. Really, the only effect it will have on your content will be to try and find stuff to talk about that doesn’t make you look bought... writing an additional 20 words is hardly overtime.