Instagram style bloggers

[Mabelshouse]

I follow a few and I have to say I have found them useful at times but it bothered me….how many clothes do they actually need???? Are they all free? Do they send them back?

I am getting to the point where I am ‘fGS not ANOTHER maxi dress???’. Also they all share the same stuff so it gets boring, and how do they find the time????

I’m hoping in a few years time we will have evolved beyond this point of ‘needing’ middle class women to tell us to buy yet another prairie style dress from M n S, whilst they swish around their massive SE London home. It’s so vacuous and wasteful.

They have the time because that's all they do - they get the clothes sent and also charge for a campaign or per post. Most have management/PR. Yes, it is free when it's an #ad, and I think a lot of them eventually sell the stuff.

Some seem to have jobs though. Teachers etc.

Stop following them? They are utterly pointless.

Yes I realise I can unfollow. I just can’t believe them at times.

I think there's a difference though between professional influencers and teachers who post outfit photos. The latter are just women who like to shop (like me!)

Basically if they have followers in the thousands and seem to post a lot about one brand, it's an ad.

You need to get yourself on Tattle Life forums. Your eyes will be opened.

I've always been obsessed with clothes. Recently I started following Instagram style bloggers. I began buying loads of neutral clothes (blazers etc) because that's all I saw on Instagram and I wanted to look sophisticated like them. I ended up spending a huge chunk of my months salary and then I realised, these neutral coloured clothes are not me. I have always loved bright clothes so I've decided I'm just going to dress how I feel and in colours that make me happy and not follow trends anymore. I've even unfollowed all those style bloggers and I'm not happier in my dress sense.

I meant I'm now happier in my dress sense.

All the waste is really bothering me. Even places like Baukjen that promote their eco credentials, texting me with promo codes for holiday wardrobes. I know they are a business and sometimes I do actually need new clothes but don’t waffle on about saving the planet while also trying to push me into spontaneous spends.

Everything is about selling now, there's no style talk or philosophy to any of them. Around 12 yrs ago I used to read a few minimalist or hiking related blogs, but after everyone migrated to instagram, the dialogue shut down and the consumer element shot right up.

One young woman who made excellent hiking vids had a blog and youtube that was really popular, she discussed so many topics relating to the hobby, the clothes, nature, maps and conservation. She eventually became a mega-popular instagram influencer and only show pretty images now with links to clothing sites. It's just become meaningless and empty. I don't need a blogger to tell me how to dress when it is blindingly obvious they receive monetary encouragement to recommend things. It isn't quite authentic, is it?
These are just regular people who made a good bit of money out of instagram, and I kind of feel sympathy with the levels of invasion into their daily lives, how they will have to perpetually struggle to find content. It must take up one hell of a lot of headspace.

The hiking blogger eventually had a child, and whilst their lives look enviably fine, it just feels like a conveyor belt of consumerism and sponsored lifestyle 'family' stuff. "Hey, we are so blessed to have been gifted this awesome new car!"

Let's be honest, it isn't content anymore, is it? It's pure and simple lifestyle envy promotion.
Envy fucking sells, more so than sex.

This was inevitable - the young women become insta-famous, then marry, buys home and crowns the achievement with a child. Suddenly the blog switches to motherhood, and all content surrounds the baby, with an earth-lover approach, that has very little do do with the original content that made them popular. Now pass me the artisanal wooden toys and get outa here!

The moral of this longwinded post is: It is the fans who create this storm or pointlessness. People who salivate over their every post of whatever it is they feel blessed about today. In fact, the word 'blessed' has just about lost all it's meaning out there....

And yes, it will be creating one hell of a lot of waste. And this hits home for me personally, as the blogs I loved were ironically about addressing that very problem.

But not anymore.
I am also intrigued by the 'van life' solution to the current housing problem. What a joke! Like people living hand to mouth can afford a fucking giant camper and live off the land with 4 kids.
Mmmm, One would have to have a current address for a bank account, job and various other 'on the grid' related things, such as....internet. So no, they are not living wild and dangerously, they are likely using mum and dad's address as a base to piss around camping with various gifted luxuries every weekend. And why not?

And the fashion bloggers - I don't follow any of them, I prefer Japanese otter videos but I see the same thing unfolding there. What does make me laugh is how often vacuous consumption is excused as girl power/feminism.

It's mad. The absolute worst ones are those who say "loads of you (yeah right) have been asking where I got X - here's a link". So they don't even tell you where's it from but make money on you clicking the link.

I like following stylethislife on Instagram. She’s mostly about clothes (plus exercise, family, and teaching). BUT she limits how many clothes she buys, she rewears everything all the time, and still looks good. Also useless_dk. I’m sure there are loads more who are stylish but promote rewearing over buying new.

I find them all pointless as they’re so unrelatable size wise. Either teeny tiny or really plus size, and the more “midsize” all have tiny waists and big hips which is the opposite of me. If anyone knows any apple shaped size 14/16 ones I’d be interested because I’ve only found one and her style isn’t my cup of tea usually.

I love Tattle for the Alice Evans threads. Can you recommend a thread or two about influencers that will I will enjoy. I like having my eyes opened!

I've stopped watching a lot of the instagram posts too, I like the ones now who show how to wear clothing you already have, in different ways,

I do like domybumlook40, she wears a mix of high street and high end, but when she do a post with say tu at sainsburys, the clothing shes promoting you never see her wearing again.

I’ve just been deleting loads from my Instagram. Basically anyone doing a ‘haul’ of clothes. It isn’t ‘in’ for either cost or environmental reasons!

Hardly surprising, she's being paid to wear clothes she hates.

I'm sorry to be the one to tell you - there's no way on earth that DMBL40 is going around dressed in Tu clothing in real life!

I've had to come off Instagram as I realised it was having a significant impact upon my mental health and self esteem.

I found that I was constantly evaluating and comparing myself - wardrobe, skin, (lack of) nice holidays and activities etc. I was buying far more than I needed to as I was being "influenced" and feeling that my actually very nice life, family and nice clothes werent good enough.

I am incredibly embarrassed that I got swept up by it all as I am mid-30s and generally very sensible but being in a fairly dreary, corporate job with little time to shop or do the nice things I enjoyed pre-DC made me really vulnerable to it all.

Actually seeing the amount they all consume is quite horrible and yes, they definitely all resell stuff - I have bought a few things on Vinted/ Depop and realised that the seller has a big Instagram following and was selling something they had worn once for a photoshoot.

Sorry, realised that was all a bit deep but it is really toxic and manipulative. Nobody needs as many clothes as they are shilling.

She's not!

www.gleamfutures.com/kat-farmer

This is her page where she's basically for sale. Everything she promotes is smoke and mirrors. It's kind of a fascinating industry really.

@p1n3apple I know, that's why I am going to stop following her and others, I love fashion , and as I said people like, use less, showing how to wear the clothing you have differently , are the one's I will follow.

Oh man there are so many! There’s one for the aforementioned DMBL40 of course (she’s a racist) but honestly I’d just do a search for anyone you’re familiar with from Instagram and get stuck in. I could never keep up with the AE threads but I’ve seen people refer to her, sounds crazy!