Inside the Closet and Mind of a Fashion Girl who's not on Social Media
What's it like getting dressed without the annoying desire to get a photo in it and post for social media clout and approval? I wouldn't know.
The topic of personal style resurfaces every couple years and always gets the fashion community heated. What is personal style? Who actually has personal style? I don’t want to get too deep into the wormhole, but it got me thinking about who around me I think has true personal style. I’ve gotten to know a lot of fashionable creators through Instagram, but the person I think who still has the best style is my close friend, Ariel Eidlitz.
(Note: for more in-depth commentary on personal style, I suggest watching this video from Mina Le; I also like this Tiktok commentary by @oliviasara_23)
I met Ariel during the first semester of freshman year in college. Ariel was that girl wearing brands like Ganni and Batsheva before they became the “cool it-girl” brands on Instagram. Ariel was the first person who I went thrifting with; we would spend hours in the giant Goodwill near our college campus. I would take note of the pieces she would pick out and think “that looks kind of weird”, but then she would come out of the dressing room wearing it and somehow it looked cool on her. Ariel was how I knew about cool vintage brands like Anne Fontaine and Gunne Sax, and now know to look for them in thrift stores. I would say Ariel has been a big part of my fashion journey and finding my own personal style.
One thing I never understood about Ariel though was why she never posted her outfits on Instagram, not even a mirror OOTD. Certainly a great outfit needs to be posted and admired, right? How else are people going to know I have great style, wearing my vintage Comme des Garçons jacket I got from my Japan trip last spring? Or my DSQUARED2 heels I got on Vestaire Collective? Or my elevated-basics Geel top I got at the NYC pop-up? Or my Miu Miu ballet flats from TRR? Or my vintage 1970’s Gunne Sax gown I got at a random Goodwill? *Insert another fashion niche item* Or was that my social media creator mindset way of thinking? Even friends of mine who aren’t necessarily “content creators” will post on their story if they’re really feeling their outfit that day. There’s just something about the dopamine you get when you see those story likes trickle in. Does not posting alter one’s way of getting dressed? Would I gravitate towards wearing different things if I didn’t feel the pressure to post? Is the key to find one’s personal style, not being on social media?
Inspired by my creator friend, @theraisareyes (who has a great YouTube series where she interviews people about their closets), I decided to conduct an interview with Ariel to get her perspective on fashion as a non-social media poster, where she gains inspiration, and get a glimpse of her most prized thrifted gems.
I guess we'll start with the obvious question. Why don't you post your outfits on social media?
I guess I'm just not really used to taking photos of myself, I don't really take selfies either. I don't know how to take mirror pictures. They always come out really bad, and also I'm always in a rush.
From a fashion creator perspective, people usually share on social media because they want to show off their personal style. Do you ever have a feeling that you want to share that?
Yeah, for sure, some days I think I look really sickening.
So technically you are on social media. You have an Instagram account to keep up with friends and the latest memes. Do you ever use social media to get style inspiration? If so, any particular creators or accounts you love?
I don't seek people out, but if they pop up and I find them interesting, I'll go through their feeds and save things that are interesting for future reference. I like @tinyjewishgirl, she pops up on my Instagram a lot; @saracamposarcone is also another creator that always pops up who I really like.
Can you give a quick history of your fashion journey?
I used to hate fashion when I was younger. Well, I just hated shopping because it was never pleasant for me. But then when I was in middle school, something just clicked, and I decided I liked shopping. Maybe because I was able to pick out my own clothes. Then I started looking through fashion magazines and I would bring them with me to sleep-away camp and read them. And I would notice people on the street and what they were wearing and keep them in the back of my mind.
It seems like you don't take too much inspiration from social media. Have you ever been influenced to partake in a microtrend?
Yeah, definitely especially back in my college days. I remember I wore fishnets under ripped jeans because that was the thing back then.
I did that too.
I also bought those like chunky rings from Mon Cher Moi. I don't wear them as much, but I do still think they're really cute.
I just try to be a more mindful of it now because I don't like to buy stuff that I'm probably not going to reach for. I also buy a lot of my stuff secondhand so it's a little hard to follow microtrends when you are buying secondhand.
On the topic of buying secondhand, when did you decide that was the direction you wanted to go?
Um, when I heard that Macklemore song, Thrift Shop. I had never really been thrifting before so my perception of vintage clothing was that they were always so expensive because it was all designer pieces. But then I had a friend in high school (her name was also Ariel) who was really big into thrifting (this was the same time the Thrift Shop song came out) so I kind of started going thrifting with her. She showed me her favorite spots in the city and I still shop at them to this day, ten years later. So thanks Macklemore and Ariel!
Nowadays, would you say you shop more in person or online?
I think it's a pretty even mix of both. I'm a little more cautious about shopping online because I am so lazy when it comes to returns. So I try to be more selective and only buy things where I can see the measurements because if it doesn't fit, the odds of me returning it are so slim. Overall, I think it's pretty even since I do really like to go shopping in person, especially at stores where they have one-of-one pieces because I just love digging. It's like searching for treasure.
I know you've collected a good amount of designer clothing so what brands/designers do you really love? And how did you first discover them because I feel like you were an early adopter of many of the cool it-girl brands now, like Batsheva, Ganni, etc.
I think I saw some celebrities wearing brands like Batsheva and I was like, oh, they look really cool and obviously I looked into the brands. My first Batsheva dress I got for like $40 on this website that I don't think exists anymore, but that was such a proud moment for me.
Another brand I really like is Courrèges. I had first discovered the brand on the show, The Nanny. Fran Drescher, who plays the nanny in the show, is one of my biggest style inspirations. I saw her wearing this neon green Courrèges set, and that really inspired me to start paying attention to the brand and collecting their pieces. There's an Instagram account called @whatfranwore that documents every outfit Fran wore in the show. I would browse through it and then I'll go on Gem.app and search up the brands she was wearing.
I feel like every time I see you, you're wearing something I haven't seen before because your closet is that massive. What's something that you do actually re-wear a lot?
I have this Blugirl Blumarine cardigan set that I wear constantly. I got it at a consignment store on Long Island.
What's something in your closet that you refuse to get rid of even though you never wear anymore?
This Coach bag I got for my birthday in middle school. I just don't have the heart to get rid of it. I always tell myself I'm going to wear it but I never do.
These Coach bags are so in now again.
Right? I should wear it again. I'm not a big bag changer though, I have like two or three bags that I cycle.
What's been your best thrift find?
Definitely this Blumarine top that was featured on their 2002 runway that I found at a random Goodwill in Binghamton. It was only five dollars!
Personal style has always been a hot topic in the fashion community, especially recently. What does personal style mean to you?
I think personal style just means wearing stuff that makes you feel good. Obviously it's not bad to follow trends and to get inspiration from social media but to find something that you really like and makes you feel confident is what I think personal style is. Whether it's "clean girl" aesthetic, vintage, a mix of a bunch of different things, when you put it on you should feel happy and good about yourself. I think that's something that is a big part of my personal style. I don't really have one word to define it because I haven't stuck to just one style or genre of clothing. I’ve been able to not put myself in a box in terms of what I choose to buy. It can be vintage or modern, or just all over the place and no matter what I wear, I feel very unique because I just buy what I like.
the courrèges jacket collection i SCREAMED!! so good!!
Wearing what you like is so important; otherwise you’re going to exhaust yourself trying to keep up with all the trends!
I’m still a fan of fishnets underneath ripped jeans. If a trend looks good, I’m not going to stop wearing it just because it’s phased out