ticket to ride: reflections on personal style & instagram

We all know Instagram is an amazing platform for many reasons, but one reason I am thankful for it is because it has given me the confidence and ability to express myself though personal style. While getting ready to shoot photos in this printed dress from 405 Story (ps: this dress is currently on sale, you can shop it here: https://www.405story.com/collections/dresses/products/zooey-dress-botanical ), I thought about how my style has evolved since the rise of social media.

My style has been vintage inspired since the end of high school, but I definitely used to downplay my style and dress a lot more mainstream. I remember I started wearing my hair as it is in these photos while I was in college, and people made fun of me or called me "Snooki", so I stopped. It wasn't til a few years ago when I discovered bloggers on Instagram that I realized there were other girls who had a similar style to me, which encouraged me to dress how I really want to, and not worry about other people's opinions.

While having confidence to dress a certain way is great, on the other hand, I often wonder how many people on Instagram have manipulated their style just for the sake of their "personal brand". Of course we all play up our style a bit to illustrate our point of view, but at what point do our outfits become costumes? If there were no cell phones or cameras around to document your outfit, would you still be wearing that? Everyone's style inevitably evolves, but if we scrolled back through your Instagram to three years ago, would we see remnants of the same style? I think it's a fine line between staying true to who you really are and your online persona and how you portray yourself on social media.

Have any other bloggers out there ever felt the same way? How do you express yourself through your style but still stay grounded?


Dress: c/o 405 Story
https://www.405story.com/
Bag: Mint Market: Shoes: Macy's
Location: Northern Liberties, Philadelphia ​