Why your recreated Pinterest fit doesn't hit the same
What Pinterest taught me about personal style, and it's not what you think.
Don’t get me wrong, I have a board called “fits” where I pin all the outfits I love so I can later look back to find wardrobe gaps, or recreate certain looks. But that only takes me so far, it’s more of a formulaic approach. When I am getting dressed for the day I want to feel like me. And a copy-paste Pinterest fit simply cannot achieve that.
I am a strong believer in manifestation and trusting your gut. If someone lays out a deck of tarot cards, best believe I am taking the time to hover and really feel the gravitational pull of the card I am most drawn to.
I treat Pinterest with the same intentionality and presence. I use the same practice of intuition and instinct when deciding which images I should pin.
My board, “monday moodboard”, is full of beautiful imagery that simply spoke to me.
You’ll find of course outfits, but more importantly the energy of the person wearing them, patterns, food, art work, drinks, landscapes, interiors. It’s all about the vibe. When getting dressed I want to emulate the energy of my Pinterest board.
For me this looks like adding dots of colour like the funfetti latte I have saved, or wearing a softer more feminine dress inspired by Xi Pan paintings, or being more intentional with the smaller details like jewellery.
Then it comes to reflecting on the images. Why did I like this? Why was I drawn to it?
You’ll start to learn more about yourself through this process. For example, I found I was drawn to artists like Rothko and Gustav Klimt who utilised colour throughout their paintings. So, even though I’ve never intentionally studied fashion or colour theory, my outfits seem to subtly incorporate the palettes of these artists.
Through this reflection I also realised I started to pin a range of landscapes that reminded me of home - sweeping blue skies and green grass covered in flowers. These colours repeatedly show up in my wardrobe.
Likewise the interiors that I pinned all had this eclectic, lived-in feel. Elements of patterned wallpaper and animal print chairs started to show up in my closet whether though the fabric of a jacket or the silhouette of cool jeans I thrifted. It’s even down to the fact I had started saving handheld fans which translated to my wardrobe through the embroidery in blouses.
Use Pinterest in this way and you’ll slowly start to develop a cohesive sense of style. Now, if you were to scroll my board, you’d probably struggle to find the streamlined sense of style I’ve been talking about. But this is exactly the point. I know that the invisible string tying all these pins together is the emotion that they excite in me.
Personal style is personal for a reason. It is an accumulation of your lived experiences.
There’s a piece of you in how I dress. Take it as a compliment. - Cherry
Ultimately what I am trying to say is get out! live! reflect! Ditch the TikToks or Instagram carousels telling you how to dress for summer - or at the very least sit with it and ask yourself what do you actually resonate with.
Use Pinterest as a reflective exercise and you’ll find yourself drawn to images that remind you of home, a friend, a place you once visited, or a moment in time you want to relive. How I dress is how I present myself to the world. My closet is full of clothes I collected while travelling, thrift treasures, and staples that have stood the test of time. No replicated Pinterest fit could express that.
Trust your instincts.
Ella xx