Butter yellow? Groundbreaking.

Our cultural lexicon has expanded to include many descriptors for what we are seeing. Brainrot. Slop. Doomscrolling. Microtrends. All around us, at an unprecedentedly rapid pace, we are seeing a constant turnover of hyperspecific items that collect gargantuan levels of attention for the briefest periods of time, overhauling the traditional trend cycle from a leisurely 20 years to what feels like mere days or weeks.

What we are collectively feeling is near-universal: living within each of us like a ball of lead in our stomachs is an emotion somewhere between existential dread, annoyance, and frustration — an emotion directed at trend victims because we see them as willingly helpless to what appeases algorithms while still holding an arrogance and false sense of authority in fashion.

While frustrations may be justified, we are looking at one symptom that is a byproduct of a greater issue.

Research is a lost art, and so is the translation of research into original work.

We aren’t utilizing a key step in the process of being inspired. There’s a process of translation and introspection. Inspiration without introspection is just regurgitation of the ideas of others. It is, at best, lazy. At its worst, it’s theft.

We rob ourselves of the process and joy of being inspired when we skip straight to replication — the dissection and digging for reasoning behind why something appeals to us is the raw, emotional, oft-neglected step in the creative process.

Taking inspiration can happen in a series of stages, which we will review together:

• Gathering

• Granularity

• Identifying Patterns

• Extraction

• Introspection

We are allowed to love things that are trending or viral, and with the volume of things that explode in popularity these days, it’s inevitable that something is going to catch our eye and excite us. The sweet spot exists in a balanced diet of curated, thoughtful choices that are original to us, paired with the things that may be “basic” or viral that actually speak to us on a personal level. It’s not about being the most original person in the room (a pursuit that backfires, as you may likely see scrolling through Substack); it’s about knowing yourself on a deeper level and making confident style choices.

The cultural emergency I see is in the pattern recognition we all experience when we scroll. We are witnessing, in real time, the diminishing of creativity in the pursuit of algorithmic reward. So many of us are no longer engaging in creative risk, but following a sublingual instruction manual out of fear of public embarrassment and failure. When we operate online in that way, that fear can extend to real life, dressing ourselves in what is considered trending or “safe” because our fear of negative public perception has been reinforced by vicious comment sections and the quantitative treatment the internet has given to our creativity.

We can’t change the medium and its behavior — expecting the world to quickly change for our own comfort only disarms us in our power. Personal responsibility and mindfulness in how we digest the content and art we see is what mobilizes us from doomscrolling our way to dressing like everyone else.

It’s far easier (and more realistic) for us to choose to use our brains and leverage this digital overwhelm as a creative tool rather than sit, hands folded, waiting for things to change for us.

In other words, the brainrot will always exist. We can’t eliminate virality and trends and force every single person on this earth to come up with something original that’s never been seen on a for you page (it’s impossible anyway). What we can do is seize our own creativity and expand the things in life that inspire you into something more unexpected and bespoke.

Let’s turn the things that pique your brain’s interest into your own unique and original approach to your style.

Gathering

If you are someone who is creating a personal style completely from scratch — let’s say you are looking for a self-reinvention, or perhaps you have always gone with the safest choices or what someone else told you was best. Perhaps you were caring about different things in your life and this wasn’t a priority until now. Maybe you felt like you never had permission to be the person with a personal style. Maybe you internalized the idea that there was something noble and virtuous in not prioritizing your wardrobe, that caring about fashion is superfluous and vain (a product of misogyny and branding fashion as a “women’s interest,” which we will get to later down the road).

No matter your circumstances that led you to starting from the beginning, there is zero shame in being a beginner to building your own style.

If I were to start from scratch, this is exactly what I would do. And this is what I’ve done in many seasons of refining and reinventing.

If you genuinely have no idea where to start, it’s likely your brain already knows.

I want you to open every “saved” folder you have. Whether it’s on social media, or perhaps you save things on The RealReal or have a shopping wishlist that’s a mile long. Dig into your screenshots. Your “On Repeat” playlist on Spotify. I want you to take all of these digital graveyards of things that have meant something to you in the nanosecond you saw it and take a good look at it all at once. We hoard all of this beauty to “come back to later” and a lot of us never do. It’s time to unearth everything and look at it now.

Granularity

Now that you have all of your resources in front of you, I want you to start to gather details. Here are some things to look out for:

• Materials — not only fabrics, but also hardware and other solid materials that you may see outside of fashion, such as furniture, art, or interior spaces

• Shapes — look out for sleeves, waistlines, pant lengths, cuts of clothing that come up in your favorite images. Are there a lot of sharp lines or are they more obscured?

• Colors — write down the most dominant colors you see when viewing this as whole

• Lighting/environmental conditions — do you like what’s being shown or do you just like the way it’s filmed?

• Attitude/appearance — do you like the clothes or do you like that person’s hot and confident energy? Are the clothes something YOU want or does it flatter the person wearing it? For the terminally online: is it a fit or is that person just skinny?

• Brands — are you seeing the same designer or brand show up in different places repeatedly? Are there pieces from that brand that speak to you even more than the ones you are seeing on social media?

• Old vs. new — what is the ratio of vintage to new that you’re seeing? Can you translate that ratio to how you curate your closet? Say 70% of what you save is new and 30% of what you save is vintage. You now have a structure for how to balance your collection.

Identifying Patterns

This is what I consider to be the most fun part of the creative process when it comes to translating your references into your own personal style elements. When you identify common denominators of the things that speak to you the most, that’s when your instruction manual for your signature look starts to take a more tangible form.

Looking at the details gathered in the last step, look closely to see where things overlap. Repetition of the same colors, materials, brands, cuts or shapes — these are clues for what you may subconsciously love without realizing. Deepening our investigation further, can you identify a comorbidity of certain details with the types of images you are seeing them in? For example, are you seeing leather pieces styled often in photos that convey edge and rebellion? Or are you seeing leather juxtaposed with softer details, such as lace or silk?

Details like this are important to think about because, in addition to clueing us into our style, they can also be reflective of our own internal dialogues. A collision of tough and soft materials may be reflective of two sides to ourselves that are at odds, or perhaps coexist in harmony.

Extraction

The most difficult step for a lot of people is the process of separating what inspires you from the rest of a body of work. This is why we see rampant accusations of plagiarism online, or why we feel like we are seeing the same type of image or outfit over and over again.

Something replicating or referential can be artful, but the key is that it should be out of respect and reverence rather than ego. What I mean by this is that, instead of wearing undigested versions of the creativity of others (for example, just running out and buying the exact same pieces as someone else and wearing them together the same way), we need to become more curious and observant about what actually thrills us about what we are looking at, and challenge ourselves to find ways to do it from our own angle.

Let’s extract an image together.

I loved this recent photo of Harry Styles for Ludovic de Saint Sernin:

It would be really easy for me to just go out and try to make a carbon copy of this, which would result in me looking like I am trying to be Harry Styles and would likely annoy everyone involved in making this beautiful image.

But when I look closer and take the time to digest what I am looking at, here is what I actually see that speaks to me personally:

• Mongolian fur trim

• A great jacket cut and length

• Soft, filmy texture on the image

• A lighting setup that spotlights the face and flatters the body

• Reminders of other things I love, such as glam rock or Hedi Slimane for YSL

Then there are things about it that aren’t my personal style that I see:

• I’m not a Harry Styles fangirl

• I wouldn’t necessarily wear these pieces together

• I don’t have a body like this nor am I attracted to men

• I love this jacket but it’s unlikely I’ll be buying it right now

I can love and admire this image while challenging my brain to expand on what I love, which could become:

• Wearing my Mongolian fur coat I already have, but in a more glam rock way

• Trying a lighting setup like this for something completely different

• Looking at other photoshoots that are in this style (like Hedi YSL) and seeing what I like

• Keeping an eye out for other jackets cut like this

• Shopping Ludovic de Saint Sernin’s collections to find something I love even more

Your split second of dopamine from one image suddenly becomes a wealth of offline creativity.

Introspection

In preface of this next section: It’s okay to love things other people love.

Approaching trending styles with introspection and mindfulness is going to give you a sense of autonomy over your style that will shine through. Rather than conveying a look that you’re chasing a trend, you will be embodying the trend because you like it and know why you do.

Some questions to ask yourself when you see something that’s becoming widely shared that you are tempted to buy:

• Why do you like this specific trend? Is it a cut that’s flattering? A color you enjoy?

• Does it evoke a specific emotion in you?

• Does it represent a culture you’re a part of or something you admire?

• Is this reflective of a stage in life you are hoping to be in?

• Is this a choice made out of aspiration or regression?

I would also like to briefly deconstruct the idea of template identities that trend online (e.g. “the chic girl” “the cool girl” “the avant garde fashion girl”) — are you comfortable existing in a premade monolith that has a laundry list of personality and shopping prerequisites? Some considerations to make before you run out to buy what “all the cool girls are wearing”:

• Does this imaginary identity someone created online look like a reflection of you?

• Is it only defined by what you own or how you look?

• What pieces of this theme do you love and what can you leave behind?

• How does this make you feel? Empowered? Inadequate? Performative?

• Does it represent something you were aspiring towards?

• Is this something crafted to sell you shit online or is it an observation of people who already exist?

• What would happen if you took snippets of this that felt authentic to you and applied it to your newfound personal style foundation?

A difficult reality that we rarely admit is this: being yourself takes effort. The empty suggestion to “be yourself” is the worst advice we give to children and young people. Being yourself in a world of digital overwhelm is already a huge feat, and it requires time to think about who you are outside of the realm of owning things.

To then be able to translate your personality, interests, values, and emotions into a physical manifestation on your body is an even greater challenge.

To get this hyperspecific in our own investigation of our style may seem trivial or overkill, but it makes a world of difference in curating and editing our wardrobes.

Example: Turning an overexposed trend into something fresh

Let’s say you have a trendy couch that you’ve saved for forever that you’ve hesitated to buy because you’re worried it will look dated in a few years. For the sake of example, let’s say you’ve had your eye on a bouclé couch. You haven’t made a purchase because you are thinking forward to a time when everyone inevitably seems to move on to the next trending couch (say, zebra print chenille, not to be passive aggressive). One option, which is completely valid, is to buy the couch outright and not give a fuck because you love it, and you know that your love for that couch expunges any future possibility of your house looking dated.

Another option is to dig into how that beauty you see in the bouclé can extend to other elements in your style. Look through other things you find beautiful or have wanted to buy: are there other soft textures? Have you enjoyed bouclé in other designs, such as a chair or a coat or a zipper pouch? Write down “soft materials” and “bouclé”. Collect a few other elements you love — perhaps you love structural bags or slouchy sweaters or tiny little bralettes. Can you imagine a collision of something unexpected with the materials you love? Suddenly something fed to you a million times by a sponsored ad becomes your own unique point-of-view. A flash-in-the-pan trending couch becomes a bouclé collar on a winter coat. Or a white brushed cashmere sweater. Or a custom-made bag.

It doesn’t have to be the most unique thing on earth, and you may just genuinely like the couch.

But now you can make a purchase that feels like a product of your own perspective and pursuit of self, rather than one that’s sheepishly followed with “yeah, I know everyone has it now” and a sinking feeling that you’ll eventually grow to hate what you once loved due to its overexposure, and your wallet is a victim of a rapid trend cycle.

—

P.S. — A personal example, as some extra credit

When I first did this exercise I was eighteen years old, sleeping on a futon because I couldn’t afford a real bed, a giant XX poster taped to my otherwise barren wall, and a room strewn with clothes from the thrift store (hence why I couldn’t afford a real bed, every dollar I scraped up waiting tables went straight to the only things that mattered to me at the time, fashion and live music). I loved everything that I had, but there wasn’t a cohesive style that felt authentic to me just yet.

Like every other teenage girl in 2014, I was feral for Alexa Chung. My Pinterest was clogged with street style shots of her at New York Fashion Week, photos of her in the front row, paparazzi shots of her with Alex Turner. I was your quintessential Tumblr girl in a now very familiar narrative, loving the same things everyone else loved online. That era of culture was widely beloved for a reason: because it was genuinely good shit. But why did I feel it was genuinely good shit on a personal level?

I wanted to get to the common denominator as to why I loved this person and their style, so I looked at my own behavior of saving and reblogging under a microscope. What did I love about THESE outfits? THESE images? What are the granular details, none too small, that are actually triggering my interest?

I noticed multiple images of moto jackets, peter pan collars, leather, vintage fabrics. I saw purposefully unkempt hair (which mine always was at the time) and minimal makeup. Slowly I realized that I’m not making an idol of the person I’m seeing, I’m subconsciously seeing beautiful elements in these images that I enjoy and want to create in my own style.

Even right now, 12 years later, as I write this, I am wearing many of those same elements that I loved back then. I found the first foundational elements of what my personal style was.

My point is this: I didn’t have to become a bootleg Alexa Chung to emulate what I loved about her. I didn’t even have to wear anything she was wearing at all. I was able to recognize patterns in what I loved about one person’s style and find ways to make it my own.

To get even more detailed: some other elements I discovered were important to me in my life were Japanese fashion (a byproduct of my Harajuku fashion culture obsession as a kid) and oversized, near-jumbo design choices. Suddenly my liking for peter pan collars that first came from my Tumblr days led to a first Comme Des Garçons purchase, a white button down shirt with their signature dramatic, oversized peter pan collar. Instead of stopping at the first jolt of inspiration, I allowed myself to follow a journey towards discovering pieces that spoke to me on multiple levels. That shirt has now hung in my closet for eight years.

These tiny details may seem insignificant in the moment, but they can cause a chain reaction over time that trains your eye to uncover beautiful things that are a collision of multiple facets of your point of view.

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