If you see me fag out these outfits again … no you did n’t .
Hello! My name’s Alana and before I started writing for BuzzFeed, I worked a range of roles in the fashion industry — from running a fashion magazine to buying for Bloomingdale’s in the Big Apple to working in wholesale sales for Michael Kors Canada. Here I am on a freezing day in Montréal…still gettin' that fit pic:
And thrifting is my favorite pastime — so many stories that live within old clothes! Here I am in my Grandma’s dress from the ’70s. I love that this dress brought us both joy decades apart, and I can bring her presence into 2023, even though she’s not with me anymore:
And while I like to say I still keep pretty up-to-date on trends, I’m naturally growing a little out-of-the-loop on how the youths are dressing. But on TikTok, I have been made well aware that the Y2K revival is in full force, as well as the most recent viral trend I’ve been seeing: “Pinterest Board Dressing.”
The trend started with Gen Z TikTok creator Jackie Li, aka@arcticjackie,who shared aviral videowhere she guides viewers on how to dress like they belong on a Pinterest board. Her voiceover has since been picked up and recreated by hundreds in the app’s fashion community. In the video, she lays out six easy steps on how to create a Pinterest look, which is kinda like a “vibe sandwich,” as she calls it. Steps below:
She told BuzzFeed, “I wanted to create this sort of ‘Pinterest girl’ step-by-step look because, as someone who takes a lot of style inspiration from Pinterest, I wanted to see if there was some sort of ‘outfit formula’, so to speak, to easily create Pinterest-worthy outfits without thinking too hard.”
I kind of love the idea of a step-by-step guide to dressing. And while I don’t normally dress by the instructions of layering different styles (like basketball shorts with a prairie top), which I’d say is a pretty Gen Z way to create outfits, I think the idea can be interpreted quite a few ways.
Soooo, I tried it out for myself for a week, creating seven outfits in total. I deconstructed each outfit for y’all, following the six-step process Jackie laid out. Here we go!
1.Outfit #1: The process
Outfit 1: Result!
2.Outfit #2: The process
Outfit #2: The final result! Featuring a new accessory.
3.Outfit #3: The process
Outfit #3: …and the result!
4.Outfit #4: The process
Outfit #4: The result — a 2020s take on business casual.
5.Outfit #5: The process
Outfit #5: …and the result! Giving flight attendant vibes.
6.Outfit #6: The process
Outfit #6: The result…an outfit to wear to the bar or club or evening festivities.
7.Outfit #7: The process
Outfit #7: The result…an amalgamation of many of the other outfits!
Overall, dressing like a Pinterest board for a week taught me a couple of things. First, it’s nice to have a bit of a “formula” when putting together outfits. I found myself gravitating towards similar “mismatched” combinations as I experimented, like a fancier skirt and a casual tee, that made it easier to get dressed each morning.
Second, it was sooo much fun experimenting with my closet and seeing what I could come up with. I know I have a fashion background, but I truly think anyone can try this out! It got me out of a rut of outfits that I repeat over and over again, and I used more of my closet, which leads me to my last learning…
Pinterest dressing is sustainable! When I had a formula to dress each morning, it became so much easier to visualize and utilize what I had already, rather than feeling like I needed to go out and buy something new to match trends that will eventually pass. And, more than 50% of what I wore in all these outfits was already thrifted or second-hand (everything second-hand, thrifted, or repurposed is starred!), so it was amazing to see those visualized, proving that cool pieces already exist — it’s just about they are styled.
Overall, I’m kinda loving this Pinterest dressing formula, and I think everyone should try it out! I taught myself how to rework so many pieces that I previously overlooked, and now I feel like I have an entirely new closet filled with so many new outfits to wear. Let me know if you try it out, too!
If you see me wearing these outfits again…no you didn’t.
