Nicole Briese re-examines an age old fashion faux-pas in the new age of social media
It used to be that you wouldn’t want to be caught dead wearing the same outfit two nights in a row – a total fashion faux pas. But facebook has raised the style stakes to dangerous new heights. Nowadays it doesn’t matter how long ago you wore that black sequin top, it may as well have been last night, because it’s all over facebook—Forever. Everyone’s seen you in it.
While it is highly unlikely that my facebook ‘friends’ are scrutinizing my wardrobe with the same voracity applied to celebrity wardrobes, the mere potential has caused me to switch up my style with new vigor.
As of late, the very first thing that pops in my head upon dressing for an event or a night on the town has immediately become: “When was I last photographed in this?” Replacing the old-school, “When did I last wear this?” question.
If there haven’t been at least ten outfits between my last tagging in the chosen ensemble, I start to panic. “What if people think I have no clothes? What if they say, ‘ugh, there’s Nicole again, in her favorite sequin top?’
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Further still, a memorable dress or a statement piece that has been worn in multiple pictures becomes nearly off-limits for a season or two. Holidays like New Year’s Eve, are prime examples. You’re out, posing with friends and family enduring clicks from scores of cameras, all taken in the same outfit. The ensuing barrage of facebook tags, and twit pics inevitably make it impossible to repeat the ensemble.
Aside from serving as a justification for my already unhealthy shopping addiction, there is another up-side to the image inundation. My phobia has helped me rediscover old favorites buried in the depths of my over-stuffed closet. Rather than throw on a “new” piece that I’ve likely been photographed in only once or twice, but which has been smeared on facebook like cream cheese on a New York bagel, I‘ll attempt to revamp an old piece by adding a jacket or some new funky jewelry.
Facebook has taken my ability to accessorize to staggering new heights, and it’s forced me to exercise my creative muscles. I’m proud to say a peasant-style blouse in my closet has been styled multiple ways, and each renaissance is unique enough to thwart any potential facebook critics. I can wear the blouse off the rack once, another day I might open the tie-string neck and wear it and loose over a wife beater. And a whole new look is born when it’s peeking out from under a fitted leather jacket. And were I a little handier with the scissors, I’d break them out, slice off one sleeve, let it fray a bit and wear it over denim shorts as an off-the-shoulder one sleeve. Not bad, right? And that’s just the beginning. Don’t even ask how many ways/times I can wear a black dress nowadays.
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Another added benefit to the facebook photo craze, that would surely make Cher Horowitz (who was quite public in her distrust of mirrors!) happy - she’s right; they’re liars. Photos are a far better indicator of how something actually wears, and how others might perceive it. And when confronted with your image through photos on a daily basis, you get a pretty good idea of how you really do look in something.
Maybe I am alone in my facebook photo fears. Maybe I’m not. Regardless, facebook has upped the fashion ante, and that is never a faux pas!
