Are we being influenced or inspired? I always think about how much media we consume on the daily. With Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and other platforms, we are exposed to a mass
amount of ideas and opinions. If you consider how we are influenced, it blurs the lines of authentic style; however, by choosing to be inspired, you can take bits and pieces of what you see and transform them into a personal expression.
I think back to when I was first discovering my personal style, and all I can recall is a lot of scrolling on Pinterest. I think the majority of us love to use this amazing app. I would spend hours putting collages together of my favorite outfits and becoming so excited to go shopping the next day. Scrolling on Pinterest turned into long thrifting trips with my girlfriends, and then taking photos for Instagram to see that I was starting to make my Pinterest board come to life. I realized that I had been inspired because I took action in making my Pinterest boards come to life, and I made them uniquely my own.
Now if I were to see a diva out in the streets wearing a fabulous pair of leather boots, and then I decided to buy the same exact pair, would that be because I was influenced or inspired? Would I have to reinvent the idea of leather boots to say I was inspired? That would be stupid because leather boots have been here longer than me and that diva. So I would say I was also inspired by seeing the boots being worn out in the streets.
Now what if you entertained the idea that being influenced is just a sad way to say you have been inspired? An influencer is inspiring their followers with new ideas and products. Vogue is inspiring the fashion world on what's in. And Kendrick Lamar is inspiring the wearing of flared denim. Are we all being influenced or inspired?… I would say it depends on how you look at it.