Fashion is everywhere in person and online, but we often see the same clothes and fashion as what clothes are available to us at our local store. Social media and online shopping have changed the world of fashion for people to find their niche in the fashion world.
With emerging social media, many new fashion trends and aesthetics have emerged to being known as “core” fashions being aesthetics and subgenres of fashions found online through niche communities. A few more well-known are cottagecore and normcore. But other fashions have gained a community or a resurgence recently due to the growing accessibility to the communities and the fashion online, such as Grunge, Streetwear, Y2K, Dark Academia, Decora, and lolita fashion. With many different subtler and wilder fashion communities being more accessible, this has caused diversity in fashion we are seeing in person and to have communities in person, such as local communities of people who celebrate and wear their fashion. I have found this to be my experience with my journey into being interested and invested in lolita fashion.
Lolita fashion is a fashion movement having started in Japan in the 1980s, being an anti-society movement to represent a women’s aesthetic by taking elements from the Victorian and Rococo eras of fashion, being light and flowy with ribbon and lace embellishments. Due to social media and online shopping, lolita fashion has gained an international fan base that celebrate the fashion by having groups online share their coordinates (also know as outfit of the day) and share news of the latest trends from Japan and Japanese brands. Social media has allowed for small communities within different areas in the world to come together to celebrate the fashion, from California to Ottawa, ON there is a community of this niche fashion to be found.
Thanks to social media, I was able to find some images of lolita fashion from Japan and just had to know what this fashion was and where I can buy my own dresses. I was able to put together my own outfits and meet people online who share the same passion for the fashion as I do and be able to meet people in person, allowing me to make new friends. While I can be comfortable with this fashion in my own community, I still walk out proud in my fluffiest dresses in public to show off the amazing niche fashion of lolita fashion.
Social media has allowed for amazing new fashion trends to grow and for new unique fashions to emerge changing things up in how we all look resulting in a unique experience for everyone. Do you think some of the wilder fashions should stay online? Has social media made you want to experiment with your fashion aesthetic?
Facebook: Niche, Unique and Oh so Chic! How social media has changes fashions aesthetics for everyone. https://bit.ly/3txVIV7
Twitter: Niche, Unique and Oh so Chic! Niche fashion trends in your local communities, oh my! https://bit.ly/3txVIV7
References
Ruane, E. (March 11, 2021). From Cottage To Norm, We Breakdown Every Core Aesthetic. Refinery 29. https://www.refinery29.com/en-ca/2021/03/10359510/core-aesthetic-fashion-trends-tiktok
Nanra, P. (January 18, 2022). 10 Types Of Fashion Aesthetics To Showcase Your Individual Style In 2022. Grazia. https://www.grazia.co.in/fashion/10-type-of-fashion-aesthetics-to-showcase-your-individual-style-in-2022_-8802-1.html
The Paris Review (2017). Lolita Fashion. https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2017/05/25/lolita-fashion/
Algonquin College Social Media Certificate Program 
I cant say social media has influenced my wardrobe asthetic or my “fashion” but I do get tempted to buy the new in style shorts or t-shirts or the famous tiktok commercial on my page, “true classics” but a lot of these ads I see are talored to my style already so a huge change hasn’t happened yet for me!
I’m what you say, fashion-inept. I see some trends or images that occasionally find there way onto my social media feeds, and while they look interesting enough, but never seek out to try them for myself. I like comfort and what is known to me (i.e. jeans and t-shirts), so not I don’t think I’m one to be influenced by fashion social media trends, particularly the niche trends, but I’m aware of them. Like my little comfort zone of social media (romance books, mostly) you can stumble across some interesting surprises and find something new and exciting (like Loita fashion, or in my case a book by an author you never heard of). And I liked your comments about social media making communities more accessible for people. Accessibility is something I think a lot of people take for granted, and social media has opened the world to people to experience and find new thing, including unique fashion trends.
I think social media actually has somewhat influenced my fashion in that I’ve been a little more adventurous in how I style my pieces, but without changing what I love wearing, which is sweats! I especially loved that so many clothing stores started making and marketing more loungewear during the pandemic! It was a little hard to venture back out into normal clothes again but I did it! lol