These are only a few videos of a larger trend from one social media platform, Tik Tok. All of these videos begin with pictures of the creator’s younger self with a caption along the lines of “I will never have the confidence to dress in a way that expresses me”, then to pictures of their current self that show their individual style, and even though is can be seen as subjective, a happier and healthier version of themselves. This is a rising trend on one platform, but it translates to other social media apps as well. With only a 10 second long video, these people, and a larger population, are expressing their relationship with fashion and identity.
@womanlover4life me before i came out is scary
♬ new person same old mistakes – </3
@luvjessicablair 13 year old me would be in awe of 23 year old me and that's enough to keep me going
♬ new person same old mistakes – </3
@r.u.b.y.c exposing myself in the first one
♬ new person same old mistakes – </3
@maxxragan confidence levels 📈📈📈📈
♬ new person same old mistakes – </3
@nikki.harajuku Lil me would be so proud 🥹 #trans #bayarea #glowup ♬ new person same old mistakes – </3
Many of the creators were able to find ways to represent their identity, whether that be a more adrogynous look to express their gender identity, to escaping the constricting societal norms by dressing in a manner that makes them feel good and recognized.
These videos tackle a few key aspects to our central problem. It is able to demonstrate social media’s impact on fashion and identity construction. By sharing these videos and their journey on social media, it invites conversation of style and trends and dressing in a way that expresses your identity. These videos tackle the relationship of fashion and identity expression. We are able to see people where they felt a need to belong to a group, hence expressing that through common valued fashion trends, to the construction of individuality through personal style. This trend is bringing to light the weight fashion expression holds in society, challenging gender and sexuality norms, and traditional perspectives on clothing and identity.
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