European, North American, or Asian fashion influence? - YouLookFab Forum

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European, North American, or Asian fashion influence?

Runcarla

Veteran

Helena’s comment about the influence of ‘Influencers’ on fashion, style, and silouhette trends (in Suz’s thread https://youlookfab.com/welookf.....le-refresh) got me thinking about where I source my fashion inspiration, and how this might actually influence my style.

I follow maybe 6(?) fashion influencer’s on Instagram and the one’s I do are split between North American/Canadian/ and European (UK, France, Italy, Spain.). Same for the blogs I read. Through my library (IRL and via e-media) I consume European versions of fashion magazines, During the fashion weeks, I look mostly through the UK, Paris, and Milan shows. I study European and Asian street style for ideas.

I tap into North American (US) red carpet occasions, but also the BAFTA’s. I have a bias towards sites that identify as being for ‘women of a certain age’

YLF has an international following, so I’m curious where folks get their inspiration and if they look abroad or more regionally for their fashion inspiration!?

General

21 replies

Latest reply was from Katerina

Irina

Veteran

Although I follow a couple of Canadian influencers, I mostly influenced by Europeans. I follow a few UK and English speaking French women, and watch weekly videos of the street fashion in Stockholm. Once in a while, I watch street fashion videos from Tokyo. I read only a few sources online on fashion, my daily news come like with everything else, from the Gardian, the UK based publication.

LJP

Veteran

Scandinavian street style photos and stylists - wouldn’t call them influencers necessarily as they aren’t selling product . Italian , UK and French stylists and editors and a few Canadians . Interestingly very few Americans .

I read UK versions of Vogue and Harpers Bazaar , but don’t look at a lot of runway stuff online . Red carpet is of little interest .

Anonymous

I tend to avoid the "women of a certain age" blogs- though I technically am middle aged. They just don't resonate with my lifestyle, and I just don't have all the physical aging concerns they write about. My life has not been typical, and I'm in a very different place now.

OTOH I don't relate to the ones with children, and Gen Z doesn't do blogs. Give me usable content that I can read or skim, not just a bunch of pics or videos and self promotion. Plus all the video ads everywhere are driving me absolutely bonkers! Rant over

So-fashion inspiration is more here than anywhere else- Thank You Angie!!!!
Culturally I love Asian prints, like saris and batiks, and motifs like lotuses and mandalas. The more polishedness of European style resonates more than casual American style. I like Celtic metalwork, and Middle Eastern and Latina dancewear. Etc, etc...

Right now I'm mostly influenced by minimalism, but keeping bits of the multicultural influences as mostly accents.

Dee

Veteran

Right now I’m really enjoying watching a lot of the very stylish fashion shown on Korean dramas, I mean even the men are dressed to the nines on these shows. I’ve also been watching a lot of Italian street style videos, its fabulous seeing young and old looking so elegantly fashionable.

However realistically I’m mostly influenced by what Angie and you fabbers are wearing and discussing, that’s where I get my inspiration from. I always want to look relatively up-to-date with what’s currently going on in fashion, but I also like having some timeless classics in my wardrobe as well.

Bonnie

Veteran

I agree with those who said Angie and the Forum. I don't regularly follow anyone else.

LaPed

Veteran

Honestly, most of the blogs I used to follow have gone dormant or moved in a different direction (or else I have). I don’t follow many style-oriented accounts on Insta or FB, but do belong to some B/S/T groups (some slow fashion, some outdoor gear), which probably has an impact on my style leanings. I love seeing what’s happening here on the forum, but people-watching in the wild, wherever I happen to be, is where I get 90% of my inspiration. I don’t want to look just like the people around me, but I like to see what direction things are moving, which trends are gaining traction, etc. Runway and red carpet feels less and less relevant…

cat2

Veteran

Boomer here. I read mostly U.S. content. I have never appreciated the Southern European designer attitudes, and I usually buy American designs. I read W Magazine and Harper’s; both have a lot of cultural content as well as fashion. I don’t like video content, it’s a painfully slow way to get information. I don’t follow any influencers. I have pinned some street looks; mostly over 40 BCBG looks from Paris and the equivalent from Milan. Looking at them, I apparently still aspire to be able to tie a scarf…. I used to pin some successful business women from around the world, because it is rare to see anything business appropriate in any fashion publication. Once I got a grip on a professional wardrobe I didn’t need that assist. I check here for trends and outfit ideas; that gets me to rethink how I am putting everything together, and how to freshen up my wardrobe.

rachylou

Veteran

I feel a little desperate for inspiration. I miss the lookbooks people used to do. And magazines. Magazines are a little tragic these days. But anyways, I have a lot of Scandinavian and East Asian pics in my Pinterest feed currently.

Style Fan

Veteran

My favourite bloggers seem to have either disappeared or changed direction. I think I followed the same ones as La Ped.
My most significant source of inspiration is YLF. I follow some Canadian and UK influencers/bloggers. Occasionally, I watch a European youtube that discusses fashion.

Jenni NZ

Veteran

I like YLF the best because of Angie’s accepting and kind attitude, which is echoed by most Fabbers although sadly not all.
I still read a New Zealand fashion magazine called Fashion Quarterly which has been going since 1980, because it’s difficult to get enough local fashion content. There is also a website called FashioNZ which I check occasionally. I don’t like Fashion Quarterly as much as I did- too much editorial content with Prada, Gucci et al which I suspect is to do with the elusive advertising dollar. I preferred it when they mostly showcased NZ designers, which they still do but not enough, and the shoots are not in the great travel locations they used to be, $$ again probably and previous pandemic border closures. Another magazine I liked better called Simply You sadly went under in 2020, as did Fashion Quarterly for a while until someone else bought the title. The same thing happened to some Australian magazines because Bauer Media pretty much ditched us Down Under- a German company which owned too many of our magazines.
I also like checking Debbie Roes’ new blog My Wardrobe Myself since I found YLF through her when she was writing Recovering Shopaholic.
I’m not into Instagram influencers at all. Just a distraction for me.

Sal

Veteran

I follow a few influencers that I enjoy.

Signe - Useless - Danish minimalist style
Alyssa Beltempo - Canadian - into making the most of your existing wardrobe
Erin Busbee- American - definitely not minimalist but has some great pieces
Trinny Woodall - English - definitely not minimalist!
Justine Leconte - French - I enjoy her content and perspective.
Lydia Jane Tomlinson - English - good on proportions and outfit creation.

I don’t especially want to dress like any of them but I do get great ideas.

I find brands I follow on Instagram also give me ideas.

But Angie and the forum here are the most consistent and helpful. I really enjoy the varied styles and seeing people dress for climates and jobs different to mine. It rarely worries me that it’s more expensive here or things aren’t available - I think being seasonally out of sync can be helpful. And Angie is all about doing your own thing, wearing the trends you like - or ignoring them.

Movies and TV can be inspiring too- I have to be careful though with wanting to look like serial killers or gothic teens or regency debutantes. Even if I love their style I just don’t have the lifestyle!
(Killing Eve, Wednesday, Bridgerton)

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I'm impressed with all the filtering and thought some of you are doing! Wow.

For the last six or eight months I've been on an almost total SM break, and I love being away from it to the point where I am considering deleting my accounts. The only problem is I sort of need to be on at least one platform occasionally for work, so...

Anyway. All that is to say that I do not follow any influencers or fashion blogs other than this one and get almost all my current inspiration here and from articles in NYTimes and Guardian. I do also watch bits of the shows on Vogue or similar as they come out, and like to check out what Inge posts on link love -- like those Scandi street style videos are so cool!

LJP

Veteran

I’m remiss in not acknowledging the influence YLF has had on my wardrobe and on my fashion ideas in general . I’ve copied quite a few pieces that others have found , and get great ideas too . I don’t think I necessarily dress or look like anyone else here , but the feedback I get on my own posts help me immensely - even when it’s constructive criticism . I may not always agree with or see what others see in an outfit posted by a member , but I sure do study those ones to see if I can broaden my own perspective .

LJP

Veteran

Sal - goths and serial killers , lol. Wednesday makes me want chunky black platforms . She’s the cutest .

cjh

(website)

Veteran

Hmm, good questions and answers here. I don’t follow any fashion influencers or blogs. Most of my inspiration comes from online shopping sites, frankly. Mostly Nordstrom, Macys, Anthropologie, Zara, H&M, Loft, Mango, etc. And Instagram and Pinterest casual fashion posts, such as thrifters, wardrobe sewers, quirky stylers, etc.

Roberta

Veteran

I follow Greetje and The Directrice, a couple of broader lifestyle blogs like Cup of Jo, and of course the Fug Girls and Tom and Lorenzo. But most of my outfit inspiration comes from Pinterest and YLF. Lots of pinned color palettes or outfit ideas from searching "rust pants" or whatever, and eagerly looking at new YLF finds and posts every morning.

I have the vague idea that my style is more Northern European than Mediterranean, but in general, I particularly enjoy fashion with a cultural or historical element. So plenty of room for museum exhibits and the Met Gala.

Like Sal, there's some TV/film influence, so I occasionally visit Worn On TV to see pieces up close. I was a little obsessed with Lucy Liu's wardrobe on Elementary, for example. Or Ava on Abbott Elementary. Neither are MY style, but they fit the character so perfectly. Ha, I just noticed the Elementary link!

Barbara Diane

Veteran

I look for ideas here-thanks Angie and fabbers. And also a bit from a few other stylists. Mostly to get new ideas and new ways to remix my wardrobe. All are US based. No magazines, no fashion shows, etc.

Carol

(website)

Veteran

I follow a couple North American YouTubers focused on a classic, modern style. Alyssa Beltempo and Erin Busbee. But in my heart I'd be walking the streets of Italy. And there's always the weird stylings of teens...

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Interesting question! I don't follow any other blogs regularly, but do scroll through instagram and watch fashion youtubers sometimes. I would say the ones I look at are mostly second hand and sustainable style focused, with some over 50 content. Honestly I don't really find any of these sources as inspirational as YLF - Angie and also the forum, which represents a variety of viewpoints. I also find runway shows broadly inspirational in priming me for where things are heading.

eta - I didn't answer the question did I? I find Asian style blogs the most interesting actually, but am pretty much an omnivore.

Helena

Veteran

I follow several Canadian influencers, including cbstyled and Vanessa Giuliani as they showcase clothes that work for my lifestyle and budget, Use Less for outfit inspiration, New York stylist and Alison Bornstein for styling advice, parisiens in Paris street style IG and brands like COS and Sezane for general inspiration ... And a few luxury brands like Loro Piana for the vibe. I follow and unfollow, mix and match, and am choosy about what I take to heart from all these sources depending on what I need ... I've figured out my method of "following fashion" without being bullied by it!

Katerina

Veteran

It’s a good question. I watch several YouTubers - almost the same ones as Sal. And Carla Rockmore is great fun, too. TV shows I loved for the clothes some years ago were The Good Wife and The Good Fight. Also Frankie and Grace, The Industry and Succession are interesting in terms of the costumes, too.