Fashion has always been affected by modern culture. Over the years, fashion has been influenced by celebrities, movies, and other aspects that define pop culture. Now, fashion trends are mostly affected by social media. Certain trends gain popularity through TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. Since these apps are widely used by almost everyone, it’s easier for trends to appear quickly and gain a large amount of visibility. This was different for other generations since social media wasn’t much of a thing yet back then. Trends and fast fashion were already a thing, but not to the extent of what it’s like nowadays. Social media being such a large part of our lives recently has definitely affected the way people decide to dress. 

Several people, when interviewed, stated that the way they dressed was influenced by specific styles and aesthetics. Some also spoke about how certain stores that they liked to shop at affected their fashion choices. Another thing that affected the way people dressed was that they often got inspired by looking at the people around them. 

Madison Christiansen (she/her) spoke about what influenced her fashion choices. “The people around me inspire my outfits.” For example, people who look put together inspire her to look like them. She also said that TikTok and other social media can influence her since they can be an inspiration for her style. 

Emma Sullivan (they/she) said that Pinterest and Hot Topic mostly inspire her fashion choices when she sees stuff on there that she thinks looks cool, as well as the internet.

This shows that social media like TikTok and Pinterest influence modern fashion, by being an example that people are inspired by. Social media makes it possible for ideas and trends to spread quickly, and this has a large impact on fashion nowadays. Interestingly, people are also influenced by who they see around them and aspire to look like them.