I Tried Dressing Like A Pinterest Girl For A Week, And As Someone Who Used To Work In Fashion, I Can Confirm This Makes Getting Dressed Wayyy Easier
Hello! My name's Alana and before I started writing for BuzzFeed, I worked a range of roles in the fashion industry — from running a fashion magazine to buying for Bloomingdale's in the Big Apple to working in wholesale sales for Michael Kors Canada. Here I am on a freezing day in Montréal...still gettin' that fit pic:
While I've left the industry behind, one of my favorite things about being human is the way clothes can transform my mood and give me an outlet to express myself! Like, I love that I can make winter enjoyable by wearing fun, wild coats.
And thrifting is my favorite pastime — so many stories that live within old clothes! Here I am in my Grandma's dress from the '70s. I love that this dress brought us both joy decades apart, and I can bring her presence into 2023, even though she's not with me anymore:
And while I like to say I still keep pretty up-to-date on trends, I'm naturally growing a little out-of-the-loop on how the youths are dressing. But on TikTok, I have been made well aware that the Y2K revival is in full force, as well as the most recent viral trend I've been seeing: "Pinterest Board Dressing."
If you've spent any time on Pinterest, you've probably used it to "pin" aspirational content to vision boards, whether it's home design, event ideas, DIY projects, or fashion. For me, I typically pin style content and outfit ideas I'd like to recreate with my own wardrobe.
The trend started with Gen Z TikTok creator Jackie Li, aka @arcticjackie, who shared a viral video where she guides viewers on how to dress like they belong on a Pinterest board. Her voiceover has since been picked up and recreated by hundreds in the app's fashion community. In the video, she lays out six easy steps on how to create a Pinterest look, which is kinda like a "vibe sandwich," as she calls it. Steps below:
"Step 1: Put on a button-up, a tank top, or a graphic tee. It really doesn't matter as long as you feel good.
Step 2: Put on a pair of bottoms that do not match the vibe of the top.
Step 3: Put on a pair of shoes that matches the vibe of the top. It's kinda like a vibe sandwich.
Step 4: Layer any part of your outfit.
Step 5: Get a purse that matches any part of the outfit and put it on.
Step 6: Accessorize to the moon!"
She told BuzzFeed, "I wanted to create this sort of 'Pinterest girl' step-by-step look because, as someone who takes a lot of style inspiration from Pinterest, I wanted to see if there was some sort of 'outfit formula', so to speak, to easily create Pinterest-worthy outfits without thinking too hard."
She added, "Through analyzing my Pinterest boards, I began to see a pattern with many outfits I’ve pinned; within a singular outfit, there were many different vibes all styled together, yet the outfit still made complete sense. As a result, I slowly pieced together what I labeled as a 'vibe sandwich,' which essentially means that the top half of your outfit and your shoes must exude a similar vibe, but whatever you wear for bottoms must portray a different one."
I kind of love the idea of a step-by-step guide to dressing. And while I don't normally dress by the instructions of layering different styles (like basketball shorts with a prairie top), which I'd say is a pretty Gen Z way to create outfits, I think the idea can be interpreted quite a few ways.
Soooo, I tried it out for myself for a week, creating seven outfits in total. I deconstructed each outfit for y'all, following the six-step process Jackie laid out. Here we go!
1.Outfit #1: The process
Outfit 1: Result!
I felt this might be the most palatable outfit of the bunch and easiest to recreate. The T-shirt and long prairie skirt combo aren't too obscurely different vibes, making this look a little easier to digest. The oversized sweater and skirt combo feels "hygge" to me and I freakin love Scandinavian fashion, so I'd definitely wear this one again.
Combo: #1 T-shirt, #2 Prairie skirt (mismatched vibes from the tee), #3 Tennis shoes (to match the vibe of the tee), #4 Oversized sweater, #5 Neutral cream purse, #6 Accessorized with sunnies, scarf, and jewelry.
2.Outfit #2: The process
Outfit #2: The final result! Featuring a new accessory.
I loved the result of this one! I ended up wearing this outfit around town (sans cat sadly) and swapped the sneakers for some red flats for a little pop of color, which I actually liked even more.
Combo: #1 Graphic tee, #2 Silky mini skirt (mismatched vibes from the tee), #3 Sneakers (to match the vibe of the tee), #4 Quilted jacket, #5 Black purse to match the skirt, #6 Accessorized with sunglasses, earrings, and neck scarf!
3.Outfit #3: The process
Outfit #3: ...and the result!
I feel like I'm kinda getting the idea of the "vibe sandwich"! I love that these outfits have all been a tad different, but follow the same format. Using a skirt and a more casual top as the base, like a graphic tee or a sweater, hasn't been too hard to follow. This feels a tad too dressy for everyday wear, but maybe if I were going to a dinner or event this would be fab!
Combo: #1 Sweater, #2 Dress as a skirt (mismatched vibes from the sweater), #3 Sneakers (to match the casual-ness of the sweater), #4 Blazer to layer, #5 Cream purse to match the sweater, #6 Accessorized with sunglasses, earrings, and purse scarf!
4.Outfit #4: The process
Outfit #4: The result — a 2020s take on business casual.
This outfit does skew a little away from the Pinterest board instructions since I didn't layer. HOWEVER, this is definitely an outfit I've seen in some sort of rendition on Pinterest before. I wouldn't be surprised if the blazer and jeans combo of the 2020s will be equivalent to our business casual in the 2010s. If I have kids, they're going to look back at this article and be like, "Mom, what the hell were you wearing?!?" But I love how casual and chic this feels in the year of our lord, 2023.
Combo: #1 Blazer, #2 Oversized jeans, #3 Kitten heels, #4 Styled black purse with scarf, #5 Accessorized with sunglasses and a red lip!
5.Outfit #5: The process
Outfit #5: ...and the result! Giving flight attendant vibes.
I styled two options for this one, swapping the button-down for a vest just for kicks. They're kinda giving old school flight attendant and I'm kinda in love??? What can I say, I LOVE A NECK SCARF!! From the uncomfortable shoes to the skirt that one can hardly move in, they're definitely not ~practical~ outfits, but I don't care!!! I love them anyway. Not sure where I'll wear these outfits next... however, if any airlines are hiring a stylist...
Combo: #1 Button up OR vest (same vibe), #2 Long denim skirt (different vibes), #3 Heeled boots (cuz we mean business), #4 Styled black purse with scarf, #5 Accessorized with sunglasses, a red lip, and a swanky lil red jacket.
6.Outfit #6: The process
Outfit #6: The result...an outfit to wear to the bar or club or evening festivities.
So, I don't know how I feel about this outfit but I DID wear it out and I DID find the top at a garage sale...so feels like a win to me. The top is definitely from the '90s and probably was worn relatively differently back then than how I styled it today with JORTS. IDK why, but I'm imagining it'd be paired with gauchos in the '90s/early 2000s. I freakin' love jorts today but I definitely feel like they won't age well, just like the gauchos. I call these boots my Bratz boots and they are g i v i n g "Watch out, Miss Barbie."
Combo: #1 Funky top layered over a black tank top, #2 Jorts b/c why not, #3 Bratz boots to match the brat top, #4 Green purse to match the green stripes in the shirt, #5 Accessorized with sunglasses, '90s updo.
7.Outfit #7: The process
Outfit #7: The result...an amalgamation of many of the other outfits!
This outfit is kind of a hodge podge of a few of the other pieces that have already been used... like the tee, the sneakers, and the jacket. And I did that I purpose! I realized what I loved most about this trend was just how fun it was to use and reuse so many pieces in my closet. Like, I used that red jacket to make three completely different outfits! But also, I hardly ever wear that jacket, so it was fun to see that I could use that jacket so many times over.
Combo: #1 Graphic tee, #2 Frilly dress as a skirt, #3 Sneaks, #4 Mismatched purse, #5 Red jacket as a layer, #6 Accessorized with my friend's grandma's sunglasses and that's pretty much it!
Overall, dressing like a Pinterest board for a week taught me a couple of things. First, it's nice to have a bit of a "formula" when putting together outfits. I found myself gravitating towards similar "mismatched" combinations as I experimented, like a fancier skirt and a casual tee, that made it easier to get dressed each morning.
And while the outfit bases were similar, or even used the same pieces, they still felt different enough from one another. I wouldn't feel as comfortable styling basketball shorts as Gen Z does so well. So even though I felt I wasn't entirely dressing to the trendiest styling, it was cool to interpret in my own way!
Second, it was sooo much fun experimenting with my closet and seeing what I could come up with. I know I have a fashion background, but I truly think anyone can try this out! It got me out of a rut of outfits that I repeat over and over again, and I used more of my closet, which leads me to my last learning...
Pinterest dressing is sustainable! When I had a formula to dress each morning, it became so much easier to visualize and utilize what I had already, rather than feeling like I needed to go out and buy something new to match trends that will eventually pass. And, more than 50% of what I wore in all these outfits was already thrifted or second-hand (everything second-hand, thrifted, or repurposed is starred!), so it was amazing to see those visualized, proving that cool pieces already exist — it's just about they are styled.
