Has Personal Style Become a Product?
Dressing to one’s personal style has become like currency in the fashion world. Following trends is so last season and personal tastes reign supreme. But has personal style become commodified?
It has reached a point where fast fashion brands are capitalizing on the popularity of personal style. Brands like Cider and Polly Princess have sections where you can shop by “picking a mood” like grunge, indie revival or minimalist. While these broad styles have been around for years — does being spoon-fed your style defeat the purpose of personal style?
Photo by Louis Vuitton
In a sense, we are all spoon-fed aspects of our style. Social and cultural contexts inform our tastes; fashion and style do not exist in isolation. Some people may find inspiration from movies and books, while others cultivate their closet based on the contents of their monthly Vogue magazine.
Not only is personal style a tool of self-expression, but it is also a route to shopping and consuming fashion more ethically. Cider and Princess Polly are fast fashion culprits who show no evidence that they use safe and ethical labor practices and are not taking the strides to improve their carbon footprint. Shopping towards your aesthetic means you don’t feel the need to buy every new trend on the market, lowering your consumption. A key aspect of signature looks is the curation and journey.
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A unique wardrobe is not always the most unique-looking. One does not have to dress in bold colors and loud patterns to fit their aesthetic. The language of getting dressed is dependent on ordinary and everyday factors. Someone working a 9-5 office job may express their distinctive tastes through business attire, while a nurse may reveal their tastes off the clock. Pressure to have the most original and inventive individual style is an oxymoron of what individual style truly is: individual. Not everyone’s wardrobe will look the same, and they shouldn’t. A “one size fits all” approach to something so personal can lead to toxic pressure and inauthentic expressions of the self.
One cannot curate one’s dream closet in a day, it takes time and self-discovery to learn what you like to wear, where you shop and why.
Art by Calum Heath, courtesy of The New York Times
These core styles have become a symptom of the micro trend epidemic but originated from personal aesthetics. Within the last few years, people have been labeling their style with hashtags on social media — a flowy green top paired with pastels and Earth tones would have “#fairycore” in the caption, a pinstripe pantsuit and Bayonetta glasses and you’re met with “#officesirencore.”
These style hashtags can be a double-sided sword. On one hand, they serve to inspire and express — they connect people on the internet and foster creativity, inspiration and community. On the other, they give massive fashion brands an intimate look into what people are wearing and what they’re buying — which is exactly what they want and exactly what they capitalize on.
Arguably, personal style has existed as long as fashion has, but it has taken a different form in recent decades.
The world is not a stranger to individualistic fashion.
For example, counterculture in America rose in protest of the U.S.’ involvement in the Vietnam War and reactionary post-WWII attitudes. From hippies to punks, people expressed themselves unapologetically through various art forms such as music, fashion, visual arts, film, and more. This was an era where people had more freedom to bend the rules and use art and style to convey their values. In 2025 and in past decades we have seen the same thing.
People are more able to dress out of the zeitgeist due to various factors like social media — a powerful force that connects people across the world, political and social turmoil, and more welcoming attitudes.
Photo by Getty Images
Due to the rising accessibility of cheap clothing, both through second-hand stores like Goodwill and fast fashion conglomerates like Shein, people now have more options than ever before. Due to the variety of options, one can hone in on their unique style, they are not limited to trends — trends they may not even like — but with a distinct fashion sense they have the freedom to dress to their specific taste, not tastes dictated for the masses.
Because of the internet and mass media, it is easier for people to dress outside of the fashion zeitgeist without being ridiculed. That is not to say it’s easy for everyone as the response to unique fashion is subjective and dependent on cultural factors, but generally, it has become easier.
The Ethics of Shopping
One valid critique of following trends is the overconsumption that can accompany it. A recent overconsumption trend — a trend within a trend is the $1,000+ Shein hauls where people are seen gleefully dumping hundreds of clothing packages onto the floor. We, as a culture, are more willing to criticize and call out participation in fast fashion, especially at high levels.
According to BBC, the average price of a Shein product is $8.52. A $1,000+ Shein shopping haul with each product costing $8.52, one could buy 117 products. 117. All with the click of a button. And so the fast fashion consumption cycle ensues. Some pieces won’t fit or look quite right, so they’ll probably be donated to a local Goodwill.
Still from Clueless
A Goodwill or thrift shop donation is marketed as the last stop on the cycle of clothing consumption. Someone has a piece of clothing that doesn’t fit anymore or they don’t wear it enough and they donate it to their local second-hand clothing store. Someone will buy the garment and wear it until they too outgrow it, and so the cycle ensues. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. In an article for Green America, author Beth Porter reports that approximately 700,000 tons of used clothing from the U.S. (i.e., secondhand clothing that does not sell or is not recycled) is exported to other countries. The ethics of clothing exportation is heavily debated, but in 2016, the East African Community decided to completely ban imported clothing starting in 2019. The Trump administration pressured various leaders to repeal the ban, and they did.
Over time and due to poor construction, (most likely due to planned obsolescence) products will fall apart at the seams — literally. Those pieces will either be donated or thrown away. And before you know it, the Shein tab is once again, open on your computer and the number of items in the cart steadily increases.
Personal vs. Predetermined
If one can supposedly buy their “style” from a store like Shein or Cider, is it still considered personal style? Has it come to the point where we put individual style above “predetermined” style? As the pendulum shifts and we as a culture begin to value individuality over conventionality, a hierarchy begins to form.
Individual style is just that — individual.
It feels like it loses authenticity and individual uniqueness when it’s mass-produced and sold back to consumers. A distinctive style is something that cannot and should not be created overnight. Think about what it takes to build a wardrobe influenced by personal style. It takes experimentation, trial and error, an understanding of tastes and most importantly, time. Time to research, discover, purchase, curate, and more. To attempt to go through all those phases overnight or with the click of a button would lead to unethical and unsustainable shopping.
Photo by Harley Weir
Personal style is ever-evolving because the individual is ever-evolving. Buying slowly and intentionally will not ensure ethical consumption, as the argument has been made that there is no ethical consumption under capitalism. Still, it will at the very least promote more mindful and intentional shopping habits.
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In our current state of fashion, trends operate in such a way that creates an intense desire to buy. Instant gratification and FOMO (fear of missing out) from the need to buy, buy, and buy.
There are two standard clichés for fashion rules.
The first is that there are no rules, and if there are, they can be broken. The second hails from Coco Chanel herself, “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.” There are more culturally charged rules, such as “Don’t wear white after Labor Day” which originated from the Gilded Age and was motivated by both practical factors such as weather and signified wealth and status. Other rules range from “Don’t mix metals,” “Always dress for your body type,” “Don’t wear navy with black” and “Always match your shoes to your bag…” There are lots of do’s and dont’s.
While these rules have become more arbitrary with time, they still affect the industry and the consumer.
So while individual style comes from buying products, authentic and organic personal fashion cannot be purchased in one Shein haul. Fast fashion brands are trying to commodify the unique experience of curating a closet. Maybe you love your distinct unique style or maybe you love following trends. Whatever your vice, don’t let fast fashion dictate your closet.