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Dress like Outfits from Instagram Posts

Lea Chen
Sep 15, 2018
4 min read

So choosing an outfit can either take me 0.34 seconds or 1 hour with a dozen outfit changes. But you never know what kind of day it's going to be.

And I needed a little more structure in my life in the outfit department... so to Instagram I went.

I'm a big fan of Instagram's "Saved" feature where you can curate a collection of specific posts and rightfully so have been using it for a months putting together my "Outfits" album.

One day as I was saving images, I realized that I should actually use this personal collection of mine. And why not solve my outfit-picking dilemma while I'm at it? So I challenged myself to be inspired by the outfits on Instagram, matching my style to these bloggers with a goal of pain-free dressing.

Day 1

A lil ~82 degree Fahrenheit weather and some unshaven legs prompted me to choose an outfit with long pants. As I was scrolling through, I immediately knew I wanted to match prettysickly's outfit - in general, she does a great job of balancing a chill vibe with a put together look.

I also quickly knew this outfit was the one I wanted because I had bought high waisted coffee-colored plaid trousers in Japan a few weeks ago from GU (sister company of Uniqlo!) and still hadn't worn them. And luckily the black tank top was simple to pull off.

The outfit was very comfy, but the pants let me look like I hadn't just rolled out of bed (it's what I call an illusion). And hm, looking at it now... the white Vans quite stood out ...

Throughout the day the plain black tank top felt a little too... well, plain for me so I brought along my nifty Uniqlo bomber jacket to accompany me.

Also, fun fact: my tank top is from Victoria's Secret PINK and I got it for free because I attended this promotional summer camp they had about two years ago. If you ever hear of those sweepstake games where the lucky winner is flown out to an inclusive destination, that was literally me. And who would've thought that tank would be featured here some day?

Pros: comfy, reaaalll simple, pants up the outfit

Cons: I have no arm tattoo sleeve to spice up the look sans-bomber jacket

Day 2

I was ready to switch up my fit for the day - something short on the bottom and long on the top. And I was curious to see what the style of someone younger than Day 1 would look like.

I will be honest - the yellow jacket popped out at me as I was scrolling through my options, but I knew that while I may not be able to 100% replicate the look, I could let it inspire me.

So attempt 1: if you know me weirdly well, you'd learn that I have a hard time finding jean shorts that fit me while not exposing my booty. To best the match Kalani's original photo (also any Dance Moms fans out here?), I picked out my lightest BDG jean shorts. But unfortunately for me, even when the thigh area of my shorts fit, the waist is a no-go. So I put on a belt and was not feeling the outfit.

Comfy jean shorts instead then! My dark wash Aerie jean shorts are legit one of the most comfortable shorts ever... kind of feels like you're not wearing pants. So while my outfit doesn't exactly look like Kalani's, this day helped me learn that this challenge was more about being inspired by an outfit's vibe. Striving to perfect an outfit exactly is a bit pointless when it just causes you more headache.

Also fun fact, I tried to put my hair into a bun and this is what resorted. I don't put my hair into buns... so...

Pros: simplistic outfit for a lil walk in the town

Cons: can't put my hair into a bun... evidently

Day 3

My Thursday's are wonderfully empty, so I was ready for an outfit that made me look good but didn't have to be most comfortable. Because we all know after classes are over, you go home and bam... pants off, pajamas on.

My ideal adult style is patterned button downs and jeans, so Topshop really came through for me in this challenge. Fittingly, I had a polka dot white blouse that I hadn't worn at school yet...

Unfortunately my belt collection is lacking especially in the fits-with-silver-outfits region, but I was really feeling the blouse and casual jeans combo.

In line with the original photo, I made sure to accessorize with necklaces that complemented the deep V-neck shape of my Zara top.

And because the photo was from neck to thigh, I used my imagination and desire to not wear socks and chose these silver sandals. But my toes were not looking spiffy, so I even painted my nails for this challenge. That's dedication.

This was definitely one of my favorite outfits of the bunch and truly something I'm not sure I would've thought of quickly on my own. Yes, during the day my blouse dipped often and you could... sort of kind... see my bralette, but hey, that's why you wear a bralette to begin with :)

Pros: Blouse makes you look like you dressed up

Cons: White is a dangerous color to wear when you're thinking of eating something saucy during the day