How TikTok Helped My Style Part I: The 3 Word Method

How learning from digi-stylists has moved the needle on my wardrobe 🙆‍♀️

Clothing has always been a form of self-expression for me. I’m no Carrie Bradshaw (an ultimate icon of mine for how experimental her fashion is), and I’m not even someone whose style would likely turn many heads on the street. But - when I put together an outfit, I get to express how I feel, make creative choices, and become whatever version of me I feel like that day. I’ve gone through decades of sartorial phases, some more successful than others, but all of them ways to channel my creative impulses.

In third grade, when my mom let me get my ears triple pierced (much to my grandmother’s horror), I relished wearing six different kinds of earrings. Between the beginning and end of middle school, I had traded Hot Topic for thrifting. As a freshman in high school, I insisted that pants under skirts looked cool. (It didn’t.) My prom dress was made from a thrifted 80s electric blue bridesmaid gown, and last year, I even designed my own wedding dress.

You get it. I like clothes.

But it’s not really the clothes themselves, its the expression of it all. How we dress is non-verbal communication - an extension of our personalities. A particular outfit can be empowering and joy-inducing - Dopamine dressing is very real. Inversely - struggling with what to wear can cause anything from light anxiety to a full identity crisis. When it feels like clothing expresses yourself, but then you can’t figure out what to wear, the stress grows from physical to existential. So where do we turn when we find ourselves in a fashion rut?

There’s always traditional media like fashion magazines, TV, and movies. Pinterest and Instagram took style inspo to the next level. And now, in the year of our lord 2024, we have TikTok. TikTok often gets a bad rap for being an insane feedback loop of consumerism. Get ready with me; buy this now; these clogs/facemasks/sunglasses/serums/hair clips will change your life.

However, upon further inspection, TikTok is a never-ending spool of inspirational thread. It's a space where not just novices but professionals and experts have a platform to share their creativity. It’s a mecca for fashion writers, stylists, trend forecasters, and designers. It's a proletariate space where everyone of every style persuasion can navigate their wardrobe.

I’ve learned a ton from a few specific creators and practices from TikTok that have helped my personal style evolve. So much so that I needed to break this into two parts. Let’s start with Allison Bornstein and her Three Word Method.