9 years ago by
Do you sometimes feel like everything looks the same?
Ok, I’m exaggerating a little, but let me explain for a second. I was walking down the street with my friend Alexandra recently, and we passed by a new home decor store, and I asked her if she liked it. I loved her response:
“Yeah, it’s ok. I mean, it’s basically the ambient taste right now.”
Me: “What do you mean, ambient taste?”
“Oh, you know – it’s kind of what everyone likes these days, you see it everywhere, and you like it too without even really thinking about it.”
Oh, of course, that makes perfect sense. I have that feeling myself a lot of the time. It happens, for example, every time I see…
Brooklyn Vintage style
I’m not even going to talk about hipsters, I’ll spare you all that, but the whole fake old restaurant thing – chipped china so it looks used, artificially aged paintings – that I discovered in New York, has spread all over now, and it’s found its fullest expression in Brooklyn*. Coffee shops with their fake antique espresso machines with perfect shiny red paint are so prolific (even in Paris, where real antique Parisian bistros are all over the place) that we don’t even recognize it as a style. That’s probably why I love giving my eyes a break at my corner cafe in New York, called Fika – it’s got Scandinavian decor, it doesn’t really have the “ambient style” or any style at all, to be honest – almost to the point of me not really liking the decor, but at least it’s something different.
Instagram Blogger style
White jeans and skinny thighs with a coffee mug in hand, still life, magazine, glasses nonchalantly placed on the light wood table – not only does the style not differ much from one account to the next, but the poses are pretty much always the same, including the feet turned slightly inward.
I put myself in this category too, with my minimalist-tomboy-Valentino-glasses-Céline style, but I still have my honor, since I don’t have skinny thighs, hehehe.
But otherwise, I think I’m totally “ambient style”.
I’d laugh about it, if I didn’t realize that when it comes to apartments, I’m also a big cliché.
You just need to check out my Pinterest to get a little shock of normality with my:
Pinterest apartment style
It’s the mix of the big white sofa, white furry rug, some ethnic details and a few vintagy midcentury touches. You see what I mean?
It’s exactly my style, with the vacation home option for me – the day when I’ll have a hammock at my house, I’ll probably feel like I’ve finally won at life.
I realized this – not just from my Pinterest page, but last summer when I was looking for a not too ridiculously expensive sofa (you, know, because of my transition apartment thing**) and it was impossible for me to find a sofa that didn’t have a midcentury feel.
I mean, I really like the 50s and 60s, but right now, in New York, since it’s the only thing you can find, it’s ended up becoming really, really – I mean really – cheap and common.
So, of course, I finally settled on (drumroll, please) a big white sofa.
Though when it comes to Pinterest apartment style, it reassures me to think that I’ve had the same taste since I was 15, and that I’ll still have the same taste even when it’s not trendy anymore. Okay but actually, it’s still slightly worrying, and this all brings me back to my initial question, which will help you see why I’m talking about all of this in what was supposed to be an editor’s letter about the blog.
It’s because I’ve noticed that trends created online are incredibly powerful, and they tend to stick around for a long time because there’s no one to stop them.
Before this, magazines were telling us about trends, things had to change a little bit each season, and they had almost no way of knowing what readers actually liked. So it was up to editors to filter content and they had to try to create a unique point of view.
But with the internet, things are totally different. There are two things that have an influence on trends:
1/ How many likes something gets is what influences content – and since most sites are just in a race for likes, they publish things that are sure to be successful – so if white jeans and skinny thighs get a lot of likes, we can be sure to see them over and over, ad infinitum.
2/ Things that are posted link back to each other, by way of cookies (For example, the ads that follow you from site to site for those shoes you almost bought). You get ads that say “if you liked that, you’ll like this” and “if you follow this page, you’ll also like this one” so you end up seeing the same type of content over and over. It confines us within our own little worlds.
Even though diversity is just one click away, we don’t see it anymore – looking for it is becoming more and more complicated.
And since we’re only seeing content that has been specially selected for us so that we’ll like like like***, it’s easy to get bored very quickly. And to have the feeling that everything looks alike.
So, there you go. I don’t have any solutions to propose, other than telling you that personally, I think we’re eventually going to get sick of the culture of “likes” and we’ll move on to something new.
At the Studio, we don’t really pay attention to those things – we try to talk about what interests us personally, even if sometimes we are a little bit outside of the norm, and it may not be what most people like. It’s about trying to have a unique point of view, and that’s what we want to try to cultivate here more and more.
I’ll leave you on that note. I need to go take a shower, and pick out my white jeans for the day :)))
—————————
*I’m a little ashamed to say that I was tricked the first few times, and really thought I was in an old world Italian restaurant, even though “old world” really doesn’t mean anything in New York…
** Yes, of course, I’m still in my “transition apartment” – I think we are all familiar with those kinds of transitions…
*** Instagram is confusing for that reason, it’s always the same types of photos that get tons of likes. As soon as you move away from the typical colorful images or pretty landscapes, it seems like no one cares. You have to be strong to keep posting things that are a little different.
Bracelet, Aurélie Bidermann.
Translated by Andrea Perdue
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Bonjour, merci pour cet article, cette course aux like est effectivement dénuée de sens, même si nous sommes tous rentrés dans ce jeu là. En même temps, c’est bien de pouvoir donner son avis et avoir au moins l’impression de choisir;)) Il reste juste à espérer que nous finirons par donner un sens à tout ça…
Oh la la la! je me retrouve aussi dans le goût ambiant!
Mais au final, ce n’est pas ça qui plait?
Et puis je pense qu’on est constamment inspirés par notre environnement, ce qu’on voit autour de nous donc conditionnés et poussés à suivre les autres?
Bonne fin d’après-midi,
Le monde des petites
http://www.lemondedespetites.com/
Ah je ne sais pas si cr que j’ai vais écrire sera original (haha) mais moi si je continue de venir ici tous les jours c’est justement pour ce point de vue et cette voix ou plutôt ces voix maintenant ! Et pour l’indépendance d’esprit. Franchement les blogs qui sont juste les relais publicitaires de parques j’ai arrêté de les regarder ça ne m’intéresse pas. Par contre je suis toujours intéressée par l’opinion ou le style perso de quelqu’un, même si ça ne correspond pas forcément à ce que je pense ou ce que je porterais. Mais au moins ça me permet de voir autre chose. Sinon je peux passer ma journée à me regarder dans le miroir et à lire mon journal intime, au moins je serai pas emmerdée !!
Continuez d’être indépendants ! Je suis sûre moi aussi que les like be sont pas le but ultime de la vie… Même si parfois on peut en douter !
Bonjour Garance,
Je vois tout à fait ce que tu veux dire.
Je pense qu’inconsciemment, j’ai toujours cherché à ne pas faire comme les autres. Je ne dis pas que les gens et le monde extérieur ne m’influencent pas, mais je ne me suis jamais sentie obligée de ‘liker’ quelque chose sous prétexte que cela est tendance. Je n’ai jamais ressentie le ‘peer pressure’ (ex.: à l’adolescence où tout le monde se sent obligé ou trouve ça cool de fumer, moi, ça ne m’a jamais intéressée). Et comme toi, je me rends compte que finalement, je garde les mêmes goûts (que je peaufine au fil des ans) depuis longtemps. En résumé, je garde ce qui marche pour moi, et j’oublie ce qui ne marche pas. Whatever works. ;)
Je cultive ce qui fait que je suis moi.
Je Like !! ;-)
This so true! especially for Instagram! Sometimes I feel like I see the same images over and over again!
It becomes so boring!
Rhizlaine
http://quintessence-parisienne.com/
J’ai exactement les mêmes questionnements ! Je me dis que j’aime le style épuré en éco, la lumière et le blanc (mais c’est vrai que je vois des images de ce genre de décor partout)… C’est comme je me dis que j’aime le style hippie chic/minimalist (c’est un style qui existe ?) mais en ce moment on voit ce style partout aussi… Alors ai-je vraiment des goûts persos où suis-je juste un bon vieux mouton qui suit le mouvement ?
Difficile de se faire sa place quand même… Mais ce qui est drôle c’est qu’au week-end je me suis dit “arrête de penser en fonction des autres et fait ce que tu aimes !” L’influence des autres, le grand drame de ma vie !!!
The places in NYC that are really “old” (well, it’s relative) and classic tend to not look as stylish as the new faux-old places, although I think they have the true kind of stylishness, a real mood as you sit there, history. For example our version of the old world Italian are those mafioso places like Grotto Azzurra. Or the Four Seasons, which has a really great classic (again mid-century) style (but at least it’s authentic midcentury), but which people have seen so many times it can look a little dated.
Alors là, pour le coup, je suis absolument d’accord avec toi. On ne se connait pas mais on va se tutoyer, ce sera plus simple. En fait, moi, je crois bien tout savoir de toi mais toi, tu ne me connais absolument pas. Ce que j’ai longtemps considéré comme injuste et absolument malhonnête de la part de notre très cher Google. Finalement, plus cela y va et plus je suis satisfaite de ma situation. Mon côté inconnue me convient même si j’ai passé des heures et des heures à écrire des articles, à essayer de vivre de ce qui fut mon métier à savoir le journalisme. J’ai pleuré des heures et des heures aussi à tenter de faire le deuil de ce que j’aimais le plus au monde. Et puis finalement, je crois bien que cela ne sert pas à grand chose d’être comme tout le monde, de liker à gogo des photos qui se ressemblent toutes. Poste une photo d’une fille healthy et tu verras tes stats’ grimper. Mais concrètement, cela avance à quoi ? A faire plaisir aux annonceurs ? La course aux clics est illusoire. Du moins, c’est désormais comme cela que je la vois. Ravie de savoir que je ne suis pas la seule à le penser bizarrement !
I adore this post – there is a book called the filter bubble – and it relates to cookies and facebook that puts us in a bubble on the internet – introducing us only to things we are guaranteed to like. I was just thinking in the shower – haha – about how lucky I am to have blogs, pinterest, and the internet to introduce me to new things and styles. I live in the suburbs and when I was young it was difficult to be “fashion forward” when everyone else was wearing the same thing like a uniform. That’s why I love blogs today!
Warm Regards,
Alexandra
www. Little Wild Heart .com
Great comment! But your last two sentences… I could hug you for saying that :)
Mais oui franchement on a marre de tout ca ..de se conformer un peu a tout mais pourtant on y est dedans! il faut le dire tu as toujours l’atout de le faire remarquer..
Mais le vernis sur la photo, il est beau c’est un rouge rouge je peux savoir le secret?? Bizzz
Thank you so much for writing this! It seems like once a new trend hits… we totally over saturate the market with it. I refuse to believe that everyone loves wearing Birkenstocks. But because someone (thanks Celine) said that they were cool, now we are all forced to wear them. I refuse!
Yes, I have been thinking along the same lines! It is so boring to see so much inauthentic decor and I never did like the whole “anthropology” look. (What is it with antlers in so many homes?!) And blog/Pinterest photos are starting to depress me. I love variety, authenticity, creativity and unique voices but the “Like”culture is diluting all that and making things look the same everywhere. It is global blandification.
Hi- Wow.. I love that ..”global blandification” However, that has always been the case but not so much globally until the internet. Things have always been cool, or “in” and there is that unsaid or said pressure to conform and like those things. I have literally been with a group of women shopping where they are all oohing and aaahing over something and someone asks me what I think, and I have said, “I don’t like it at all”. You should see the reaction..blank stares and mouths agape. What do you say to someone who disagrees? How do you respond? They just avoided me the rest of the evening, and I felt pretty ok with that. I will not be pressured to like what “everyone” appears to like. I am my own person, and I have enough confidence to stay true to myself.
euhhhh “déco scandinave pas vraiment gout ambiant” ??? really ??? c’est carrément mainstream oui! (mais je ne juge pas, mes gouts mainstream et moi on adore la déco scandinave)
A good way to get away from those same-samey ads? Install AdBlock, and it’s free (well, you should donate a little as it’s made by one programmer and it’s become his sole source of income). It’ll change your life, promise.
Moi j’ai eu cette révélation à la foire du meuble de Milan… J’en suis même arrivé à me dire que le design c’était fini pour moi. Je m’étais déjà dit que la mode avait bien changer, que le job dont je rêvais à 20 ans n’existait plus, que non je n’irai pas bosser dans la mode après ma résidence parisienne, car faire de la création devant son ordi c’est pas mon délire…
Que vivent les points de vue!!!!
Justement, Garance, je décrivais Berlin à ma soeur qui me disait que je m’étais trompée et que je devais être en train de parler de Brooklyn. Parce que toutes les grandes villes occidentales se rassemblent, à cause du web, du “street style” et d’Instagram qui normalise un monde qui devient sérieusement ennuyeux… Du coup, pour chercher les choses ailleurs, il faut faire encore plus d’effort, mais je pense qu’au final, si on s’intéresse à l’art, à l’histoire et à la littérature, on trouvera toujours quelque chose de profond et d’original (d’ailleurs, dans les appartements Pinterest, il n’y a pas de livres ni d’oeuvres d’art dignes de ce nom!).
Bonjour Garance,
J’ai déjà eu ce sentiment … sur Pinterest !
Sinon le style que tu décris au début je l’appelle “authentoc”, je n’ai pas inventé ce terme mais lu dans un magazine il y a déjà plusieurs années pour décrire cette course au faux-vrai vieux parisien, je le trouve tellement parlant.
Creativity is never easy sometimes…….and sometimes it is. Life’s full of puzzles, isn’t it?! =)
I am beginning to feel this way with the Fashion blogging world, all the poses are the same. I’m bored and it’s made me not what to read or follow these people because it doesn’t seem inspiring.
We do have to work a little bit to get outside of our little “world”. I am a clothing designer and a writer, so I’m often talking to strangers about their clothes or lives. It’s fascinating.
– Meredith
http://www.meredithmhoward.com
If you click on the first results of a Google search, it is more likely to stay in the first results! hmmm, it’s a strange thought. That is how untrue but intriguing headlines stay so prevalent. So, start from page 10 ?
Oh yes! Don’t even get me started about the same kind of beauty photos. Products kept on a white sheet. Every freaking single one of the photos on Instagram and blogs is the same. It’s like no one has any originality or creativity.
Anceeta.com
this post is so spot on ! I totally laughed when I read the “Instagram Blogger” section, and I’m very guilty of it all (except the coffee)!
http://hashtagliz.com
Somewhat unrelated but who makes that happy red nail polish?!
J’aime ce billet (si vrai et si dans le ton ambiant :-)) et je surlike le bracelet Aurélie Bidermann que j’ai aussi (je suis une pure followeuse du goût ambiant avec le jean blanc et SANS les cuisses maigres … so cliché!). Un billet vraiment intéressant!
Je suis tellement d’accord avec ça ! C’est affligeant de moutonnerie tout ça ! Et pourtant j’aime bien mais effectivement pas lorsque ça se répète à l’infini ! J’ai l’impression que dans la course aux like, les filles ont perdu leur libre arbitre, leur personnalité ! Au début des blogs, j’avais l’impression d’une grande liberté et d’une diversité. Quel que soit l’endroit de la planète où l’on vivait, la mode devenait abordable et n’était plus confinée à une petite élite, c’était chouette mais tout ça n’est qu’un lointain souvenir. Aujourd’hui je suis un peu down et je ne sais plus trop si j’ai envie de continuer à faire mon blog….:-(
http://www.mode9.fr
Je suis entièrement d’accord avec toi Garance du haut de mes 20 ans , et je me faisais justement ce genre de réflexion il y a quelques jours. J’étais dans un restaurant chic, j’attendais mon plat quand la fille de la table d’à côté s’est mise debout avec iphone pour photographier son plat et je me suis dit “alors on en est arrivée la?” photographier ce qu’on mange, pour ensuite décrocher le plus de like? (et j’ai prit ce mauvais tic) Meeeerde. Parlant de photos c’est clair c’est toujours les mêmes dans le fond, et quand on sort un peu de l’ordinaire, et qu’on a pas un compte bourré de #ootd on risque pas d’aller loin malheureusement ! En fait aujourd’hui on veut plus plaire aux autre, à ces personnes virtuelles, on va s’acheter un sac, qui après réflexion n’a rien d’extraordinaire (trio bag Céline) on aura claquer 650 balles mais au moins on sera comme les autres on aura le même trench, la même marinière Anine Bing, les mêmes dickers de chez Isabel Marant aux pieds et puis ce fameux petit sac aux trois compartiment et on sera content parce qu’on aura exactement la même tenue que la meuf suivie par 80 000 personnes sur instagram mais dans le fond, cette tenue c’est pas nous! Faut l’avouer. Alors ouais dans ce monde de clones c’est dur d’être vraiment sois même, de s’aimer comme on est avec notre style à nous, nos propres coups de cœurs, tant vestimentairement que pour la déco et même la bouffe (j’ai quand même tjrs kiffé les burgers c’est pas parce que c’est trop IN).
Garance, j’adore de te lire.
Well said Lou, about how so many people buy clothes and accessories in order to stand out from the crowd and yet they just manage to join the same herd (of sheep)*.
I was at London’s #1 airport recently and my fellow travellers all looked pretty much the same, irrespective of the actual brand / price of what they were wearing. The one person in the entire departure lounge who stood out from the crowd and looked amazing was an Indian woman who was wearing an emerald green sari. Interesting how by wearing a traditional form of dress (ie conventional) she stood out from everybody else.
*or maybe that is the point – people don’t really want to stand out from the crowd… they want to be part of it, because that feels safer than being original?
This is why I read this blog. Well said, so true, and hilarious. And the only way to escape some of this is to travel with a backpack and book, like we did in the 80’s. Before Globalization struck.
Dear Lisa, that’s so true. I just did it with my family in Japan and it was so refreshing and inspiring.
But hasn’t it always been like that? I’m not so sure internet has changed trends so much, it’s just that they are much more visible as such. But if you’re slightly curious there’s always a way out, which internet can give you now, as long as you really look for it!
Although, I had similar thoughts the other day for some reason, but about baby names… It just baffles me how everyone has similar ideas at the very same time (hello old names trend!), and yet each person is convinced it’s an individual and independent choice… It has always bothered me slightly, it’s as if we’re all being manipulated by a higher force telling us what and when to like!
I totally agree about Instagram. It seems that people are just copying each other and those predictable photos get the most likes. Ripped skinny jeans, super high heels, hair extensions, big glasses and inflated lips…or is it just me who always comes across those accounts???
Your point about instagram photos and the same types of photos always getting likes is SO TRUE. I’ve noticed this a lot and I do push through and post the things that I like, but sometimes it’s hard not to resist the urge to post something that everyone else will like too!
shopsaul.com
it is funny. I just thought about it yesterday. The first warm day in a city with festivals all around (Philly, yo), and all kids (20+) looked exactly the same – short shorts, short tops. Doesn’t anyone want to look different? Stay away from the uniform?
Depuis six mois je cherche une maison à acheter. Et j’en ai assez, plus qu’assez des maisons “mises au goût du jour”, même d’adorables maisons anciennes, avec des carrelages anciens, massacrées pour mettre du carrelage gris, des murs blancs, avec un mur de couleur vive, des spots dans le plafond, cuisine américaine, etc… Maintenant, quand je vois une annonce disant “au goût du jour”, je zappe. Elles sont toutes pareilles.
Mes meubles centenaires ne s’y habitueraient pas.
On dirait qu’il faut absolument mettre des jeans blancs sur les cuisses maigres des maisons !!!
The only different thing of your blog from the others is you complaining about everything :)
c’est exactement ce que je ressentais dans cet énième restaurant bobo et extra dans lequel je dinais il y a quelques jours : devant mon assiette, excellente et luxueuse- osons le mot, entourée de jeans blancs cuisses maigres, et de beautiful people (je n’ai rien contre toutes ces choses là) .. petite lassitude, devant ce décor dans lequel je me balade .. complètement consentante…
dieu merci, je ne m’astreins qu’à suivre quatre personnes sur instagram et je ne connais pas l’usage du like … sans doute une histoire de génération et de timing …
merci pour ce message à point nommé, qui saisit lui aussi paradoxalement l’air du temps et ces changements à venir …
Garance le jean blanc c est toi!!!!!! C est les autres qui t on copié!!!!!!????
What a beautiful bracelet. And amazing content. You are so right. Without even noticing it, I do exactly the same. Time to change?!
http://www.fashion-hooked.blogspot.nl/
I don’t follow instagram anymore. Try this: If there is a interior or a cloth style you like/admire and there are some few details or items in it/connected with, which look oddly or mismatching to you, you can be sure to have found an original and not a trend follower! : )
Je suis 100% d’accord avec toi ! C’est un petit peu ce qui me fatigue sur instagram. Une photo de fleurs 45.000 likes, une photo d’une oeuvre ou d’un lieu autre que la tour eiffel, personne ne regarde. Les gens likent sans même regarder, comme si c’était des bot parfois :)
Pour la déco, je me suis en revanche beaucoup fait aidée par pinterest et “le goût ambiant” pour trouver une décoration à la fois neutre ET chaleureuse, qui puisse plaire à mon architecte minimaliste de copain, et à la fille qui a besoin de son espace que je suis.
Après, si certaines choses sont à la mode, c’est qu’il y a une raison. Nos goûts, tout unique que nous soyons, restent teinté de notre passé, y compris collectif, et des inspirations qu’on nous propose.
True, true, true! It’s good to be different.
(shh, don’t tell anyone, but I dream of the day my thighs fit into white skinny jeans!)
Quelle coincidence ! Je reviens, epuisee, d’une matinee de shopping tellement ennuyeuse. Toutes les vitrines affichent les memes choses qui ont l’air de sortir, a quelques details pres, des coulisses de l’annee derniere. Je n’ai rien achete me disant qu’en fait, j’ai tout ce qu’il faut dans mon placard.
Je ne peux me resoudre ni a facebook, ni a instagram parce que justement je veux etre differente et aussi je veux avoir ma propre opinion des choses. Excellent article !
Pas inscrite non plus sur Facebook, ou instagran, tant pis si je passe pour une ringarde.
Je réfléchis pour pinterest, pour pouvoir stocker les photos que j’aime ailleurs que sur mon ordi.
Je ne suis qu’une petite dizaine de comptes instagram, des filles dont je lis leur blog depuis des années, tel que celui de Garance, c’est tout.
Même sentiments pour la mode, plus grand choses ne m’attire, tout se ressemble…
merci Garance, ton post est très juste, surtout ce passage:
“2/ Les contenus se renvoient les uns aux autres, à l’aide de cookies (par exemple, ces pubs qui nous suivent de site en site avec les chaussures qu’on a failli acheter), de “si vous avez aimé ceci, vous aimerez cela” et de “si vous followez ce compte, vous aimerez celui-ci” contenus similaires qui nous confinent dans nos propres mondes. ”
c’est un peu le même principe à l’oeuvre sur Facebook, quand on a des amis qui viennent de la même couche sociale, qui ont des goûts finalement pas si différents et qui postent tous à peu près les mêmes références… A cela s’ajoutent aussi les algorithmes Facebook, qui privilégient telle ou telle publication. Le risque est grand de tourner en rond. Parfois les réseaux sociaux nous enferment dans notre catégorie au lieu de nous ouvrir à d’autres.
Le Mimétisme !
Everyone has the same style. It looks good in pictures, but I always wonder, where are these women going in their super high heels? I follow a bunch of different accounts on instagram so that I don’t get bored with the content. Some illustrators, typographers, and Korean fashion models. Instagram should inspire, not bore!
http://sunovereden.blogspot.com/
Couldn’t be more excited to read this! SO over those primarily white/curated lifestyle/minimalist Instagram photos. And the fake old decor! So cheesy!
Admittedly, I did fall for the whole minimalist wardrobe aesthetic for a while b/c it’s sort of how I naturally dress and I like the concept. But then every adherent looks like they belong in an issue of Kinfolk with the rustic boots and chambray shirts and linen tunics–it just gets so boring. I’m not throwing away the whole principle, but I definitely had an “ah-ha!” moment when I looked in the mirror one day. Ok, rant over! ;)
I have one that drives me nuts: the blogger pose looking down (at the floor I guess)
*Thanks for expressing my feelings exactly* But that’s the thing with classics no? Like a true Taurus, I’ve always like the same things… nothing changes..but now I feel exposed..no likey
mais comment vivez-vous toutes, en dehors du moment de la photo, avec un jean blanc???
#questionsérieuse #fillepremierdegré #jeveuxenêtre :)
Oh thank you for writing this! I have started a similar article many many times, but, mostly because I’m not as good a writer, I have never finished it. The Instagram bit in particular is spot on. Every sunday me and my brother play Instagram Bingo and see if we can find at least 10 of the same “lazy sunday morning in bed with clean white sheets, bare legs, coffee, some avocado toast or possibly the latest Vogue” pics in my Instagram feed alone – and we always do. It’s sad!
It has come to the point where I don’t even feel like talking about my áctual passions and interests anymore in case the internet would accidentally pick up on it, hype it and make me get bored of it :/ X
Hey G! I challenge you to create imagery and content that isn’t the “same”. You do a good job, but before I delved into your essay, I thought – well hmmm I’m not sure if this site is so different. I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s why I come here. This site is a comforting and beautiful place. I do think that there is comfort and safety right now in being “the same” and in trying to hold onto past aesthetics (1950s/60s/90s) because the future is scary. The world, and even America outside the uber-clean Pinterest/Instagram/Tumblr-world is terrifying. By holding onto these aesthetics and recreating them over and over in social media, design and art is a type of denial, and understandably so. I also do think that images of jeans and coffee are an absolute symbol of this: comfortable attainability.
Not trying to “Offend” or “Persuade” you or anyone else reading this comment…..BUT when you say that the world is a SCARY PLACE…I need to speak up. What you are saying is that being alive to you is suffering/dangerous?!?! There’s SO much beauty in the world and comments like these due no justice to the magnitude and wonder of the universe. There IS a life outside your gilded cage….you have been watching too much FOX NEWS and reading far too much PEOPLE magazine to appreciate it. I pity you for your blindness. Then again, a tiny minute piece of compassion hits me….See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil…… ;)
Let me clarify. I don’t read People or Fox and have turned down work for both. I am a journalist and certainly don’t live in a guilded cage. Perhaps I am guilty of looking at fashion websites after a hard project. And yes, the world is beautiful, there are many social and economic issues that you cannot just ignore. Fashion is an escape. And I do believe that some people hold onto that too much and focus on aesthetic too much to be concerened with what is going on around them. There is nothing wrong with this to a certain extent, But I do feel that this article Garance wrote hints upon an issue that can be reflected in the mainstream aesthetic. What do you think the aesthetics that are most prominent represent? I think they reflect the response that you gave me.
Hello Garance, c’est tellement vrai. Parfois je me dis que ceux qui habitent canal saint martin et travaillent dans le marais doivent vivre dans une bulle non ? finalement je suis presque contente d’habiter dans un endroit pas à la mode… Sinon je te recommande ce TED talk d’Eli PAriser. Passionnant !
http://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles/transcript
Moi j’ai envie de continuer à être moi même (peut être en témoigne le peu de like que j’ai!!), à montrer ce que j’aime et ce qui me fait vibrer!
Je comprends tout à fait ce que tu décris car je ressens parfois la même chose et je t’admire pour ton sens de l’analyse!
Christine
And yet again, Garance you speak directly from my heart. Thank you for your thoughts :)
Sophia xx
http://www.sacdujour.de
Relating to the staged instagram pics: http://thekinspiracy.tumblr.com/
omg, this is scary…..
Couldn’t agree more, on Instagram there is almost a theme du jour, it takes guts to swim against the tide but it makes you more interesting. Flowers are a massive crowd pleaser on Insta – e.g the blossom in the sky shot, that’s ubiquitous right now. Whenever I post something a bit different e.g. a sign in a church, it gets virtually no likes. But I would rather mix it up than have a boring account.
Regarding interiors I hate the ‘catalogue’ look, I like something to like individual – I don’t mean hipster, I mean less mainstream – ha ha. See, even hipsters are now ubiquitous.
Dear Garance,
I love this post. You’re so right… Everything is getting to be the same, and it’s so tiring. I never get tired of the Pinterest apartment though! You mentioned a hammock, and that got me thinking. I would love to hear from you about the things that are so typically “Corsican”. I have roots in the caribbean coast of Colombia, and there’s a style I have because of my roots there… for example, I love hammocks, any muted tropical colors (especially when they look a little faded), anything having to do with the ocean, and some classic Latin stuff, like having a picture of The Last Supper above your dining room table. ;) Does your apartment reflect your Corsican roots? I would love to know.
xx your longtime fan
Nancy
Tellement vrai ! Je n’arrive même plus à faire de shopping !
Yes, I was just thinking about this too! I have a big, rustic dining table and I was just about to order some Eames-style chairs when I thought, “Wait, haven’t I seen this combination hundreds of times already?” (on the internet, in my friends’ homes, at the cafe, etc.) How do you balance what you like and what is popular? Is it even important to be different or original? OK, so these aren’t the deepest thoughts, but it’s all in good fun. Your website, however, is always original and inspiring to me. Even when the clothes are not practical for my lifestyle, I can appreciate the lines and shapes and borrow from that.
Merci Garance!
Cette homogénéité ambiante est somme toute triste.
Le bon goût est monnaie courante mais la créativité et l’originalité dans tout ça?
This article is again so on point!!! And you speak about lots of things that annoy me so hard all the time. But also lets not forget that trends being overwhelmingly strong and taking fully over… it was always like that but you had no proof. Styles and fashion do change more quickly through todays internet and social media.
*** is the best part of this article. It’s like support I was too shy to ask for.
Thank you ! Thank you for this admission !
It has become boring. And instagram is like a race for likes and followers. Its rather sad.
But after its initial burst, i think people might stop acting like brands. NOT live for likes and follows.
I also think we tend to all follow the same people. And see the same things over and over. People who dont read fashion blogs dont seem to have this problem.
Did you hear of Mt.Instagram ? THey renamed one hill that in SFO after how popular it got with the instagrammers.
Cheers !
I have been thinking the exact same thing as you… and I also have no solutions. I am resigned to just enjoying it while I like it (and maybe for a little while afterwards, so all those lovely London houses with all the trendy period features will stop being so popular and expensive – one can dream, right?) Although you’re braver than me – I don’t even own white jeans!
This is so true. I try to always differ from others, but in the end trends come to us and we cannot avoid liking most of them. And yeah those photos with the same poses, same style, same things def attracts more like. Also so true about interiors / decor. I am trying so hard to make my flat look different from what I see everywhere on Pinterest Tumblr but is so hard! :D Well I could actually have a pretty serious conversation about this (and really long) but I am not going to. I am just glad you shared this!!
xoxo, Irene
http://www.ontomywardrobe.com
Well, that’s why they call it “fashion.”
Absolutely! I get my fill of benign design at hotels and restaurants (recently my husband and I notice that there is a dark grey paint that is making the rounds and signals the newest hot restaurant) Hotels? I always sleep great in a benign room…kinda gold, kinda wood, kinda white…
To make combat with pleasantly dull…I buy what I like at home. I never have a designer pick out anything. To that end I have an eclectic mix of things that almost is always demanding for the odd man to be thrown out. Next on my list is my dining table, it’s got to go but I’m waiting until reclaimed industrial is “over” to see what’s next. Recently, we added cats but I’m not liking at all what they do to my decor…
I agree with you, G. While I still appreciate looking at those types of accounts, I try to veer away as much as possible by looking at what other unique accounts have to offer. The types that are not really trying to please anything but are just staying true with their own character.
Great article!
And, I really love this photo – that pop of red nail varnish against unfailingly calming denim and the little gold accents on the white bracelet… and those tassels (anything tasseled I adore)! I really like that the colours look pure and real, as if it hasn’t been filtered/tampered with… And – apart from the fresh, realistic lighting on this photo, aren’t all the other things in this photo simply everywhere right now, too (denim, red nail polish, tassels, white walls)? And, ironically, I love this shot, too!
I do agree that fashion, “what’s trending right now”, means it becomes challenging to distinguish whether we like something for what it is – what it means or represents to us innately – or whether (like your friend observed) we just “fall into” liking it because it’s (a) everywhere or (b) just neutral enough not to be an affront to our vision.
I don’t have an Instagram (or Twitter) account, as I can’t face seeing more of what I used to see on Facebook (lots of similar selfies and poses, all the same food shots, all the same filters used on the photos). It’s as if all the Facebook photo-posters have migrated to Instagram. And – like you said – too many white-denim skinny thigh shots, and shots taken of the beach/shore-line between the photographer’s even skinnier, naked knees. Just no more- please! And that’s the reason why this blog is so enjoyable – it’s none of the before-mentioned.
For the most part though, I think most of us come to like what we like (“the heart wants what the heart wants”) and love a certain style of dressing or and furniture home design, after we have spent a few years experiencing and seeing different architecture, clothing, furniture, countries and lifestyles. That (apartment, garden, painting, outfit, meal) which makes us gasp sharply with surprise and joy, and invigorates us so that we can pour back that energy and joy into our relationships, community and work – THAT’S when we have found a something we adore. And if we keep returning over and over to that same – or similar thing – THAT’S when I think we have established a certain leaning, or style.
Before moving our small family of three into our own place (two years ago, I designed the renovations and re-did the gutted interior, and started refurnishing it from nothing as we had no furniture but our beds), I combed through almost two hundred magazines and books – from original mid-century books on Scandinavian design from my grandfather and father’s architecture stash, old design books from second-hand stores – to brand new magazines from all around the globe depicting original and inspired homes from Japan (where it’s space poor and very clean), Korea (super interesting, modern, clean, spare spaces), Morrocco (the textures and colours) and old stilt homes in Queensland, Australia, and Malaysia. So many different styles and interpretations, and yet my design for our home turned out to be quite different from what I’d originally imagined it would turn out to be.
Everyone who spends time in our home say that they feel so calm and happy here. And I think that’s what you really want to create for yourself: a place where you can be happy, so you can spread that happiness to everyone else – whether it happens to be all bare and stainless-steel concrete minimalist, or busy full-on Victorian (not my style at all, but I do love visiting homes like this!), or 70s retro plain white walls with full length windows (that look out on to original 70s fish ferns and an elephant-ear plant fernery — no one but seventies folk had a fernery, hahaha) and wood floors and bits of favourite and well-loved furniture (this last description would be of our home, where every single piece of our furniture, except for our beds and TV and art work, ended up coming from an apartment that my parents sold about the time our on home renovations were completed… and all the furniture was chosen over a period of about five years, from vastly different places!).
I feel like a home- like fashion – as long as it inspires you, that is all that matters. As one of your posters observed, our homes and fashion don’t need to be fashionable, original, or – I’d add – even attractive. To love what we have before us, and to enjoy its practicality (and for me – in a home – its ease of maintenance) is more than enough :-)
Oh that is incredible! You just put into words what I was feeling like lately. Over the last weeks I pinned a lot less, and I nearly stopped looking at my Instagram feed, as if I just got bored when I could spend hours doing that before. I just moved into a new flat, and while I absolutely love the all white everything that Scandinavian decors have, I also told myself that I did not want to have a cliche apartment. So I will mix it a little with my childhood loves from the Basque Country where I grew up. Could research, minimalism and personality help? I hope so. I think that a flat can only look striking if it looks like you and not like a Home decor magazine. I guess it is about finding the right balance between trend and personality, and since all these shops, blogs and magazines are always in front of our eyes, maybe sometimes we get too carried away with trends and forget what we really like inside of us?
So…stop caring too much about likes and trends. Make your own style without worrying if it is in or out the trend. I don’t care about any of this. The shoes I liked on Net a Porter are still following me every site I go in. And I laugh because the site didn’t realize that it makes the opposite reaction on me and on so many people: we just don’t care how desperate you (the site) want me to buy your shoes because… I am not desperate to buy it! No matter who was wearing it on Instagram, no matter who Pinterest it. As I just don’t care how many people liked my photos on Instagram. I like it! It is there for me to begin with. Well, my Instagram is not a narcissist mosaic. And yes I am in fashion industry… I am the client! So…stop, look and listen to Billy Joel’s song Vienna. Trust me: it works every time. XoXo!!!
Allo Garance, tout à fait! mais je me souviens d’avoir été étonné, car ces restos faux-vintage, je les ai vus pas mal dans ce blog ce dernier temps, que ce soit des posts sur Paris ou NY.. et pensé, mais qu’est-ce qu’ils font, ici aussi?! C’est des belles images, mais trop, je trouve.. merci donc de toujours continuer à vous poser des questions, être critique, changer! xxSol
Bracelet hyper joli et vernis parfaitement posé ! J’adore
Oui tu as 1000 fois raison !! Mais bon les bracelets AB aussi on les as assez vu????
hahahaha je valide les natures mortes tellement cliché des instagramers professionnels ! C’est en effet très tentant de faire des packshots de ceréales et fruits bio avec 2 magazines parfaitement ajustés à côté… difficile de s’en empêcher !
Baci,
Ali
http://www.alidifirenze.fr
You have a lovely blog that I do really enjoy reading. I look forward to a little brain respite in the middle of my 9 to 5 or any other time of the day for that matter. Oh dear though…again I love your site Garance, but you’re starting to bring me down. This is very similar to your I’m sick of NY piece.
Totally agree. I can observe this “like” phenomenon on my Instagram account. But I need to admit that I use the trends to get more likes for my jewellery.
Chère Garance,
Votre analyse des différents “mainstream”, mode, déco, etc … est très pertinente et j’y souscris pleinement !
Une (des) façon d’y échapper ? Débrancher … plus d’instagram, plus de flickr, (surtout) plus de Facebook … couic … on coupe tout … et on relève le nez … on file voir une expo (qui aura été programmée non pas les lois du like mais par un vrai spécialiste qui a envie de faire partager quelque chose … enfin j’espère) … on s’exile dans des contrées lointaines … et on respire l’air du large …!!
I find myself in judgement when things do not meet my aesthetic expecations- because my online filters are so “curated”.. I also started to realize that it was impacting my self esteem not to see more variety of real bodies on my pinterest,/feedly/instagram feeds. I started following My Body Gallery on Pinterest so I would have a variety of exposure to new things.. Anyone else have recommendations for “doses of reality” in their feeds?
Haha ! Tellement vrai … Dans la même veine blogo-contestatrice je recommande de faire un petit tour sur The Kinspiracy, contraction de Kinfolk & Conspiracy. Par là -> http://thekinspiracy.tumblr.com/
Completely agree with you on the instagram front- All the same but “unfortunately” that’s what most people like… xx
Thank you for saying this. I’ve been thinking this for quite awhile. It’s nice to know I am not alone!
I agree whole heartedly – For instance wide leg jeans are suppose to be popular right now but 99.9% of the jeans that are posted on instagram, pintrest, and blogs post are skinny jeans. I guess we will see more of the 70’s style jeans in a year or so.
I love diversity… let’s push it!
I have been noticing this recently too! I lived in a small small city for the past year and got most of my fashion inspiration online and felt sort of unique there. And then I moved back to Toronto…and everyone is wearing the same stuff! I genuinely like the dominant style right now (yay sneakers instead of heels!), but now I try to only wear a couple of trendy items at a time.
Haha je suis guilty aussi :) Il est vrai que c’est parfois dur d’imposer son style, quand on sait tous ce qui marche… Mais j’ai adoré lire l’article, vraiment super intéressant !
http://www.pardonmyobsession.com/
I appreciate the “curation,” to use the current phrase, of mass-circulation publications. The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Atlantic–they all cover diverse topics that I ordinarily wouldn’t be interested in. But they present the topics in an interesting way and introduce me to new ideas or to old ones I just wasn’t aware of. It’s sort of like assigned books in school–you might prefer sci-fi, but then you find out that Mark Twain is just hilarious. You’d never have known without it being pushed at you.
I sometimes read this blog to see lovely pics Garance and i think you have a great editor quality, obviously. But i think you are drawning in shallow topics you are more than these decors, styles. I am sorry to say this maybe i am being a little bit too harsh please do not take me wrong but as i designer i think that there is an explosion of styling every service, restaurant & products and this is making everything loose its core meaning or the style it grows within time. It is hard to digest when the history & culture is not involved in the soul of restaurants, clothes or any other thing. Trends are like breezes they go away very quickly and they are not the meaning of life. Maybe this shallow topics gives you boredom because they are obviously not the meaning of life. Whatever besides this i think you have a better art quality you should not underestimate your potential.
I love FIKA, too. It has been my go to for a while now. The coffee is excellent and I really, really have to convince myself that I do NOT need one of their amazing cardamon buns every time I go. Eating one daily is no way to approach looking good in skinny white jeans, that’s for sure!
Et oui… D’ailleurs l’algorythme de Google, autant dans les recherches que dans les actu, fait remonter des résultats qui correspondent à notre situation géograhique, nos goûts, nos achats… Et donc on tourne en rond, à ne trouver que ce qu’on aime déjà et ce qui nous intéresse déjà, cela devient pratiquement impossible de tomber sur un article ou un produit qui ne nous correspond pas a priori, ou qui pourrait être vraiment nouveau pour nous, et donc plus de découverte, finalement.
I’m kinda new to instagram and when I found it I went crazy and started following heaps of blogs. Recently I’ve been looking at the pics people post of themselves and just find the poses so embarrassing. Everyone trying to look like models-same hair, same make up, it’s weird!!
J’aime beaucoup le “Ben tu sais, c’est un peu ce que tout le monde aime en ce moment, ce que tu vois partout, ce que tu aimes sans vraiment te poser de questions.”… Tellement vrai!
Je suis décoratrice et c’est dur de passer outre les modes “très visibles”, des fois je me dis que je suis même très mauvaise commerciale à vouloir absolument faire autre chose (pas nécessairement original hein mais juste autre chose…).
Le pire c’est que ce n’est pas laid, là n’est même pas la question, c’est le motif qu’on voit, on accroche et la seconde d’après on le voit partout et on s’en lasse déjà… Dur après de faire le trie et de savoir ce qui va réellement être un classique.
C’est un peu comme rentrer dans un resto, en se disant, chouette la déco et une fois assis on se rend compte que cette déco n’est pas “habitée”, elle est posée, et quelque part tellement convenue parce qu’à la mode… Et au fond y a pas d’ambiance, d’âme. Mais c’est bien, ça pousse à être d’autant plus créatif.
Well, the globalisation has its effects everywhere, including style. Almost every brand is available online, so, when looking at fashion blogs or Instagram, I tend to see mostly a handful of styles endlessly repeated. Then we have same faces everywhere – women get same facial treatments all over the world and they end up with identical forheads, noses, lips, cheeks and teeth. And the list goes on.
Its good to know that you are so self aware. Yes its true that all of this became this massive cliche. But truth the told you were that pionoreed in particular the “white crisp” lifestyle that is standard for the loads of bloggers. So if someone has the right to it its you.
Although i did find attractive all you mention in this post, it was always way too contrived for my style, so boredom alteady set in, its everywhere, and i wont stop for it anymore.
I think the same !
Garance :) je te recommande ce livre: “L’esthétisation du monde. Vivre à l’âge du capitalisme artiste” de Gilles Lipovetsky et Jean Serroy
:)))
The funny thing is that the post is illustrated with a photo of a bracelet that I’ve seen at least 3 other Fashion Bloggers wear. Aurelie Biedermann is everyone’s taste, too. In fact, I believe there are brands that live off of these Bloggers, Biedermann being one of them (and Mansur Gavriel, Hay, Marant…)
I think soon (give it 2 or 3 years), once everyone has the same paired-down capsule wardrobe, some crazy standout fashion will emerge (e.g., big prints). Indeed, hipsterism has reached its peak.
Thank you for the last sentence. As a company who definitely has a niche market, we’re always weighing whether to photograph our clothing in the requisite “California/Instagram-y way” or give talented photographers the freedom to show our clothes in a truly creative way. It takes a lot of bravery to forge your own path!
http://thedecohaus.com/
La dessus, j.ai commencé à développer une théorie qui peut-être se tient, peut-être pas. ça fait un peu “c’était mieux avant” même si au fond le goût ambiant a toujours existé, on identifient les décennies avec ce goût ambiant qui signe l’époque. Well, AVANT Facebook/Instagram il y a eu MySpace/les Blogs. AVANT il y a avait mon énorme ordinateur immense comme une télé, depuis qu’il est en panne (et que l’appart transitionnel est trop petit) il est remplacé par le combo iPhone/IPad. je me rends compte que les supports ont un impact immense sur ce que je vois et les possibilités d’explorations. le Web était alors une immense toile dans laque,le on jumpait d’univers en univers, un peu par hasard. chaque lien était une surprise, une découverte, et en gênerait d’autres. pareil pour MySpace où chacun avait une approche extra personnelle de SA page, on choisissait la musique la mise en page, on en changeait souvent, c’était la construction de véritables personnalités artistiques en mouvement, qui semblaient uniques. puis Facebook est arrivé avec sa page blanche écrit bleu, tout le monde pareil. et tout le monde s’en fout puisqu’on lit tout ça sur la version mobile minuscule. c’est la course aux “Likes” que tu décrit parfaitement. et aussi : le système des “Applis” (c’est à dire des petites cases bien définies et closes) a remplacé le web aux possibilités infinies, ou on allait de surprises en surprises. le système de la page privée et des “amis” fait qu’on reste dans une mini sphère, un terrain connu.. et le moindre commerçant propose SON application afin qu’on ne soit pas tenté d’aller chercher ailleurs. Bref j’ai l’impression que Steve Jobs a en quelque sorte rétrécit notre visibilité par l’invention des tablettes, qui sont si intimes et indispensables désormais. peut-être que tout ça n’a rien à voir avec le goût ambiant, qui ne cessera jamais d’exister. mais ça me paraît plus difficile d’aller chercher “plus avant” ou autre chose.
Tu as raison “il faut être fort pour continuer à montrer des choses différentes”…c’est pas facile de “tenir”…ah si tu as une demi seconde pour jeter un œil oO. :) have a good day!
I recommend this blog – http://thekinspiracy.tumblr.com/ – as a funny tie-in to this concept. You’re absolutely right on point.
Je vois c que tu veux dire mais la bonne nouvelle c es que moi je ne suis pas du tout la dedans
D abord je n ai pas itagram et je m en conrefous de ce que les gens photographient, donc arrete insgram!
J ai deux grands canapes blancs qui ont 8 ans ;)
Donc je ne suis pas du tout dans la rebellion et la super orignalite MAIS j ai un vrai gout ( bon?) et une vraie personalite
Je n ai un jean blanc zara que depuis 4 mois et chaque fois que je le mets j ai des tonnes de complients ( are those jean? You rock those pants) mais jai du les mettre 4 fois, car il m ennuient…
Comme tout phénomène de mode, la nouveauté attire , rafraîchit, donne un sentiment d’originalité. Tout le monde veut en être : la nouveauté disparaît pour devenir consciemment ou non le goût ambiant ! À nous de garder notre essence créative et d’y mettre quelques touches de vernis ambiant parce qu’on ne peut ou ne veut y échapper ! Ne soyons pas monomaniaques. Vivons avec notre époque tout en gardant notre individualité . Le goût ambiant n’est plus si on l’interprète à notre façon ;).
En parlant de vernis ambiant , je trouve ton vernis rouge magnifique !! Exactement la couleur que je recherche en ce moment !
Puis je savoir lequel c’est ?!?
Merci Garance !!
What you’re saying behind the *** is so true… it seems like we’re all pressured into posting the same stuff. Not saying we’re a victim and so be it, but it is a little discouraging when you post a picture you really love (hell, you’re even proud of and excited to share) and you get MAYBE 1/3 of the likes you normally get.
In those moments I always ask myself what the point is, really. You think people follow you (and like your posts) because of your personal style (whether or not it is super unique), but the second you post something else it almost seems like you are asking for a loss of followers.
I’ll stick to doing my own thing (which sometimes looks like the rest, but is also sometimes completely different) and ignore the decrease in likes (or a few followers). After all… We create a brand that we hope people will love for what it is, right? In the end it may be a good thing that the “haters” leave… you didn’t write/post for them in the first place.
I totally agree with this post, I really need to remind myself to stay true to my style even if it is not the trendiest thing!
As someone that works in health care, I find it helpful to have comfortable, easy and somewhat *anonymous* clothing. For that, the trend towards simple clothes and comfortable shoes has been really good for me! I think the problem is when the bloggers/instagramers get too snobbish about their aesthetic to enjoy anything different. I’m grateful to the strange dressers of San Francisco for making my day more interesting even though my wardrobe is usually on the more average side.
I really relate to what you’re saying- I am a med student and ‘anonymous’ clothing is my go to. I used to love different cuts and something a bit more extraordinary and out there, but now I think this period of “celibacy” has taught me so much about myself, self-expression and fashion (presentation) in relation to others. Unfortunately my non-md fashion forward friends don’t understand this new mindset. Oh well, different experiences and stuff.
Totally agree. I’ve been looking to Korea for fresh style inspirations – there’s a bolder use of colours and there are some interesting silhouettes there, especially the relaxed ones that have a bit of androgyny. Here’s one brand that I think cover the spectrum of Korean styles.
http://www.luckychouette.com/
Tellement juste et vrai, merci infiniment pour cet article qui exprime clairement la monotonie du goût ambiant avec auto-dérision ;-)
Si vous avez le temps, j’aimerais beaucoup avoir votre avis sur le compte Instagram: Saudade_Design.
Merci bcp XXX