"Fashion, Algorithms, and the Death of Taste" - Topic of the day 7/28/25
*"With Instagram and TikTok's algorithms permanently warping the way we approach fashion, does "taste" exist online? Is the Great Normalization of taste warping what we consider to be "good"?" - from One Size Fits All, full article here
Sol offers several thoughts about how our perceptions about what is "tasteful" or "good" online but what do you think? Were there any standout bits from the article, or things that were off base? Is it easier or more difficult to find "good" clothes or cultivate a personal style because of this shift?
Fashion, Algorithms, and the Death of Taste
With Instagram and TikTok's algorithms permanently warping the way we approach fashion, does "taste" exist online? Is the Great Normalization of taste warping what we consider to be "good"?
60 Replies
I liked it. I particularly liked this line "Want to have a “personal style”? Get offline." :xd:
Great read
Definitely expands beyond the scope of NYC too, global fashion has been getting homogenized as well
He's OL's biggest hater (based)
im not online watching people get dressed or in nyc to feel like this is worth writing about ngl
ig the death of personal style in NYC (not new) or on ig reels (lol) isn't a punchy title tho
i didn't read the article but i imagine it's about like how every1 in nyc dresses like this now
interested in fashion look being the new normy
nvm im gonna skim b4 i type
the algoreithm led me to my style i like it
As someone who grew up on online fashion I pretty much agree. Going out is better, at the same time unless you live in a big city than online can be a good outlet which fills the gap of lack of stores and interacting with like minded people.
At the same time this is very much a perspective of a hobbyist. For a random person who just wants to look presentable for a social norm (wedding, date, etc) making all of this easier can be seen as a good thing. If anything a homogenisation is a bonus as you follow a norm without being too out there, therefore breaking a fashion norm.
In many ways the hyper digital marketing homogenisation is skipping out, and substituting, the generic budget personal stylist you have at mass market department stores.
On a broader level this Great Normalification of fashion reminds me of the ones on what we used to call new media (social web, then apps). It's democritised things for the average person and amplifies sometimes the unsavory. But as the intellegensia of Old Online Fashion we see it as bad. But it has made it easier for the masses and larger amount of people. And that ain't a bad thing.
Ok I do wanna say obviously this article is NYC brained, kinda a normal outcome of being into fashion in NYC. Most people not in cities like NYC/London/Paris/Tokyo etc don't have the same social pressure to "dress well", especially men.
And I do think that plays some of a role into the sameness, there is a decent chunk of people who want to dress well to help them get laid/match the idea of what they should be today etc. For people like that I don't think fashion is a hobby - they probably don't consume a ton of fashion content or explore different runways so they are obviouslly going to kinda default to lowest common denominator. This sounds really elitist but I think thats a lot of the "explore-page core" stuff you see IRL.
And to the other point I think fashion has always had homogeneous subcultures - they have just expanded due to the internet which is probably a good thing. He does note everyone at the Colbo and Kommune events have a specific look, even if its not explore page core.
So I think hes right overall but its not that bad an outcome.
Also I've read this article like four times already. It's a really great one.
ya i really liked this one
Even this server has a uniform right, its a natural outcome of fashion i think
Yeah agreed Smiles, a bit USA NY-centric, but there's some people in London / Cardiff / Bham in the UK who I've noticed do look like this. But it's minor in a sea of styles
ya, i mean i live in a city where theres much less social pressure for men espicially to dress well and the look is much less prevelant
cause everyone is dressing bad
obviously there are looks and subcultures and all that but some of this probably comes from the amount of social pressure in certain cities to kinda hit a baseline level
ok read it and i agree w it but also think it's a lot of words to say "if u wanna have personal style have your own personal interests reflect in your clothing and how u wear it"
but that's what writings about i get i get it i get it
article implies that flatness in taste is bad and new. I disagree that it is bad or that it is new
One thing I agree with hands-down is that having curators in spaces makes it more interesting. I listen to more and more NTS radio now just because I like having a human with a set time limit curating the vibes, as opposed to a mindless infinite stream of similar songs.
Questions though: the cycle he’s referring to of trends getting started and then overdone, that is universal, no? It’s just happening faster now than it did with, say, seasonal trends in the past?
And as far as clothes being sold to a common denominator, that doesn’t seem new either. I’m in the Midwest, and growing up pretty much everyone wore stuff you’d find at the mall: Kohls, Abercrombie, maybe some hot topic, you know. It was pretty common denominator place. Is he bothered by the fact that these NYC stores are claiming to be boutiquey or cutting edge, but are basically just really expensive Kohls?
yeaaa, the shift from conceding that this is a thing that’s always happened to then saying tiktok took away niche things
is a lil goofy
i think the author is annoyed by people who seem to think/claim they have personal taste that's interesting but are really just into a watered-down version of more cutting edge stuff, rather than digging deeper to explore more individualistic styles. I'm thinking of how he points to Our Legacy as being a mash-up of other design houses and says this epitomizes what he's talking abt
As someone who lives in the NYC suburbs I can say that this does feel a little specific—even within the city limits there are people who don't dress like this and are more into the streetwear, but in the "cool" neighborhoods you do see this look a lot. And come out to LI and it's streetwear, preppy, or the random mall/fast fashion stuff depending on the demographic
admittedly you do see people who try to go for "archival" but brands like our legacy are non-entities for young ppl
I just drafted up and deleted alot of brainslop to basically say, if you don't like what is on instagram, don't look at instagram. If you want depth its not going to be in a 10 second reel on your explore page.
I realize a creator seeking an audience is going to have a much different experience with this.
Curators with niche and bold tastes are 1000% awesome and if they are suffering from lack of exposure on insta, etc, stop looking for them on insta etc.... the best thing to do is to go search them out where they are. For example checking out Sol's substack. For example looking into the writers he quotes. Those are real nice quotes by Voltaire and Montesquieu, but hey, what if they are wrong or something? You could spend literally the rest of your life reading criticism of Voltaire if you wanted to (i sure do not want to do this) but if you'd rather wait for some Voltaire meme to pop up on your explore page thats a thing you can do now too
Is there a huge societal issue with the influence of social media algorithms, sure absolutely... but how am I supposed to deal with this on a personal level? Just stop tuning in i guess. dig your own research holes and be critical of your sources
i agree but to be fair he's talking at least at first about people in real life
but also, if everyone in NYC looks the same I actually dont really care, and if I look like everyone else, I also dont really care
Yeah, very rare to see anyone dressed in any of this in Liverpool. Though I did see a couple in matching ALD caps and oversized shirts the other day. Had to check in case they were wearing loafers as well (They were not)
Also feeling called out but I have loved Negronis for a decade.
i dont know anything abt sol but i also kinda wonder if he has the same distaste for ppl trying too hard to be cool that i do
bc the cartoon seems like a pretty big call out of a certain type of person
Ikinda appreciate people tryharding, but if anything this adoptation of a uniform is the opposite?
thats what throws me a little, i think this is a uniform of sorts but its a uniform of ppl with above-average income who live in trendy nyc neighborhoods
what it reminds me is why i like not following rules and just looking at charity thrift stores that have random stuff people donated. imo if the store has a curated vibe its still perpetuating a single style, its not eclectic which is what is most interesting to me at least
part of why the decline of department stores is disappointing to me is that it makes it harder to go out and see different styles presented in one space
Yeah your thesis is correct. The same phenomena happens; it's just sped up because of targeted social media advertising.
Trend cycle / adopter curve has been a thing for decades.
I am an ardent OL non-believer: everything they put out reminds me of watered-down Acne, Undercover, or Miu Miu. 🗣️this is also why OL is so universally accepted
It's pretty much the thesis there, it's safe
i do think a better article wouldve been "Our Legacy Sux" and that would drive more engagement
I don't think they suck. I don't think they're interesting enough to suck, really.
what
I can kinda see, its like those bands that sound like a watered down versions of their influences. In music i can enjoy that as more of something i love
difference is OL is super expensive where an album from some random 90s-era Radiohead sound-alike is the same price as Radiohead
My biggest gripe with the article is the line of "Find clothes that serve those desires, those activities, and your life offline." The clothes that best serves a lot of hobbies ends up being cargo shorts and a random cotton t-shirt. Dressing for a hobby dives straight in to being utilitarian and not to putting in any effort in to looking "good"
I agree with the “life offline” part but yeah if your hobby determines how you dress then it’s not really taste anymore is it
Or rather you’re restricting your horizons
i think it's like let the hobby or other interests inform how u dresss a lil bit. take pieces of what u like and add it to your clothes so ur not a clone
which is like
idk just more advice from a person on the internet
snake eating its tail etc
I thought this was interesting at first but the more I think abt it this article has been written countless times before
I mean if thats your answer I don't think you care about fashion.
I don't totally agree with his phrasing but personal style should be reflective of how you want to present yourself to the world.
I'm pretty new to attempting to developing taste and attempting to be more fashionable. And so perhaps it is just the case that this article isn't where I should be directing my attention at the moment.
Ok I came in hot then
mb
What I'm trying to say is yes fashion will never be the most utility I think. Thats not what its about. I think my point (and being generous to Sol, his point) is that personal style is about thinking about the image you want to present to the world. It doesn't have to be reflective of specific hobbies but it ideally should be reflective of you.
I do think he phrased it poorly
No worries. I've graduated to the point of knowing cargo shorts are ugly, and just acknowledge that any choice to look better is a choice away from functionality. And I'm definitely okay with that, and enjoy looking better, but it just is a conscious choice.
You may enjoy this post & the discussion in it from malti fwiw:
https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1386467312978366464
https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1386467312978366464
There is so much buzz about "personal style" as some goal which makes it seem like it needs to be super unique to you and we also hear "style should reflect your interests" which makes it seem like some hidden code. imo its all just about self-realizing your personality. Your interests are part of your personality, as are your choices and its worthwhile to make them meaningful. For me, my clothes reflect my larger interests because... my enjoyment of them comes from the same place. idk if that makes any sense :xd:
fwiw i don't know that my fashion reflects my other interests or hobbies or job
yea i think that's ok
my fashion does reflect though how i want to be perceived (loud, traditionally masculine but with elements that show im not weird and conservative about it, relatively formal but in a way thats more weird than "just" formal, designer, wealth signaling sure, taste signaling sure). Like that sounds weird to write out but I really identify with what @malti says:
The series is heavily inspired by people that Dylan Don and Slim Aarons would photograph - these are usually celebrities, Hollywood elite, moguls, etc. I am none of these. So that’s why in a sense, these projects are a bit of an escape - it’s almost as if I’m entertaining the thought of what it might be to live a life like thisMy other hobby is the gym (which makes fashion mroe difficult) and my job is CS which is like, the epitome of wearing dogshit lol. And then random nerd consumption god i can't write
I know this isn't really the point of this TOTD but I'd avoid getting into absolutes like this. Can cargo shorts be ugly? Sure. Are they inherently bad and will always look bad in an outfit? No
I swear I'm not as big a douchbag as this makes me sound :clueless:
As a reply to the actual TOTD and article, I don't really have anything to say about it. It came across to me as someone writing about their experience in X big city with lots of people into fashion and dressing in a certain way, and that doesn't reflect my experience at all where I live so I can't really relate to anything about it. I'm just doing my thing I guess
Which tbh has been heavily influenced by being in this server so who knows what I'm trying to say
yea, i think that's what the post is tryyying to get at. that people feel they've achieved some kind of personal style only for sol to walk around nyc surrounded by ppl with that exact same style
like i get whre he's coming from and i can see it being aptly directed to a very specific few ppl, but it's kinda self righteous or w/e
I think it argues that you should dress for your individual hobbies and interests, not to aim for the same homogeneity
If you like cargo shorts and tees and it matches your lifestyle, there's a niche and individual fashion for that
The article's gripe and essential message is to aim for your individual style, not a homogenous dressed by the internet style. Though paradoxically, it's true that a lot of people just do enjoy that as well. It's ok to be either as long as its true to yourself
Suppression of your own personal interests/style for the sake of fitting in isn't healthy. Some people do fit norms naturally and comfortably and that's fine, but if you don't, you shouldn't force yourself to
just to add to this - funnily enough if it wasn't for the internet (and online fashion communities) i wouldnt even have come across and discovered these influences to begin with. a place in the sun was always a culmination of my tastes and my desires - i just think that the juxtaposition and dialogue that clothes can have with a physical place is really interesting. the music curation, worldbuilding and photography is literally me - thats what i love. i didnt find it initially when i started, so i created it and made it myself
dylan don / slim aarons were discovered via umit benan, who i discovered through haider ackermann... who i discovered thanks to kanye (was a v different person back in 2013, absolutely dont support him now - but i digress) kanye i found via kanyetothe fashion section (rip) because i was in the whole minimalist streetwear era (around the same time hedi's slp was popping off too) so in a sense its all linked to my "fashion journey". i would definitely not have the style and level of "taste" i do today if i just lived my life and imitated what i saw in the streets in malta. this country is a literal rock in the mediterranean sea, trends here are always super late behind the rest of the world and most people dress absolutely terribly in faux riche brands to signal wealth (tommy hilfiger and ralph is the shit here). the majority of the brands and designers i wear are never heard of, yet alone stocked in shops here. i would have not the friends i have today (some of which i can now call as my closest friends - who i met through clothes initially) whom ive learned so much from as well... so yeah, im actually pro-internet. you just need to be extremely mindful of how you consume and be weary of hive mind and hugbox communities. posting your fit online a few years ago required one to have a tough skin... it was brutal but thats how i learned
dylan don / slim aarons were discovered via umit benan, who i discovered through haider ackermann... who i discovered thanks to kanye (was a v different person back in 2013, absolutely dont support him now - but i digress) kanye i found via kanyetothe fashion section (rip) because i was in the whole minimalist streetwear era (around the same time hedi's slp was popping off too) so in a sense its all linked to my "fashion journey". i would definitely not have the style and level of "taste" i do today if i just lived my life and imitated what i saw in the streets in malta. this country is a literal rock in the mediterranean sea, trends here are always super late behind the rest of the world and most people dress absolutely terribly in faux riche brands to signal wealth (tommy hilfiger and ralph is the shit here). the majority of the brands and designers i wear are never heard of, yet alone stocked in shops here. i would have not the friends i have today (some of which i can now call as my closest friends - who i met through clothes initially) whom ive learned so much from as well... so yeah, im actually pro-internet. you just need to be extremely mindful of how you consume and be weary of hive mind and hugbox communities. posting your fit online a few years ago required one to have a tough skin... it was brutal but thats how i learned
intresting article, i'm not so sure i agree though
how do you do dotpoints in a discord text
- I feel like it overstates how much control 'algorithms' have which ignores that they reflect what people already like rather than creating tastes from scratch.
- There's a lot of niche and experimental styles that have now become visible and accessible online, rather then needing to be in a specific location/time for it. Does it then argue, that the more accessible something is, the less valuable it is?
- It romanticises the past while ignoring that fashion has always had trends, uniforms, and people copying each other (fashion icons etc)
- Also assuming sameness/conformity means a lack of taste (this is a weaker point, and i do get it, but i still feel like this isn't exactly true.)
- It treats offline spaces as inherently more authentic, without acknowledging their own limitations or 'gatekeeping'. This might be a discussion worthy on its own tbf.
that being said i enjoyed reading the article, it was thought provoking
ok post the fucking message
enough is enough
is someone posting and deleting
mods can we share w the class the deleted informationg
only once that I can see, and about an hour ago so I dunno what's happening
shit lit up like 4 times for me fuck tbis totd
I thought I was going insane
Ditto. I can’t relate to any of this and I live 40 minutes from NYC.
yeah i live on LI and I only relate to it becasue I go to those neighborhoods from time to time