One of the hottest and latest trends for social media and fashion blogging is Pinterest. Pinterest.com is a website that allows its users to repost or “repin” and collect pictures of their favorite style icons, home décor, fashion trends and much, much more. Elizabethtown College students first-year Brighid Flynn and senior Kelly Clayton are well-known on campus for their own Pinterest boards.
Flynn joined Pinterest this past December after being invited by a fellow user. Flynn’s Pinterest is comprised of 13 boards; two in particular are dedicated to fashion and her favorite celebrity icon, actress Zooey Deschanel. Flynn spoke highly of her love for Deschanel and Deschanel’s personal style. “Much of my own style is like [Zooey’s],” Flynn said. “We both adore dresses and prefer high-waisted skirts and shorts over pants.” Flynn admits an obsession for anything floral and feminine; however, she searches for unique pieces that vary from what others commonly wear. “Zooey’s style really inspires me to be my own person. She doesn’t listen to people that criticize her for her quirky sense of style. I love how she uses shapes and interesting patterns to create an exciting look.”
In addition to florals, Flynn is keeping her eye out for some different pieces and colors this season. She is searching for anything cobalt blue with peach, coral or black to combine with it. For Easter Sunday, Flynn plans to sport a knee length skirt with a white old-fashioned bicycle print. “I just love clothing that is adorable yet quirky. I found that fashion ‘off-beaten path’ to be more eye-catching,” she said. Flynn recently purchased a pair of floral wedges with a twill bottom from Target for a great pair of summer heels. She is also a fan of crocheted and flower headbands. I spotted Flynn sporting one of her new headbands just the other day, and she looked absolutely adorable.
Like Flynn, Clayton was invited onto Pinterest around Christmas by a friend who thought she would love it. Clayton is a major fan of social media and thought she would give Pinterest a try. Clayton started two Pinterest accounts: one for herself and one for her print and virtual magazine, Tru(4)ia.
“I find Pinterest to be very useful,” Clayton said. “It’s great for Tru(4)ia. For example, if we write a blog, I’ll post a picture from the blog, pin it to Pinterest, and then I’ll put the link on the bottom and then it gets 40 shares. This means that 40 people saw our blog. It’s overall a great marketing technique.”
Clayton’s personal Pinterest consists of a number of boards for fashion, wedding ideas, health and fitness, eco-friendly products and even her dream home.
“My style is very preppy; I pretty much wear stripes or polka-dots every day,” Clayton said. “I also love high-waisted skirts, nautical pieces. One of my things that I do [when I dress] is, I always wear one piece of clothing long and the other short. I’ll wear pants and a short sleeve shirt or a mini skirt with long sleeves.”
When asked about her favorite article of clothing in her closet, Clayton mentioned her prized vintage cardigan that she described as a letterman sweater-lookalike with her name monogrammed on it.
Clayton also expressed her interest in finding fashion bloggers online for inspiration and ideas. One of her favorites is a blogger named Jessica Quirk who posts pictures of what she wears throughout the week. “What I like about [Quirk’s] style is that it is very practical. It’s fashion that you can replicate from stores like Target or Marshalls,” Clayton said.
This spring, she is looking for pieces in the color green. “Mint green is so popular right now. I really want a pair of twill pants or a 1950s vintage-inspired dress.” Clayton will attend four weddings this summer and plans to find the perfect vintage dress for one of the occasions. Along with a dress, she is keeping her eye out for a new pair of wedges and espadrilles.
Clayton is also a big fan of reducing and reusing. She likes to look for vintage pieces at local thrift stores and consignment shops. “I like to take trips to Lights of Hope on High Street, the Etown Goodwill store, Community Aid Thrift and Now Wear This!, which is a consignment shop. They have a whole dollar room filled with only high-end brands. “I’ve gotten J. Crew pants and Calvin Klein shoes for only a dollar; it’s great,” she explained. “Thrifting is definitely the way to go if you want to find unique fashion pieces, along with a combination of mainstream pieces as well.”
This spring, I will be keeping my eyes peeled for coral pieces, chiffon shirts and anything blue. My latest obsession is white blazers and pleated jackets. My personal style is laid-back with lots of neutral and light colors. This spring, coral and mint seem to outshine any other colors. Last season’s popular colors were light blue and pastels like lavender.
Whenever I need inspiration, I turn to my own style icon, Lauren Conrad. Conrad is a former reality star and current fashion designer and novelist. She runs her own website, LaurenConrad.com and updates her blogs on a daily basis. It was Lauren Conrad who opened my eyes to the world of Pinterest. In a number of her blogs, such as her “Wear, Primp and Decorate,” she posts pictures of delicious deserts, beautiful accessories and the latest fashion trends. She allows users to repin her pictures on their Pinterests for their own admiration. Recently, I’ve been following her Pinterest and found that white pencil jeans, platform dress sandals and hi-low chiffon maxi skirts are popping into spring collections and fashionistas’ closets.
This spring is going to be full of pinks, pleats and minty greens. I can’t wait to see how everyone will be wearing these trends this season.
