An unpopular theory about shopping from Instagram.

A great philosopher of our time, Ariana Grande, once said: "I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it."

She probably wrote those lyrics while shopping on Instagram.

Buying directly from the popular social platform has been an option since 2020, when developers cleverly ascertained that *something* was making us shop online more while our scrolling time increased exponentially (cough, lockdown laws.)

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Since then, brands have jumped at the opportunity to create digital storefronts within the app. And why wouldn't they?

The function not only provides a whole lot of styling inspiration outside of standard e-commerce imagery, but it also shortens the path to purchase. You see an influencer wearing a trenchcoat you like in their Stories, click the product tag, and feel like an amateur fashion detective (and now you have the trench to prove it.)

You spot a dress you're lusting over in a brand's feed, hit the link and it's added to your cart within seconds. Easy… right?

But then the dress arrives on your doorstep, and something doesn't feel right. Maybe it's not coming together with your look exactly how you imagined. Maybe the material's a bit shonky and creased, or the fit is off.

On Instagram, the dress looked perfect. Worn by a woman with impeccable styling, her hair slicked back just-so, all tanned limbs against a beachside setting or a little cobblestone street on a Greek island.

A moment in time captured so effortlessly. A moment that sold you the dress. Something like this:

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Because let's face it, it's that emotional buy-in that made you fall in love with the dress… or sweatshirt, or necklace, or whatever, in the first place.

We're not silly. We know brands are in the business of serving aspiration. Sometimes that's a big part of the reason we follow them — an aesthetic escape from reality, or a moodboard for where we'd like our taste and style level to be.

But are the tactics they're using to convert sales actually serving us? Or merely selling us a lifestyle we can never achieve, through a window of constantly refreshed little rectangles?

Understandably, it's their prerogative to keep their businesses running. But it's ours to be discerning — something that's getting both easier and harder in the age of AI.

It was recently announced that H&M will be using 'digital twins' — AI renderings based on the likeness of paid models — to generate online imagery across their social media and e-tail platforms.

We might be a few years off that strategy going mainstream, but it is a sign of what's to come.

As of now, most contemporary fashion labels feature models alongside 'real' people in their content, and talent is more diverse across the board than it was a decade ago.

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This is revolutionary for an industry that used to solely use models, profiting off our insecurities to sell us things. Now we get to see how actual customers wear their clothes.

Only most of them are not customers; they're brand ambassadors and giftees.

While many labels work with content creators to promote their products and share transparency around those partnerships, some rely heavily on micro-influencers in constant need of new items to shoot and share, lest their feeds look stagnant.

'Gifted' collaborations are a viable way into the field of creator marketing for swathes of young women trying to make a name for themselves on the internet.

The trade-off? Free clothes in exchange for content.

It is speculated that US clothing company Brandy Melville offers product gifting in exchange for content from brand fans. Image: Instagram/@brandymelville

Some influencer campaigns leverage these collaborations to build a kind of false economy around specific items, like the logo sweater "everyone's wearing", or the kitten heel all the cool girls are styling for spring.

It's been reported that brands even falsify low stock levels or 'bestseller' messaging to drive urgency. It's now that easy to platform and market a hero product online. And even easier to get your hands on one.

In 2025, we've never had so much visual data to measure our own style against — and it's setting us up to fail.

Because the truth is, you can't buy an aesthetic. You can only purchase a tiny slice of it.

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When you take that piece you bought from Instagram out of context, it's just an item of clothing or accessory without a curated feed around it. It's over to you to make it work for your own wardrobe and lifestyle.

But you're not short on options there, either. Search-oriented shopping is nothing new: on Pinterest, brands can display their products within a huge catalogue of inspiration content.

If you like a street style image or someone's outfit selfie, you can probably find their exact look (or something just like it) through the brand's targeted marketing.

Searching for ways to style an oversized knit? Here's the latest offering from [insert brand here], sidled up next to an endless stream of examples of how to wear it.

But while shopping from our screens certainly adds a layer of convenience, that quick conversion quite often comes with a side of buyers' remorse.

Maybe you were online at 3am, after your baby woke you for the second time that night, and in the brain fog of half-awake doom-scrolling about sleep training and weaning, you somehow found yourself adding a new pair of suede sneakers to your cart as a little treat (speaking from experience here).

So how do you know if an item is actually worth buying, or something you're only aspiring to as part of some unattainable vision of another you, with another wardrobe?

One option is to research the brand's tagged photos on Instagram (that's the icon on the far right, below the bio and Story highlights). While some accounts turn this feature off, most are happy to share it. And it's a viable way to see how their pieces actually look on paying customers — with real, not-so-picturesque lives. It might still be a highlight reel, but it's more realistic.

Another is to take that item out of its elevated context. Try screenshotting the e-commerce image, then looking at your wardrobe. Does it truly fit with your style? Can you think of at least five outfits you'd wear it with?

Or if it's a special piece like a dress for an occasion, can you see it working for your own personal "dressy" aesthetic — as well as your body, your needs and the specific function you're buying it for?

And finally, follow and support the labels that show products, on feed, the way they're worn IRL.

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The most progressive brands use a mix of marketing and consumer imagery that makes their offering look and feel accessible.

Think market leaders like Telfar, ASOS and Glossier, who showcase customers and content creators of all shapes, styles and stages of life — rather than those that fit a single 'on-brand' mould.

And after you've done all that, ask yourself: You see it, you like it, you want it… but do you really need it?

Feature image: Instagram/@nakd-fashion; @reformation.