Welcome to the Nothing To Wear Edit where each week we curate the best picks from the topic we spoke about on the podcast. Listen to the full episode here.
I was so very excited to record this week's episode of Nothing To Wear. I'm obsessed with Pinterest but as an elder millennial, I knew I wasn't getting the most out of the app.
So much more than just Google for pretty pictures, my guest Liv James schooled me and the Nothing To Wear audience on the very best ways to use Pinterest, turning it into your own personal stylist or shopping tool.
Liv is our resident social media guru at Mamamia. She's literally paid to know how to use each platform as an expert, so I knew we were in good hands.
Watch: Leigh Campbell styles Annaliese at in office clothes swap. Post continues after video.
Liv taught me a bunch of new tricks and ways to teach the algorithm what I like (the episode is a must-listen), however Liv gave me a gold star for already popping on Pinterest to plan outfits using the three tricks below for searching…
By an item (or colour) I want to wear.
This one is a no-brainer but I'm always so pleased I pulled out Pinterest every time I use it this way.
You know that item in your wardrobe you really love, but just don't know what to pair it with? Or, you only ever wear it with jeans or black pants because you're not confident mixing it with anything more adventurous?
Describe the item in a few words (it might be 'purple shirt', 'satin slip skirt' or 'chunky sandals') in the search bar with the word 'outfit' or 'styling' at the end.
Hey presto, a bunch of outfit ideas!
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It's particularly handy if it's the colour of an item that's tripping you up, because visually seeing unique combinations suddenly sparks creativity. It's likely you'll have pieces in similar shapes or colours already in your closet, or it might plant the seed of an idea you hadn't come up with yourself.
By something I'm considering.
I use this approach in two different ways.
Firstly, if I'm shopping and I'm not sure if I'll get enough wear out of an item to justify the purchase.
This is particularly handy when I'm thrift shopping (my favourite hobby — we did a whole episode on it!) because the decision feels more urgent considering the piece is a one-off. As with the above, I describe the item and search for various ways I might be able to style it and decide from there.
Similarly (but in reverse), I use Pinterest like Google if I'm searching for a particular cut, colour or style but don't know where to find it.
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Their platform hosts advertising and is also very smart, so it learns what aesthetic you like and serves you brands you might be interested in. I search by describing the item I'm looking to buy (most recently it was an off-white leather cross-body bag) and enjoy both the outfit images but also the advertisements, because I get so many more 'me' options than using the big search engines. Pinterest served me The Horse Clementine Bag, and she's exactly what I was looking for.
By a place I'm going (or season I'm dressing for).
This is ace for travel, but also acts like a crystal ball for the season we have ahead of us here in Australia.
For travel, I'll type in the location and the weather. I do this because my brain automatically starts to plan outfits in 'character mode', coming up with combinations that might look a little too cliche or staged.
Let's pretend I'm going to Paris and it's going to be cold. I'd immediately think of a long-sleeved Breton tee and a beret (though hopefully I'd stop myself from taking it that far). Before I pack, I type in 'Paris street style autumn winter' and my phone is immediately flooded with what women wear IRL there, and for that temperature.
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And because the vast majority of content creators are in the northern hemisphere, as are the design teams of most global fashion brands, I like to use it as a sneaky style predictor.
Right now Europe, the UK and the US are in their last month of winter, so I search for recent street style images and styling ideas for that season. It's the season we're about to head into so it gives me insight as to the items that might be coming to stores here in Australia soon, and also ideas on how to how to wear them.
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