Our parasocial fashion relationships

Which fashion girls you are (probably) idealizing, based on your location

Each season, there seems to be a new online it-girl — vintage or current — that we are collectively idealizing for their fashion choices. Sometimes it’s a Bella Hadid or Hailey Bieber (especially when they are active with their outfit content on socials), while other times we get into niche(r) celebrities from the past. (It seems as though every 90s celebrity with good taste has done their rounds on TikTok at this point.) For instance — we had last year’s obsession with Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and the Olsen Twins’ indie sleaze era.

As of late, my feed’s been filled with Hilary Duff as Lizzie McGuire, Raven-Symoné (guess which era of Disney Channel I was watching), Chloe Sevigny, and clips from Sabrina Carpenter’s tour. (Sabrina Carpenter as Lizzie McGuire for halloween? Amazing.)

But, as with anything on social media, what shows up on your feed is more a reflection of your own engagement than some objective reality. So! I wanted to take a more research-based approach to find out who the girls we are idolising this season are. And to make it more interesting, I analysed this by country and region.

Using Pinterest’s growing trends section and the ability to filter by different countries, I could see who people in various countries were searching for style inspiration from.

Below is the breakdown.

Canada: Aaliyah

Have I ever been more proud to be Canadian? Probably not. The person with the largest growth in searches this month was Aaliyah Haughton (up 40% in searches in the past week and 90% in the past month on Pinterest in Canada). Other notable mentions that had significant search volume in Canada this month were: Kate Moss, Jennifer Aniston, Megan Fox, Sabrina Carpenter and Bella Hadid (this one comes up a lot).

USA: Stevie Nicks

Every October since I began tracking fashion trends through data, there has been a notable rise in searches for Stevie Nicks, Phoebe Buffay, and the 'whimsigoth' aesthetic—a blend of witchy, luxe, and boho styles that Stevie Nicks’ 1970s outfits embody perfectly. This year was no different: in the past week, searches for Stevie Nicks in the USA were up 10%, and over the past month they were up by 70%. Other notable people that Americans were searching for this month are: Jenna Lyons, Beth Dutton, Chloe Sevigny, Hailey Bieber, Phoebe Buffay, and Aaliyah.

Mexico: Salma Hayek

Searches on Pinterest in Mexico for Salma Hayek are always high, but this month there was an additional 15% increase for her 1990s red carpet looks. Other interesting people that were being searched for in Mexico were Avril Lavigne and Dakota Johnson.

Argentina: Julia Roberts

This one was also a bit surprising, but a fun set of outfit photos to dig through nonetheless. In Argentina, people using Pinterest were searching for Julia Roberts’ outfits from the 1990s, with a heavy focus on her paparazzi photos (rather than her red carpet looks). Searches were up 20% in the past week, and 30% in the past month. Other notable people being searched for in Argentina were Jane Birkin, Salma Hayek, and Bella Hadid.

Australia: Zoe Kravitz

I was honestly surprised that searches for Zoe’s street style didn’t come up in more countries — but the Aussies are on it. Searches for Zoe Kravitz were up 110% in the past month in Australia. Other people that the Australians were searching for this month include: Emily Ratajkowski, Sabrina Carpenter, Kiara from Outer Banks, and Bella Hadid.

UK: Kiara from Outer Banks

With the release of the new season of Outer Banks, people searching for Kiara’s outfits/style/makeup was showing up in a lot of countries but showed the most interest and growth in the United Kingdom — where searches were up 10% in the past week and 200% in the past month. Other people that were being searched for include Serena van der Woodsen, Emma Watson, Amy Winehouse, and (shocker) Bella Hadid.

Style Analytics’ Feed: Lizzie McGuire, Chloe Sevigny, and Raven Symone

And what about my own feed? Well, searches for Lizzie McGuire are up 20% in the past year, with the highest absolute search volume being in the USA, Canada, and Australia. Searches for Chloe Sevigny also saw a massive spike in searches in the past few months, going from 221k searches in August, to 797k in September, and now 1.1M in October. Finally — it seems like the influx of Raven Symone content is exclusive to my algorithm, with only 2% growth in the past year.

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One last thing I wanted to quickly mention: a tool that I have been playing around with while shopping the past few weeks is called Phia — a browser extension that shows you secondhand, vintage, or similar options while you’re browsing your usual shopping sites. Did this help me find an Ottolinger dress that I’ve been eyeing, but at a way better price and secondhand? Absolutely, yes. As someone who will always choose vintage or secondhand over buying something new (in the name of sustainability), this tool has been incredibly helpful. Basically, it checks if what you’re shopping for is available on sites like Depop and Poshmark. It’s still in early stages, but I have a link for early access from the Phia team. (If you give it a try, please let me know what you think!)

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And that’s all for now! Thank you for reading and I will talk to you next week <3