The Student News Site of Lowell High School

The Lowell

The Student News Site of Lowell High School

The Lowell

The Student News Site of Lowell High School

The Lowell

Insta-nista: junior shares her eye for style on social media

Originally published on March 5, 2015

In an oversized beige cardigan and ripped boyfriend jeans, junior Madison Jones strikes a pose against a faded brick wall as her sister snaps a photo with her Nikon D300. With a minimalist aura, Jones expresses her sense of style through her Instagram account @outfitsbymaddy. Since her first post, she has gained over 1,300 followers and gains roughly ten followers a day.

In one post, Jones poses in front of her parked Mercedes-Benz, wearing a dark gray long-sleeved crop top and plaid black and white trousers. She adds her finishing touches to the outfit with a pair of black ankle boots and a simple blue backpack. After modelling for her sister in dozens of photos with different lighting and poses, she selects her favorite and captions it “happy hump day// click the pic to see where everything’s from #brandyusa.”

Despite her current strong online presence and large follower base, Jones was hesitant to start an Instagram account, afraid of what other people would think. In elementary and middle school, she was extremely shy, according to Jones. She preferred to blend into the crowd by donning school sweatshirts, sportswear, and other conventional clothes. “I didn’t want to get noticed, so I just dressed with what everyone else wore,” Jones said.

Tired of being so introverted, she decided to step out of her comfort zone in 7th grade by wearing clothes that would make her look and feel more confident.

“I decided to make @outfitsbymaddy to help shy girls like me become more self-assured by giving them ideas on what they can wear.”

“Fashion has played a huge role in my life, and it has really helped me come out of my shell,” Jones said. “I decided to make @outfitsbymaddy to help shy girls like me become more self-assured by giving them ideas on what they can wear.”

The budding fashionista attributes her past indecisiveness to the judgemental tendencies of the Internet. “A bad thing about social media is that people judge you based on things like what you’re wearing, and they don’t get the whole picture of who you are,” Jones said.

Another problem Jones has encountered both online and in the real world is people making unwanted comments on her body. “Once I was at school, and this random guy came up to me,” Jones said. “He said something like ‘I’ve seen your pictures on @outfitsbymaddy! Wow, you have really nice legs.’ and it made me really uncomfortable. I don’t post pictures for people to comment on my body, I post them so people can get fashion ideas.”

Jones crops out her face in all of her photos to minimize unsolicited comments about her appearance and to keep her outfits as the focus of her account. “This kind of behavior really bothers me,” Jones said. “I know this happens to a lot of other people too. Some of my friends are scared to post any pictures because they’re afraid of what people will think of them.”

Despite her discomfort at the occasional virtual catcall, Jones continues to post pictures, regardless of others’ opinions. “I usually just let it go, since I know that I’m doing what I really enjoy doing,” Jones said. “You shouldn’t let one person’s comment completely change your mind about what you enjoy or how you feel about it.”

One of the junior’s favorite posts is one of her most recent photos, where she poses with her sister’s camera in the park, according to Jones. In the post, she is wearing a white t shirt from Brandy Melville with speckled shorts and an Urban Outfitters button down tied around her waist. As of Feb. 18, the photo has over 300 likes.

Overall, Jones receives not only positive feedback from the internet, but also tons of support from her friends and family. Her rise to fame would not have been possible without her sister, Parker. “Parker is pretty much my manager,” Jones said. “She takes all of my pictures, and she always tells me what captions and tags I should use to get more exposure. The other day she actually suggested that I should post a picture, because I hadn’t in a while.”

“Fashion really helps me express who I am. I’m generally a really quiet person, but clothes let me express feelings I couldn’t show with just my words.”

Parker is not the only family member who gives Jones pointers. Jones constantly receives fashion inspiration from her mom, who works for Lancome, a makeup company. “She’s always dressed very classily, and she’s very honest with me about what I wear,” Jones said. “If she doesn’t like something I’m wearing, she’ll give me her opinion and suggestions on what to change in the outfit.”

Jones also draws inspiration from a wide range of other sources. Her fascination with movie costumes motivated her to start arranging outfits inspired by characters on the big screen, such as the lead protagonist in the film Endless Love. However, she gets most of her outfit ideas from websites like Tumblr and YouTube. Some of her biggest influences are YouTubers Megan Rosette and Lauren Elizabeth, popular vloggers who create fashion and makeup tutorials.

Influenced by the YouTubers she watches, Jones plans on branching out and making a YouTube channel in the near future with fashion and D.I.Y. tutorials based off of her own style.

Jones uses Instagram as a medium to display a side of her that most people don’t see. “Fashion really helps me express who I am,” Jones said. “I’m generally a really quiet person, but clothes let me express feelings I couldn’t show with just my words. I do plan on branching out in the future, but for now I’m just taking it little by little.”

Leave a Comment
More to Discover
About the Contributor
Emily Teng, Author

Comments (0)

All The Lowell Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Activate Search
Insta-nista: junior shares her eye for style on social media