TikTok OOTD's Are Making My Wallet Cry

Someone take my credit card away... please.

Photo: Unsplashed

What does your TikTok “For You” page look like? Are you on “Alt TikTok,” where the woodchuck anthem is taking over? “Straight TikTok,” where Charli D’amelio and Addison Rae are trying to dance their way out of a pandemic? “Travel TikTok?” “Prison TikTok?” “Food TikTok?” Or maybe your FYP consists of Olivia Rodrigo’s new song “Driver’s License.”

Mine consists of all of the above, as well as some One Direction, but what I see the

most are fashion TikTokers showing their outfits of the day.

OOTD videos have taken over my FYP and my wallet is not happy about it.

Most of the videos are 15-30 seconds, some only show one outfit while others show several at once. The clothing pieces are usually linked in the comments or can be found on the creator’s Instagram page, tagging the companies the pieces are from.

Sometimes I wonder if it is a good thing that the items are tagged because then I know where to buy them and my self control is put to the test.

Being on OOTD TikTok is cool because there are so many different creators showing their daily outfits. They range from casual and comfortable to classy and streetwear.

Seeing outfits being put together and how certain pieces are styled can provide inspiration to those watching. I get bored of wearing the same outfits and am always looking for inspiration.

TikTok and social media as a whole has made me realize that you can wear anything you want, as long as it makes you comfortable, and it doesn’t matter what other people think.

When trying to find an outfit for a certain occasion, I’ll sometimes look at my favorite fashion TikTokers for ideas and then I’ll add my own spin on it. It doesn’t feel mine until I add something new to what has already been done.

Originality is sometimes hard to find; especially if all you see when scrolling is fashion content. Trends play an important role in fashion. When everyone starts dressing in the same styles and outfits are manufactured from the same stores, it can start to get a little bit repetitive and outfits start lacking originality.

So is TikTok playing a role in that lack of originality because every video is similar, or is the app creating originality by taking trends and transforming it into something new? In my opinion, I see both on the app and it depends who I am watching.

One TikToker I watch is, @hannahharrell who just reached 1.1 million followers on the app. She posts “fit checks” almost daily which range from streetwear to super casual. Hannah’s TikToks are fun, usually paired with a trendy audio going around on the app, in her bedroom with LED lights on, or sometimes filming in a parking garage. All of her OOTDs are different and seeing how she styles certain items demonstrates all aspects of originality.

Other OOTD TikTokers go the more basic route and pose in their bedroom with the hottest new song playing in the background. No matter how they are filmed, the goal is to show off cute outfits and viewers are just a simple click away from adding them to their closet.