Why I Have a Virtual Closet Instagram Account

As fashion Instagram accounts take over the timeline, here’s what it’s like to run one.

The summer before my Senior year of high school, my VSCO was full of cool pictures of my outfits. I kept track of every outfit I wore, in detail, on my school planner. Priorities in check, I know (LOL).

With the sudden urge to post and share these pictures on my personal Instagram account, I decided to start a second page just for my outfit pics. I call it my “virtual closet”.

The name I came up with was something random that came to me after making my name on my Depop “Trendy E”, for a sense of anonymity. My sister read a package I had out loud and it sounded like she said the word trendy and stretched out the Y-sound.

A few weeks later, while thinking of the name for my fashion account, I considered a few like: @trendyem @trendyy_e and then it came to me: @trendee. I changed the name to @ttrrenddee to make it more satisfying to look at.

At first, I posted them just to post them somewhere. Soon after, I followed friends, and people from school found me over time.

I was embarrassed of it sometimes, as I would see kids from my classes in my views and likes, lurking, that never followed the account. I somehow was able to find this motivating.

Other girls I knew began their own outfit Instagram pages, one was a deliberate mimic of mine. When more people brought it up in school, and the page kept growing, I used it as a reason to try to win a senior superlative for my fashion sense.

Spring of senior year, I won the “trendiest” senior superlative in my class. After achieving my main goal with the account, I began unfollowing like crazy, thus, losing most of my followers.

My account became a mood board and a more personal page for me. I found that this Instagram was more than just a collection of random and mismatched photos.

It became like a side-hustle. I didn’t put all my focus into it. I’ll admit, the account was dormant for a while, and has gone through many periods like such, but I did care for it.

The account not only has helped me keep track of outfits, but it has given me outfit inspo. It’s like scrolling through a Pinterest full of items from my own closet.

For instance, I might need a last minute outfit for a casual thing like an impromptu trip to the city. Knowing I have a pair of jeans that flatter me, I’ll go to my fashion account and look at what tops I have that would look cute with the jeans.

Of course, the purpose of my account is the ability to share my creativity and, what I think, uniqueness with others. The ability to find a fit from the comfort of my bed, is a plus of course.

Over the past 2 and a half years, I’ve found great comfort in the existence of my fashion account. It’s been a fun way for me to keep my fashion sense vibrant and motivated.

After the pandemic struck, I began to post more raw pictures of my outfits. Some just being a second I had in a public bathroom during the day, and some being the spare minute I had in my room before heading out.

As the account got more random and scattered, I liked the vibe it gave off more. Trying less made the whole page more fun.

I’d recommend making a fashion page of any sort. Pinterest, VSCO, Instagram, and Twitter could all help you achieve this as they’re all photo collection apps.