Do You “Social Media Proof” Your Wardrobe?

Do you "social media proof" your wardrobe? If so, you're not the only one. New research has revealed that Irish adults spend a whopping €14 million doing the same - and in news that may surprise some, men spend more than women! The research, carried out by  TK Maxx, has revealed that social media has a big impact on our personal style and shopping habits. Since the advent of social media, people’s shopping behaviour has changed dramatically as we strive to be social media-ready 24/7. Whereas turning up to an event in the same outfit as another guest used to be considered the ultimate fashion faux pas, not we're all about not being tagged twice in the same threads. The retailers polled 1000 Irish men and women from ages (18 – 60+) and found:

• 17 per cent of Irish adults admitted they are concerned by multi-tagging and buy new clothes just to avoid this
• The average amount of money an Irish man spends on new clothing to avoid being tagged in the same outfit on social media is €95.83
• Yet Irish women spend just €63.60 in comparison
• One in ten (11 per cent) of Irish adults admit they would refuse to wear an outfit again if they knew there was a chance of appearing in the same outfit online

As social media has made fashion and style more accessible than ever, it also drives how we shop and what we wear. Facebook recorded 1.39 billion users at the end of 2014, with Instagram growing to over 300 million users with over 70 million photos and videos being shared every day. Where people look for inspiration has fundamentally changed with fashion news often breaking exclusively on social media, bloggers now gracing the cover of Vogue and fashion designers live streaming their shows. In turn, this inspiration is driving people to explore their own personal style and curate their own unique looks. More than six in ten Irish women (65 per cent) feel social media inspires them to try new fashion styles while thirty seven per cent of men say social media helps them embrace their personal style. The research also revealed the extent of this influence shift amongst adults in Ireland with one in five adults using social media as the main source of wardrobe inspiration, and stating that receiving comments and likes for their outfit posts on social media inspires almost two in five Irish adults to try new styles.