Tag Archives: instagram

Styleforum Member Instagram Inspiration

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Styleforum’s wide-ranging community isn’t active only on Styleforum.net. You might know that we’re also active on Instagram, and that we often feature Styleforum members who use the hashtag #styleforum. Direct from our feed, here’s some Styleforum member Instagram Inspiration.

This month, we reached into the vault to collect the 18 most-liked outfit photos from the Styleforum Instagram page. All of these great looks were found under the #styleforum tag, and one was the feature of a Styleforum Member Focus. If that sounds like something you’re interested in, make sure you’re tagging us in your own outfit posts (and following us, of course).

Which of the below is your favorite?

Styleforum Member Instagram styleforum member instagram styleforum instagram

Styleforum Member Instagram styleforum member instagram styleforum instagram

 

styleforum instagram

Styleforum x Carmina Shoes GIVEAWAY [CLOSED]

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carmina shoes giveaway styleforum

Styleforum x Carmina GIVEAWAY

To celebrate Styleforum’s new home on the Internet, we’ve partnered with Carmina to give away two (yes, two) pairs of shoes on Instagram for you and a friend! Here’s what you gotta do:

  • First, from your Instagram account, follow @styleforum and @carminashoemaker, if you are not a follower already. You can search for “@styleforum” and “@carminashoemaker” in the Instagram application or visit http://instagram.com/styleforum or https://www.instagram.com/carminashoemaker in an internet browser to locate and follow the accounts.
  • Next, tag one (1) friend in the comments under this picture.

That’s it!

Do that, and you’ll be entered to win one pair of shoes for yourself, and one pair for the friend you tagged in the comments. You’ll be able to pick from any of Carmina’s standard offerings (MTO, shell cordovan, special orders, limited editions, and exotic leather are excluded), which means that your feet are going to be looking fine this spring.

The contest closes on April 28, 2017, at 11:59 PM EST. So make sure to enter before then for your chance to win a fantastic pair of shoes for you and a friend!

Be sure to visit Carmina’s new store in New York City, opening this June. 

carmina shoes giveaway styleforum

The Fine Print

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.
A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.
Open INTERNATIONALLY.
Entries must be received by April 28 2017 at 11:59PM EST

Sponsor: Carmina Shoemaker, Berenguer d’Anoia, 60 2º 07300 Inca, Mallorca Spain (“Carmina Shoemaker” or “Sponsor”).
Administrator: Styleforum, Styleforumnet LLC 205 N Monroe St. Moscow, Id 83843 (“Administrator”)

1. Eligibility: Styleforum X Carmina Giveaway (the “Giveaway”) is open only to natural persons who are 18 years of age or older at time of entry. Void in Puerto Rico and where prohibited or restricted by law. Employees of Styleforum, Administrator, and their respective parent companies, affiliates, advertising and promotion agencies, and immediate family members (spouse, parents, children, siblings, and each of their respective spouses, regardless of where they reside) or household members (whether or not related) of each are not eligible. All United States federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.

2. How to Enter: The Giveaway starts at 9 EST, April 20 and ends April 28, 2017 at 11:59PM EST (the “Giveaway Entry Period”). To enter the Giveaway, during the Giveaway Entry Period use your web-enabled mobile device with a camera, and launch the Instagram application for free at http://instagram.com. An Instagram account is required to enter this Giveaway. All terms and conditions of Instagram.com apply. From your Instagram account, follow @styleforum and @carminashoemaker, if you are not a follower already. You can search for “@styleforum” and “@carminashoemaker” in the Instagram application or visit http://instagram.com/styleforum or https://www.instagram.com/carminashoemaker in an internet browser to locate and follow the accounts. Accurately tag one (1) friend in the comments.

By entering this Giveaway, entrants accept these Official Rules and agree to be bound by the decisions of Sponsor, which are final and binding. Entries will not be acknowledged or returned. Limit one (1) Entry per person during the Giveaway Entry Period. Multiple entrants are not permitted to share the same Instagram account. Any attempt by an entrant to obtain more than one (1) Entry by using multiple/different Instagram accounts/usernames, identities, registrations and logins, or any other methods, will void that entrant’s Entries and that entrant may be disqualified. In the event of a dispute as to the identity of an entrant, the authorized account holder of the Instagram account used to enter will be deemed to be the entrant. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned an Instagram account by Instagram. Entries made by bots or other automated devices are ineligible.

You must have a data service plan with your wireless service provider or wireless internet service for your web-enabled mobile device and a device that supports the Instagram application to enter. By entering this Giveaway, you understand that data rates may apply. See your wireless provider for pricing plan details and mobile device capabilities.

3. Prize(s)
-Two (2) pairs of shoes or boots by Carmina Shoemaker, one for the enterer, one for the friend tagged in the comments.
MTO, shell cordovan, and exotic leather are excluded from the Giveaway, as well as special orders and limited editions. Carmina Shoemaker reserves the right to inform the winner of the Giveaway whether his/her item of choice is eligible or not.
Approximate Retail Value (ARV) of the prize is $800 USD. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible Entries.

4. General Rules: An Entry into the Giveaway may not contain any content that is lewd, obscene, sexually explicit, pornographic or contains nudity, disparaging, defamatory, derogatory toward any ethnic, racial, gender, religious, professional or age group, libelous, obscene, or that otherwise contains inappropriate content or objectionable material as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. An Entry must not promote alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the foregoing), promote any activities that may appear unsafe or dangerous or promote any particular political agenda or message. An entry must not defame, misrepresent or contain disparaging remarks about Sponsor, other people or companies. Any content submission must be your original work, created solely by you, and must not infringe the copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, or other intellectual rights of any person or entity, including, without limitation, trademarks and copyrighted materials owned by others (including photographs, sculptures, paintings, and other works of art or images published on or in websites, television, movies or other media). If Giveaway entry requires submission of a photo, you must have permission of the photographer. If individuals are included in your photo, you must provide all signed releases and consents necessary (if requested by Sponsor) to permit the exhibition and use of the entry by Sponsor as set forth in these Official Rules. If any person appearing in your entry is under the age of majority in his/her state, the signature of a parent or legal guardian is required on the release (if requested by Sponsor).

An Entry must not contain the name, likeness, voice or other indicia of any person, including celebrities, without the consent of that person. An Entry must not contain any personally identifiable information such as license plate numbers, personal names, e-mail addresses or street addresses. An Entry may not identify any commercial content, including, without limitation, any trademarks, logos, or trade dress (such as distinctive packaging or building exteriors/interiors) owned by others, which must be used in compliance with these Official Rules. An Entry must not communicate messages or images inconsistent with the positive images and/or goodwill of Sponsor. An Entry must not violate any law. An Entry may not have been previously published or submitted for any other promotion, and may not have won previous awards.

By submitting your Entry, you agree that your Entry conforms to these Official Rules and that Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may disqualify your Entry for any reason at any time if it determines, in its sole discretion, that your Entry fails to conform to these Official Rules or otherwise contains unacceptable content. You agree that you will not use the Entry for anything other than personal use after Entry submission, including no use of the Entry for commercial or professional purposes, sweepstakes or contest entry, without the express consent of Sponsor in each instance.

By submitting an Entry, each entrant grants, and represents and warrants that the entrant has the rights and authority necessary to grant Sponsor and the Released Parties (as defined below) an irrevocable, non-exclusive, fully sublicensable license and right to exploit, edit, modify, adapt, copyright, publish, transfer, use and distribute the Entry and all elements of such Entry, including, without limitation, the likenesses of any locations and individuals embodied therein, in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, worldwide, in perpetuity without compensation, permission or notification to entrant or any third party. Although Sponsor is under no obligation to post or feature your Entry, you hereby grant permission for the Entry to be displayed or featured on Sponsor’s or Styleforum’s social media or digital sites, and by others promoting Sponsor’s or Styleforum’s sites, and in other promotions and/or advertisements at any time without your prior approval or consent, and without compensation to you or any third party. You agree that Released Parties are not responsible for any unauthorized use of Entries by third parties. Released Parties do not guarantee the posting or featuring of any Entry and reserve the right to remove any posted or featured Entry at any time and/or for any reason.

5. Administration: Released Parties are not responsible for lost, late, garbled, inaccurate, incomplete, misdirected or stolen Entries, uploads, photos, hashtags or @mentions, or transmissions, or problems of any kind whether mechanical, human or electronic, including to your device. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify, cancel or suspend part or all of this Giveaway, including if virus, bugs, non-authorized human intervention or other causes corrupt or impair the administration, security, fairness or proper play of the Giveaway. In such event, Sponsor may select Potential Winners in a random drawing from all eligible Entries received up to the date of cancellation or suspension. If for any reason your Entry is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, your sole remedy is another Entry in the Giveaway during the Giveaway Entry Period.

Sponsor may prohibit an entrant from participating in the Giveaway or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines that such entrant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Giveaway by cheating, hacking, deception, or other unfair playing practices (including the use of automated quick entry programs) or intending to annoy, abuse, or threaten any other entrants or Sponsor representatives.

CAUTION — ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE GIVEAWAY MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS. SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK ANY AND ALL AVAILABLE REMEDIES (INCLUDING ATTORNEY’S FEES) FROM ANY SUCH ENTRANT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION. SPONSOR’S FAILURE TO ENFORCE ANY TERM OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES SHALL NOT CONSTITUTE A WAIVER OF THAT PROVISION.

6. Release: Sponsor, Administrator, Instagram and each of their respective promotion and advertising agencies, and any other organizations affiliated with the sponsorship, fulfillment, administration, prize support and all respective officers, directors, employees, representatives and agents, as well as each of their respective successors, representatives and assigns (collectively, “Released Parties”) shall have no liability, are hereby completely released, and shall be held harmless by entrants for any damage, loss, rights, claims or liability to person or property, due in whole or part, directly or indirectly, by reason of participation in this Giveaway or the award, acceptance, use, or misuse of any prize (or portion thereof) , including without limitation personal injury, death, and/or property damage, as well as claims based on publicity rights, defamation, and/or invasion of privacy. Entrants will indemnify, defend and hold harmless Released Parties from any claims, liability, damage, loss, injury or death to persons or property caused or claimed to be caused, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, in connection with participation in the Giveaway (or any activity related thereto); acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any prize; use of entrant’s name or city/state to announce the winners of the Giveaway; or use of winner’s name, city/state, voice, likeness, biographical information, entry, statements attributed to winner (if true) or city of residence, for publication, advertising and promotional purposes.
7. Disputes: Except where prohibited, you agree that: (1) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Giveaway or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; (2) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Giveaway, but in no event attorneys’ fees; and (3) under no circumstances will you be permitted to obtain awards for, and you hereby waive all rights to claim, indirect, punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the entrant and Sponsor in connection with the Giveaway, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Idaho without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the State of Idaho or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Idaho.
8. Copy of Rules and Winners’ List: These Official Rules and the Winners’ List will be posted on the original Giveaway announcement post on instagram.com/styleforum.
9. This Giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Instagram. By entering, you understand that you are providing your information to Sponsor and not to Instagram.

A Look Back on Menswear in 2016

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It’s not just fashion writers who have a tendency to look back at years-in-review and make sweeping statements about the State of Things. Of course not – it’s human nature to place events into patterns, to try to make usable information out of a god-awful amount of noise. But fashion is interesting in that, despite the protestations of those who’d like to think themselves above the swamp, it’s nearly impossible to insulate oneself from trends that tend to suck all the air out of the room. There are always trends or events that seem to give shape to periods of time, and in that regard, 2016 was a year like any other.

Streetwear, already an all-encompassing term, grew to encompass even more. Athleisure has gotten its grubby little tentacles into everything, and along with the ferocious return of everything that’s even vaguely 90’s in style, that meant a lot of hoodies and track pants, and a lot of sweatpants masquerading as trousers. But in addition to the revival of teenage mall style there were, of course, a few Really Big Things that happened.

First of all, that whole Vêtements thing totally happened, in which there was this brand called Vetements that got super popular super quickly, and then one of the designers got hired to do Balenciaga, and now we can’t stop hearing about how Demna Gvasalia and Vetements are disrupting fashion, which is exactly the sort of statement that means precisely nothing.

Along with Vêtements’ re-packaged and re-branded clothing (labeled “cheeky” by many, or “cheap knockoffs” by collectors of Maison Martin Margiela), the logo has made a triumphant return. Nike has always been somewhat of a special case, but brands such as Thrasher, Palace, and FILA have emerged – or re-emerged – triumphant, laughing like cartoon villains in grey hoodies.

Most importantly, all the myriad fashion microcosms that we love, some of which – like “street goth”-bloom and die in the space of months, and others – such as Scandinavian minimalism, or heavy Japanese denim – that seem to be relatively immortal; can coexist effortlessly due to the proliferation of small boutique e-shops, online re-selling marketplaces, and the dominance of social media as a method for consuming fashion.

Love it or hate it, we have to talk about it. Grailed has become the go-to source for on-trend menswear, accompanied by all the headaches of dealing with a consumer base that really wants things but has no clue why it wants them. That’s not a knock on the idea of a marketplace for niche men’s fashion, nor is it a complaint about the democratization of said fashion, but it is true that Grailed’s easy-to-navigate grid marketplace, and sales concept based on always-frustrating offers and counter-offers, reduces covetable – and occasionally, historically important – objects to bullet points on the wish-lists of kids who don’t care about anything but accumulating “Fire.”

That’s been bookended somewhat by bite-sized “features” geared mostly towards given potential purchases some context, but the core experience remains the same: buy, wear, flip, buy more. I see a link between this kind of consumption – which I don’t necessarily think has to be negative – and a new kind of cynicism that has arisen from the combined forces of overconsumption and the over-saturation of social media accounts devoted to #fashion.


#Fashion was, in fact, the 9th most popular Instagram hashtag of 2016 (source: Shortstack), and Instagram itself continued to prove itself as one of the most influential mediums of fashion consumption. Alongside that rather broad keyword you’ll find words like #vintage, #instafashion, and #fashionblogger. You’ll also note that these sound equally broad, and they are, as with almost everything related to the internet or to finding things within its tubes, fashion has become a search for long-chain keywords that will distinguish the wearer. It’s just that they’re visual – choker, crop-top, denim jacket, and column skirt, for example; or a long coat, Palace hoodie, pin-rolled denim and ultra boosts; creative black tie – it’s all shorthand and worn to be searchable, all designed to stand out, both to internet algorithms and fellow tribespeople.

In fact, perhaps the most notable feature of the online community has been the continued fragmentation of fashion’s tribal subcultures. Due in part to the continued rise of Instagram personas and the free-trade-dream of Grailed, it’s possible to be wearing late 90’s band tees underneath Balmain dinner jackets with whatever-the-fuck-else-you-want and no one – on the internet – bats an eye.


You’ll remember that I mentioned cynicism. There’s a movement, among people who engage with fashion on some level beyond its consumption (and again, that’s not meant to be pejorative) – be they writers, photographers, designers – to disengage visually from these very empty signifiers by wearing whatever the fuck they want. And yes, there is a difference between “curating” your daily look to draw from your three favorite online subcultures, and looking into your closet and thinking “The hell with this.” What I’m getting at is that there are a lot of people these days dressing to look “not like that” rather than “like that.”

Cynical consumption of fashion doesn’t just mean following trends with no attempt to align them to your interests or personality, it means that you know what you are doing and yet you are doing it. Savvy consumers – including savvy internet personalities – are buying across a spectrum of brands and trends that largely defies buying conventions, always with an eye on engagement, on riding the crest of the wave, of adopting early – but not too early – and leaving just as soon.

This, of course, has the equal and opposite result of driving the die-hards deeper into their bunkers. The devoted Raw Denim Dudes are, if possible, even more into raw denim. The guys on Styleforum obsessed with the work of Maurizio Altieri have hunkered down with their collections of Continues pieces. Others are just as unabashedly prep as ever. On Instagram, tagging your post with those more specific terms – such as #acrhive, devoted to fans of ACRNM – labels you as a member of the in-crowd in a way that #fashionblogger doesn’t. Because a cohesive look, even if it’s calculated, implies authenticity – a word that means less every year, but that we, as hobbyists, can’t seem to shake.

Fashion has always been as much a matter of class and politics as any other measure of taste, but to me 2016 felt like the year when wardrobe choices stopped meaning anything. We talk about the organic growth of trends as though One day may call for one collection of brands, and the next may call for something completely different. The repeated refrain of “Wear what you like” (and I’ve been shouting it as loudly as anyone else) nonetheless means that all that raw visual data – that god-awful amount of noise – that we try to package into easily-digestible patterns doesn’t quite fit right.

On the other hand, smart companies and e-commerce sites have done just that, and have broken down our buying and wearing habits into rows and rows of data that’s used to decide everything from what goes up on an e-tailer’s website to what’s included in the newsletters they send out. When Mary Choi complains that dressing has become algorithmic, that’s because we are, in part, fighting against an algorithm. Fashion is another useful datapoint, and the lie we tell ourselves is that by “wearing what we want,” we’re somehow above all that.

Next week, I’ll be returning to Florence for Pitti Uomo 91. Just looking at the exhibitor list tells me that the trend in menswear, for the foreseeable future, will be to embrace all trends. Lucio Vanotti is showing. So is Tim Coppens. So are FILA and Tommy Hilfiger. All of this against a backdrop of brands as storied as Kiton and Cucinelli – and yes, it makes sense to have a spread of brands at a trade show, but I can only imagine that many of them will be worn by the same person, at the same time. Although a part of me would love to complain about the inappropriateness of it all, the rest of me revels in the nonsense. Because that’s what style is, and to pretend otherwise seems to me both a lie and a disservice. The only conclusion to make in 2016 is that we’re all participants in the same grand circus, and my sole resolution for the new year is to stop lying to myself about it.