Is Personal Style Going Out of Fashion?

Instagram face, ‘core’-ism and the psychology of sameness.

Mar 26, 2025

Welcome to The Fashioned Mind!
Brands. Trends. Theory. It’s the psychology of fashion, dissected.

Really, how unique are our fashion choices?
Explore the psychology behind personal style, trends and uniqueness's role in leading people to dress the way they do.

Key points - Is personal style going out of fashion?

The proliferation of trends would suggest that we are no longer distinctive when it comes to our buying behaviours and style preferences
But research suggests that despite our herd mentality, individuality is wired within us influencing us to think we are more unique than we actually are
Personal style can be built upon by investing in our uniqueness through customising our clothing, helping the environment too

Viscose Journal: Issue 01 “Styles” | From Pinterest: https://pin.it/1V3ocUdOj

Individual style is a tricky thing, as humans we have a desire to fit in with the group but also to stand out. So, how do we balance these two conflicting needs?

Psychology can help us understand personal style, trends, and how we attempt to assert ourselves in the world whilst bonding with others. As well as answer questions that get to the heart of the matter: what is the role of uniqueness in fashion? Are we unique when it comes to our dress sense? Or do we all eventually conform and defer to the group?

Are we actually unique when it comes to dress?

In an era of personalisation, algorithms that consistently churn out scrollable content and fast-developing AI tools that aim to make your shopping experience even more seamless, we seem to have an unprecedented ease of finding the things that speak to us.

But we are also in a climate of ‘cores’, aesthetics run amok on TikTok and Pinterest, style guides proliferate the internet and pop-personality tests attempt to neatly classify and codify us into groups.
In beauty too, trends are in abundance. One trend that speaks to the phenomenon is ‘Instagram face’ - the idea that young women are getting cosmetic surgery procedures that end up making them all look alike, despite spanning different cultural backgrounds.

The kids aren’t even safe from the herd mentality of style and appearance. Tweens increasingly have fewer options to shop in a way that is directly and specifically appealing to their age group. The present market no longer allows for the kind of exploration and self-development that is the fertile ground for personal style to develop and a hallmark of adolescence.

But what does psychology have to say when it comes to our uniqueness? How unique are we really when it comes to dress?

The Psychology of Sameness

The human tendency to fit in is deeply entrenched in our collective psyche. Conforming to the group not only makes sense in terms of our survival but for us thriving as a species too.
Conformity is not just a learned behaviour but is innate. When others agree with us, our brains light up their reward centres. And when faced with deviating from social expectations, our brains activate a punishment warning system.

Deferring to the group when it comes to your style, in terms of trends, aesthetics and cores may be beneficial. Helping us to foster a sense of belonging, and community and allowing us to bond over shared values and interests, which can improve mental health and well-being.

So, it appears we are hardwired to follow the group. Or, are we?

Consumers’ Need for Uniqueness

Research into the motivations of shoppers shows that we are encouraged to choose clothes for several different purposes.
Most notably, for individuality, to be distinct and unique. This desire is especially true for the more narcissistic among us.
Narcissism is related to various fashion behaviours, such as materialism, compulsive buying and product uniqueness. Suggesting that following the desires of the I can make for a person who buys fashion to stand out and show off.

Cognitive psychology tells us we aren’t that great at perceiving how similar we are in comparison to others.
Known as the False Uniqueness Effect, it describes the attributive error we make by overestimating our differences from other people. Usually, we underestimate others, erroneously believing we possess more or less of a trait than our peers -when typically we have similar levels.
This effect may be influenced by gender, with men thinking they are more unique in both physical and social traits, and women thinking they are more unique in social characteristics.
The false uniqueness effect may account for why distinctive styles and subcultures persist. Since we go around believing we are all more unique than we are, we miss the information that speaks to our shared similarities. Our ‘I saw it first-ism’ prevails.

How to counteract sameness

If you subscribe to the false uniqueness effect, feel free to skip this part. But if your style is something you would like to develop, psychology may have some tips on how to do that.

Some of the ways we can counteract the deluge of sameness are by mending, repairing, upcycling and customising our clothes.
Due to the endowment effect, we place more value on the things we take ownership of and this means we find it more difficult to part with our belongings. By customising our clothes we not only make them more ‘us’ but we come to value them more.
A win for personal style and a win for the environment.