Putting a Bow on It with Mandy Lee
TikTok's stylish It Girl on the looks that will define 2024.
Mandy Lee, better known on TikTok as oldloserinbrooklyn, is probably the person on the platform who has inspired me to spend the most money last year, something she doesn’t know how to feel about when I tell her. “My manager will be happy about it,” she says, laughing.
Since downloading it in early 2021, TikTok has become my doomscrolling app, mostly because it’s actionable. On Twitter, I’m simply screaming into the void. On TikTok, I can see someone unboxing a pair of shoes I didn’t know existed 30 seconds ago, become immediately convinced, and can’t live without them and place an order for them 30 seconds later.
However, my interest in Lee’s content isn’t in an affiliate-link core context. Sure, she’s inspired a few direct purchases like the Simone Rocha belt bag, but through her reporting on trends and breakdown of her style, I’ve gotten better at interrogating why I like the things I like and whether certain trends are too tempting to resist, like the indie sleaze revival she predicted, or better to mostly appreciate from afar, like balletcore. (She was ahead of the curve on that one, too.)
Getting followers to buy what she likes was “never the goal,” says Lee. “I knew that was not a sustainable approach to becoming a social media personality. That used to be the blueprint. ‘What can I sell the best?’ Or, ‘How can I literally sell my style.’” Instead, Lee hoped to influence the next generation of fashion enthusiasts and join the burgeoning conversation around personal style on the platform, which helped grow her audience immensely. Now, videos dissecting personal style have become an entire genre of content. But are the adopters of these trends learning to think for themselves, or merely looking for someone to imitate?
People have become so much less curious. They think style is an algorithm. The sheer amount of comments that are just, “Where’s that sweater from?” So they can copy-paste what you are doing onto them instead of learning from you how they can do that for themselves.
That's the easy way to go [as an influencer], too. You don't have to think about what you are doing. What are you actually influencing? Selling a $200 poly-blend sweater. Is that making you happy?
That's not making anyone happy,
I don't think so, but that's why a lot of what I try to get across is: what do you like about the sweater? You don't need that exact one. And if you want it, you don't even need to ask; take a screenshot, plug it into Pinterest, and Pinterest will give you a million options or outfit ideas. And then you might see an outfit idea that already exists on Pinterest and be like, wait, I have something so similar already in my closet.
You are one of the rare good trend forecasters. All these other people on TikTok are talking about things that already exist as if they're Nostradamus.
Is that a creator?
No, Nostradamus is a famous prophet.
I was like, wait, is somebody calling themselves that?
So many people were “predicting” balletcore six months after it was already a thing. Which I'm sure must be annoying. Is trend forecasting a trend?
Yes. Yes! Probably for the last year, year and a half, I have taken a huge step back from forecasting on TikTok. Because I absolutely could not be part of the niche anymore. The niche that unfortunately I helped create.
You have a lot of daughters.
It became a joke for a while. Before TikTok, I had been in planning and forecasting for six years professionally. I've worked professionally in beverage, e-comm, and beauty. So it was a very strange feeling to see the skill that I had to work on for that long just become a complete joke.
Anyone with access to Pinterest suddenly thought they had the same credentials as you.
And that's fine. This is fun! And I do applaud anybody who did get curious and did their own research rather than regurgitating what has already been discussed. That I can appreciate. I have heard some really interesting, well-researched forecasts from “amateurs” and that's made me very giddy. But I did step away from it heavily.
What is one trend you want to retire in 2024?
The problem that I have with this question is I've seen everything I hate styled in at least one way I love. I hate the fucking underwear shorts because I think that everyone is lying to themselves. That's not a real trend! That's an internet trend, an editorial trend. People are not walking around Brooklyn in their underwear. No…usually. And if they are, that's a car-to-carpet trend. Or people are buying a pair from Ssense to style in a TikTok that will go viral and then return it.
I always think about that!
Everyone does it. Everyone does it.
You bring up a good point, which is that we’re still in this echo chamber because, for instance, people feel like Margiela tabis are over because of how popular they’ve become, but my mom is still like, “You’re wearing those hoof shoes again?” It hasn’t reached any kind of real critical mass.
It's not like they're selling out. It's not happening.
Are there any other trends you’re not a fan of?
Blokette, [which is something I talked about the concept of] maybe a year or two ago, the mix of romantic styles and sporty together. It did end up happening, but I had no idea it would look like that.
Like everything, it can be traced back to Carrie Bradshaw. What are the trends you think are going to define 2024?
For me personally, I stopped wearing pants for four years. But I really wanna start wearing pants again. I think it will expand my closet a bit. For the world, I think leopard print and polka dots are gonna have a huge renaissance next year. These prints of yore, these prints of Tumblr are gonna come back. And I think that a sailor kind of vibe, but not super nautical. It's gonna manifest a little more neutral. Grays, charcoals, blacks, creams, and this little sailor knot I've seen happen a bit on the runway. I think it can translate really well commercially. A little bib on a top with a little tie. It’s a little more grown-up than the bows, which I fucking love. I probably will never stop wearing bows.
It does feel like they've reached the boiling point, though.
I think the holiday season has been peak, but I don't think we'll stop seeing those next year. I think they'll slowly taper. But so many people have found this joy in re-exploring their childhood and things that they either couldn't wear or wanted to wear more of or were embarrassed to wear because it was like too like girly or too obvious or young or whatever.
Also, as a counterpoint to the bow tax, bows are very easy to DIY according to your personal style. Take anything in your closet and put a bow on it!
[Another] huge consumer shift [coming] next year, is that the lack of quality and how much it's dwindled is gonna start to have negative impacts on the consumer industry. Because when you spend your money, especially on luxury goods, you expect some quality. But that's just not the case anymore. If you've ever gone into a Bottega lately, everything is fucking crap.
I don't buy my tabis new ever. And for the first time, I bought a new pair a year ago. Both heel caps popped off in a month. I could not even believe it. They were hollow! $1,200! You don't get what you pay for anymore. It's a complete gamble. And I think that's going to be an issue in the industry that gets confronted.
What's your favorite non-fashion item that you purchased in 2023?
Period underwear. I had never used those before, and they're life-changing. I recently got back into Pokemon video games. That's been very fun. The new Zelda game was really good this year.
I just bought Breath of the Wild but I haven’t started yet. I got into gaming last summer when I was depressed after hearing gaming can help with depression because you can’t focus on anything but the game, and it’s been really helpful. Who is a fictional character whose style you are inspired by?
Obviously, Carrie, we were just talking about Carrie.
Of course. She is the blueprint.
Do you remember Miranda from As Told by Ginger? She was the bitchy character, I thought she was very cunty. My favorite nonfictional person is Lynn Yeager. She's fictional to me just because she's such an enigma and I've seen her so many times. She's just always out and about and wearing something huge and floaty. She's like New York City lore. I love her so much.
What's your favorite compliment to get?
That I've helped somebody shop smarter or, the things that I've said about why I dress the way that I do have resonated with other people and it has inspired them to dress in ways that make them happy and not wear the most flattering silhouettes that we were taught as kids to wear. I get that quite often and it does not get old.
If you could rob anyone's closet, who would you steal from?
Lynn. 100% Lynn.
She's gonna put you on a watch list.
I've gone to her closet sales and she always brings a little bit, never a huge amount. I would do unforgivable things to see her real closet. I don't wanna be too creepy, but I want to be her when I'm older. I love that she has a signature makeup look, and I love that she has signature hair, a signature style. She really knows who she is and how she wants to look and has not deviated from that in decades.
That is seriously one of the coolest things somebody can do when you have consistency in your style. To me, there is nothing cooler than that. I participate in trends sometimes, but I think it's so important to have conviction. And when the trend passes, will you be embarrassed that it's not trending anymore? Are you still gonna like it? You have to ask yourself these questions to shop. It's okay to participate in trends, but how you're gonna feel when it's over, because it will end. Everything ends and everything comes back.
The interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
one of your best posts so far, loved this interview!
Obsessed with this omg