The Best Style Advice We Heard In 2025

Summary

Podcast Summary: Let's Get Dressed

Host: Liv Perez
Episode: The Best Style Advice We Heard In 2025
Date: December 22, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this special end-of-year recap, Liv Perez curates the most impactful moments and best pieces of style advice from the 2025 season of Let's Get Dressed. Unlike previous years that leaned into actionable tips, this episode explores the deeper relationships between fashion, personal transitions, culture, and technology—with standout insights from top industry guests. Listeners are treated to clips and reflections on personal style evolution, trend analysis, authenticity, and the future of AI in fashion.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Style Through Life Transitions

Guest: Alison Borenstein, Celebrity Stylist

• On Fashion as a Reflection of Change
  Alison shares how clients often come to her during major life transitions—pregnancy, divorce, menopause, career change—and how clothes play a significant role in processing and expressing these changes.

  • “Clothes are so integral to any kind of transition or change. I think it can help propel change forward, but it can also… help you sit back and figure out: who is it that I want to be? What is this wardrobe saying about me?”
    — Alison Borenstein (05:51)

• Letting Go of Clothes That Ask ‘Too Much’
  Alison introduces the idea of clothes that demand a version of yourself that no longer aligns with your present identity.

  • “Are these clothes asking of me too much? Are these clothes asking me to be a different person? Sometimes they are… [and] it’s okay to let them go.”
    — Alison Borenstein (07:46)

• Liv’s Closet Cleanout Transformation
  Liv recounts her August closet overhaul, emphasizing the boost in confidence from intentionally editing her wardrobe to better reflect her evolving sense of self.

2. The ‘Shoppies’ and Intentional Shopping Habits

Viral Moment with Nikki Ogunnaike, Editor-in-Chief of Marie Claire

• Naming the Impulse to Update with the Seasons
  The term “the shoppies” goes viral, describing the urge to shop as seasons change.

  • “I have the shoppies… Usually happens around when a new season’s happening, and there’s always a two-week span between seasons where I don’t know what to wear.”
    — Liz Perez (12:07)

• Turning Impulse Into Strategy
  Liv adopts a more intentional approach: shopping only at the start of a new season, taking inventory, and filling specific gaps in her wardrobe rather than shopping impulsively.

3. Personal Style Is Unjudgeable When It’s True to You

Guest: Nikki Campbell, Red Carpet Fashion Correspondent

• On Iconic, Unjudgeable Style
  Nikki highlights Billie Eilish as someone whose authenticity makes her style “unjudgeable”—it’s so true to who she is, outside critique feels irrelevant.

  • “That is a sign of true personal style… if I can’t say anything about it. They’re just being who they are, and that comes through, and it’s always gonna work because it’s expressing their authentic self.”
    — Nikki Campbell (15:32)

• Style for Yourself, Not Others
  Liv explores how dressing should be motivated by what makes you feel best, not by perceptions or judgments of others.

  • “How do I get ready not under the eye of what I want the other person to perceive of me?…Instead, what feels like the expression of me today?”
    — Liz Perez (17:06)

4. Fashion Trends as Cultural Mirrors, Not Mandates

Guest: Data, but Make It Fashion (La Puerta), Fashion Data Analyst

• Trends Reflect the World
  Data-driven trend forecasting demonstrates that trends don’t arise randomly—they’re tied to global events, pop culture, and collective emotion (e.g., green trending after musicians embraced the color).

  • “Trends and what’s happening in fashion are sometimes a product or very indicative of how people are feeling… what’s happening in the world, where we want the world to go from here.”
    — Data, but Make It Fashion (La Puerta) (20:53)

• On Skinny Jeans and Defiant Classics
  Despite proclamations of obsolescence, skinny jeans remain consistently popular, especially in the US for their compatibility with boots and practicality.

  • “Every time I analyze them, they’re always popular… Say whatever you want, I know you all love skinny jeans.”
    — Data, but Make It Fashion (La Puerta) (23:20)

• Trends as Insight, Not Obligation
  Liv advocates for viewing trends as information rather than instructions—mirrors of society’s mood and desires rather than mandates to buy.

5. The (Imminent) Smart Closet Revolution: AI Meets Fashion

Guest: Lisa Adams, LA Closet Design

• Clueless-Style Smart Closets Becoming Reality
  Lisa shares the near-future of smart closets with AI-integrated mirrors, inventory tracking, and personalized recommendations.

  • “I’m so excited to install smart mirrors in closets. So think Clueless. Think about all your inventory in the mirror… to make the dressing process more fun, to streamline it, just to be more efficient.”
    — Lisa Adams (29:45)

• AI as Personal Stylist
  Liv mentions new apps (e.g., Ulta by Jenny Wang) that digitize your wardrobe, suggest outfits, and help pack for trips—all pointing to the next frontier in personal style management.

  • “There’s an app… Ulta… it’s an AI stylist… digitizes your closet and gives you different outfit ideas every day… I really think this is the future.”
    — Liz Perez (31:48)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Letting Go:
  “If something is no longer serving you in your closet, give it a new home… sometimes it’s just better to give it a new home and bring in new life. Because you are not the same person you were before this transitional phase of life.”
  — Liz Perez (09:11)

• On the Power of Confidence:
  “Billie Eilish pulls almost everything off and looks so good… [because] she has developed such a strong sense of personal style that it is unjudgeable.”
  — Liz Perez (16:42)

• On Trend Judgment:
  “There are some things that are just popular to hate on… but they’re always popular. So it’s a bit like, say whatever you want, I know you all love skinny jeans.”
  — Data, but Make It Fashion (La Puerta) (24:12, 24:45)

• Vision of AI-Enhanced Dressing:
  “I would be so happy if I had a Clueless closet. And I really don’t think they’re that far away.”
  — Liz Perez (31:48)

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Key Timestamps

• 05:51 – Alison Borenstein on fashion’s role in personal transition
• 07:46 – “Are these clothes asking me to be somebody that I'm not anymore?”
• 12:07 – “I have the shoppies” – viral seasonal shopping urge
• 15:32 – Nikki Campbell: “Unjudgeable” style and Billie Eilish
• 17:06 – Liv reflects on dressing for yourself
• 20:53 – Data, but Make It Fashion on fashion as a mirror of culture and emotion
• 23:20 – Data, but Make It Fashion: Skinny jeans’ enduring popularity
• 29:45 – Lisa Adams reveals the smart closet future
• 31:48 – Liv on AI stylists and digitized closets

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Takeaways for Listeners

• Personal style is evolutionary—let your wardrobe grow with you.
• Name your shopping impulses and channel them into intentional refreshes rather than mindless consumption.
• Authenticity makes style critiques irrelevant; dress for your own delight and confidence.
• Trends reflect culture, not commandments—observe them as insights rather than absolute guides.
• The integration of AI and tech promises to transform how we interact with our clothes—innovations like smart mirrors and digital stylists are just over the horizon.

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Host’s Closing Thoughts:
Liv expresses immense gratitude for the Let’s Get Dressed community and hints at exciting IRL events and new episodes to kick off 2026. She encourages listeners to approach trends as a mirror for self-reflection, to experiment, and most importantly, to have fun getting dressed for themselves.

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(End of summary. Advertising, intro/outro, and promos omitted.)

Transcript

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[Liz Perez]

Hey everyone. Welcome back to another episode of let's Get Dressed. It's your host, Liz Perez. Welcome to our finale episode of 2025. Cannot believe that we're here. We have done 50 episodes this year and every year I love hosting this pod more and more. A huge thank you and shout out to all of you for tuning in every week. This podcast would not be possible without you guys and I'm just, I'm obsessed with this community that we've built. I love getting messages from you guys and I love hearing your feedback and takes and questions on the podcast every week in my DMs on Instagram and on substack. And I'm just, I feel so lucky to be your host and to talk about fashion and be able to talk about something that I love so much with all of you. So a huge thank you as we head into the new year. I absolutely love doing this recap episode every year. It's probably my favorite episode to put together to go through all of these incredible moments that we've been lucky to hear from some of our amazing guests. And it's also actually your guys favorite episode. It always gets the most downloads every year. So I'm thrilled that we're here. Putting together this year's episode was really different than the past that we've done. I feel like in the past years we've put together an episode that has really great style advice like things that are tangible and things that, you know, we could do in our closet. Every day for this year is the things that I felt moved by the most were really different. They weren't just these tangible outfit tips. They were so much more about the way that we see fashion from a 360 perspective, how it's connected to culture and how that impacts how we get dressed every day. Maybe it's us going through life shifts, like a new job or pregnancy or, or maybe it's about the changing tech landscape and how AI is impacting fashion. The moments in today's episode really tackle fashion from a deeper level and those are the moments that have stuck with me the most and were the ones that we picked for our Best of End of the year episode. A little housekeeping before we go into the best moments of the year. But we will be off next week on December 29th. I will be away for the holidays and I hope you guys will be doing something similar. Maybe no phones. I'm thinking of moving my Instagram off my homepage and my TikTok off my homepage of my phone and trying to do a little bit of a digital detox. If you guys have done something like that, give me tips. Because again, for me, it's so much of what I do for work. I feel like it's muscle memory at this point for me to open up my phone and click Instagram. So if you guys have done something that's helped you, please send them my way. I'm trying to do a lot of puzzles, hang out with my friends and family, eat a lot of good food and just kind of be offline. Read a lot of books and be present. So send me those tips. We will be back on January 5th with a really fun episode. So make sure you're subscribed to the podcast so that you don't miss that episode when it drops. Okay, let's dive into our first moment of the year. I think this might have been my favorite thing that was said on the podcast this whole year. It was from an episode that we did with Alison Borenstein and the minute she said this sentence, something really clicked for me. She just had her first baby this year and I had her on the podcast while she was going through postpartum. I have loved watching her style through pregnancy and postpartum. If you guys don't know Alison, she's an incredible stylist. She was formerly a celebrity stylist but now offers styling sessions that you can sign up for. And I've had so many friends that have worked with her and have seen major results in overhauling their wardrobe. And she is really well known for her three word method where she has you pick three words that really encompass your style. And I love watching her content. So I really wanted to do an episode that was about how to go through hard times in life or transitional times in life and use clothing as the outlet to get you through those moments. Right. How can clothes be our point of self expression and carry us through those moments? And I'm a really big believer in that. I think about the closet cleanout that I did in August of this year. I was not feeling myself. I did not feel good about myself. When I went into my closet every day, and there were so many things that felt sticky for me, and so I felt sticky as a person, it really impacted my confidence. I wasn't reaching for things that felt like me, and I'd kind of just accumulated a lot of stuff over time and wasn't intentionally shopping or intentionally shopping for my. My personal style. So doing that clean out really took me into a new era of life. I felt more confident in myself. I felt more confident in the way that I showed up in the world, and clothes have the power to do that. But so going through this postpartum journey that she was in, she said something where she was like, I was going into my closet and realizing that my clothes were asking too much of me. So let's listen to the moment here. I love seeing you talk about working with clients on a daily basis. I feel like that's, like, your thing. I love that for you. Like, it just. I feel like you can really change someone's life in that hour. And I'm sure you've come across a lot of experiences where someone has just totally lost their style.

[Alison Borenstein]

Yeah.

[Liz Perez]

And I wonder for you, like, what does that mean? And what does that look like when you see someone who's just kind of out of their routine or, you know, looking to kind of reinvent themselves a little bit?

[Alison Borenstein]

It's a really good question. I find whether they know it or not, most of my clients are going through some sort of transition when they come to see me. So I see clients virtually or in person, but mostly virtually. And it's like, you know, whether it's something as big as being pregnant or a divorce or a breakup or turning 50 or menopause or something really small, just like the seasons are changing, my body's changing. I don't know. My kids are leaving the house. I'm retiring. That's actually not small. That's big. But, like, there's always some sort of transition. And I feel like often will think that clothes aren't that important in that kind of situation. But clothes are, like, so integral to, like, any kind of transition or change. I think it can help, like, propel change forward, but it can also. It can really help you, like, sit back and figure out, like, well, who is it that I want to be? Like, what is this wardrobe saying about me? What's working, what's not? How can I kind of revive it?

[Liz Perez]

Clothes can, like, walk you through different areas of your life. You can become an entirely different person. I cleaned out my closet in August and did, like, a massive clean out. Like, I got rid of probably half of it.

[Alison Borenstein]

How'd it feel?

[Liz Perez]

Oh, my God.

[Alison Borenstein]

So good, right?

[Liz Perez]

So good. And I think a lot of people were like, oh, my God. Do you feel scared? Do you feel anxious? Like you got rid of all these things? And for starters, it was really nice living in, like, just what I had for a little while. But then I, like, strategically bought pieces that I felt like were missing. And since then to now, I feel like a different person. I feel like my confidence is different. I know what to put on. I like everything I'm putting on, and I'm not, like, looking back at outfits, and I'm like, why did I wear that? Like, everything I've worn since, I'm like, yeah, that feels right. That feels like me.

[Alison Borenstein]

That's great, because I feel like you obviously know what you're doing, and it's like, being super discerning about. Is this, like, we're saying who I want to be? Is this what I want to portray? Is this, like.

[Liz Perez]

I don't know.

[Alison Borenstein]

I think I wrote this in my substack about postpartum, but it's like, are these clothes asking of me too much? You know, like, are these clothes asking me to be, like, a different person? And sometimes they are. Like, I have things in my wardrobe now that I've been a mom for four months. I'm like, I. Like, these are not me. These are asking. These clothes are asking too much of me. They're asking me to be somebody that I'm not anymore. And, like, it's okay to let them go.

[Liz Perez]

I was really moved by that substack post that you. It was a note that you posted.

[Alison Borenstein]

Okay, great.

[Liz Perez]

You had, like, gone on a walk.

[Alison Borenstein]

Yes.

[Liz Perez]

Yeah. And had that realization. And I hadn't really thought about that as a concept before that what you're asking of clothes versus what clothes could be asking of you. And I'm sure that that was huge for you in your journey. How did that take shape?

[Alison Borenstein]

I. Yeah, a lot of it, unfortunately. Because being postpartum had to do with size. So, like, if this. You know, if these jeans are asking me to be skinnier, like, I. I can't right now. Right. But even bigger, it's like, I think I have some things that are almost asking me to be a different person or have a different life than I have. So, like, a really simple example, like, I have some, like, really high heels, and it's like, I'm not gonna wear those all the time. Like, I don't even know if I want to be that person that's wearing them. And so those can go, you know? And I think just being, again, like, style and your wardrobe and editing your wardrobe, it really is just about being clear with who you are, you know, and, like, who you wanna be as a person. So I think it all just plays into that.

[Liz Perez]

I really like this moment because I feel like she just put a name to the tension that we can feel around our clothes. Like, maybe it's not fitting us in this time in life. Maybe we bought something expensive and we feel the need to wear it. She also said something later in the episode where she was like, this is my closet and I'm in charge. And I remember feeling so inspired by that. And it was a good lesson just in saying, like, if something is no longer serving you in your closet, give it a new home. Like, she brought up, you know, like pairs of jeans that she thought maybe she'd try to fit into. And instead of having that be there as this thing that she's beholden to, sometimes it's just better to give it a new home and bring in new life. Because you are not the same person you were before this transitional phase of life, right? Like, you're going through this moment and you're going to come out on the other side of it no matter what it is. Divorce, new baby, new job, ending of a job, you're going to come out on the other side of it a different person. So you might as well match that energy instead of beholding yourself to something of the past. Also, there was something that came out of this episode for me that really highlighted this idea that, like, great style is in those small moments, right? It's how you make a jean fit, it's how you make a shirt drape. It's about figuring out the balance of your body shape in those moments, right? Like, she brought up a great example of kind of a go to outfit that she wears all the time, right? Like a pair of satin pants and like a cropped baby tee that would hit, like, right at the top of the satin pants, right? But in her post baby body, those proportions weren't working for her. So she was like, okay, instead of getting rid of it or figuring out something new, I'm just gonna go get a tea that feels a bit more oversized to compliment my body as it's going through this phase of life. So I think if you're going through these transitional moments, one listen to that episode because she gave so many tips, but it's really Just about the little things in your closet that can make the world of a difference and have you feel really good again. It's not about this complete overhaul. It's not about being desperate to get back to the clothes that you were originally in. It's how do I take what I have and change it a little bit? Because I'm changing too. One of my favorites. Also one of the best episodes of the year. If you haven't listened to it yet, I highly recommend it. Okay, moving on to by far the most popular moment on the podcast this year and something that a lot of you have probably heard and might hear it right now and be like, wait, that's where this sound came from. In April of this year, I had Nikki Ogunake, who's the editor in chief of Marie Claire, come on the podcast and she gave us this incredible line that not only so many of you who listen to the episode love, but it was my first viral sound, guys. It went viral on Instagram and TikTok. So many celebrities from Kate Hudson to Kylie Jenner used it. Definitely loved it. Loved it for Nikki. She's so funny. This is just a fun one. But I think it was important for all of us to put a word to the feeling we all have. Let's listen to it. But I have the shoppies. They're coming on. Like, I can feel them.

[Data, but Make It Fashion (La Puerta)]

It's a new season.

[Liz Perez]

As soon as it gets sunny outside, I'm like, let's go. Did you just say, I have the shoppies? Oh, no. You just titled a feeling that I am now going to say once a week to my husband Alex. I have the shoppies.

[Alison Borenstein]

I have the shoppies.

[Liz Perez]

Yeah, I have the shoppies, too. That usually happens around when, like, a new season's happening and I can't. There's always like a two week span between seasons where I don't know what to wear.

[Data, but Make It Fashion (La Puerta)]

Right?

[Liz Perez]

Like, I'm just like. When it's like, you're wearing, like, yeah, me now. I'm still in. Like, even yesterday when it was warm out, I wore a leather jacket. I get seasonally confused. And that's when my shoppies really kick it off. That's when you're like, I know how.

[Alison Borenstein]

To solve this problem.

[Liz Perez]

Yes. I'm like, I'm just gonna go buy new things and I'm just gonna, like, figure it out.

[Alison Borenstein]

Yeah.

[Liz Perez]

I can't tell if this was good for us as a community or bad for us as a community, because now anytime I feel like I need something new, I have a name for the feeling that I have. It's like a tingling sensation, right? Like, I have the shoppies. But also, like, this kind of kicked off a very interesting methodology for my shopping habits, because in this conversation, we were talking about how when a new season comes around is when I really get the shoppies. Like, I get excited to buy something new or, you know, I want something for, like, for my closet. After this conversation, I kind of committed myself to only shopping at the start of a season and shopping really intentionally. Like, looking at my whole closet and saying, okay, summer's here. Do I need a great new flat? Do I need a beach bag? Do I need a sarong? And that has helped me fill my closet a bit better with more intentional things. I know this sounds crazy because we all just want to shop all the time and get all the things, but it has kind of put me in this mentality of, like, how can I shop more effectively for my closet and not buy a bunch of stuff that I don't need? So I've been trying to take inventory and really fill the holes when I need to instead of shopping impulsively. And the shoppies have really helped me think about that. So thank you, Nikki, for this really fun moment, and I've loved seeing so many of you Send me the audio clipping of this on Instagram. It's been really fun. Okay, moving on to our episode with Nikki Campbell. He's a red carpet fashion correspondent. If you don't follow him on Instagram, you must. He's so funny. He's and has become really well known for the lazy review where he will kind of give one word reviews of celebrity style on the red carpet. I've known Nikki for a really long time. I'm really happy for him. His career has just blossomed this year, and he deserves it all. But we were talking about, obviously, his career journey and, you know, his process behind a red carpet review. And he said something that really stuck with me when I asked him about who. Who is a style icon and can never get it wrong? Let's listen. Is there someone in your mind who's, like, a fashion icon, like, can do no wrong Every time you see them, you're just like, yep, great.

[Nikki Campbell]

Oh, my gosh. That's a really good question. I really admire people, even if it's not my taste, that have, like, a really distinct point of view and sense of style. It's just like, it's weird. You don't have to like it. You can look at that and be like, why are they wearing that? But it's just who they are. Like, I think, like, Billie Eilish is a good example of that.

[Liz Perez]

It's funny even watching you and Jenna Lyons do your joint kind of duo reviews.

[Nikki Campbell]

Yeah.

[Liz Perez]

Anytime Billie Eilish came up on the screen, you both were, like, unjudgeable.

[Nikki Campbell]

Yes.

[Liz Perez]

It just is unjudgeable. She's so in her own lane that, like, it's not for anybody to critique. She's just kind of doing her own thing.

[Nikki Campbell]

Yes. That is a sign of true personal style is when I can't. I cannot say anything about it because they're just being who they are and that comes through and it's always gonna. It's always gonna work because it's expressing, like, their authentic self. So that's like, the. Those are the best people that if I can't really critique what they're wearing ever.

[Liz Perez]

Yeah. I loved this moment. I remember him saying it and, like, it kind of hitting me like a bus. Billie Eilish has incredible personal style, but I do feel like she has been a person who has been highly reviewed and highly criticized for her style in so many different ways. I see it all over Instagram and, like, I've seen so many kind of reviews of what she wears. What's interesting here is every time I've seen Nikki and Jenna Lyons, as I mentioned in that clip, review her, they have a hard time doing it. And I actually agree with that sentiment. Every time I see her, I love what she's wearing, and if it was on anybody else, I probably wouldn't love it. And I think that's because she has developed such a strong sense of personal style that it is unjudgeable. Like, I see her and I'm like, you are having so much fun with your style. You are embracing it. You are showing up so confidently. And I love your aura. And I think that's why you hear people say all the time, like, oh, style is confidence. Like, you can pull off anything if you walk out the door and wear it with confidence. And I really think that that's true. Like, Billie Eilish pulls almost everything off and looks so good.

[Lisa Adams]

So.

[Liz Perez]

So all of this, I think, is a really good lesson for us to sit down and say, as we're putting our things together, reach for the things that make you feel so good that when you walk out of the house, you have no choice but to feel your best self. And that is going to radiate onto other people. That also means that you need to get ready for your eyes only. And this is something that I've been trying to really think about this year is like, how do I get ready? Not under the eye of what I want the other person to perceive of me. I said this on an episode earlier, but, like, fashion can be really manipulative in that sense. Like, I can really think about the times where I've gotten dressed, thinking about who I'm about to have dinner with or take a meeting with, and will alter kind of my style based on how I want them to perceive me. And instead it's like, no, no, no. How do I just look at my clothes and say, what feels best for me today? What feels like the expression of me today? And I'm gonna show up as that person, and that is gonna be the most unique, confident expression of me. So try to get ready for only your eyes and only what feels good for you. Because really, I think the ultimate seal of great style is how you show up in those clothes. Our next moment was from our episode with Data, but Make It Fashion made La Puerta, whose Instagram and who I absolutely love. I think her work is unbelievable, but I also adore her as a person. The Harvard grad data analyst who created an Instagram account a few years ago and has absolutely blown it up. I think she's got close to like 600,000 followers now, and she has become such a source of news and trend forecasting and data for me in the industry that I really appreciate. So if you don't follow her, go follow a To Make It Fashion. We had a conversation actually a year ago from now that went live as our first episode of this year and was so interesting about the way that trends in fashion really are a result of what's going on in the world, Whether that's politically, culturally, from the entertainment industry that has such a big impact on what we wear every day. And I was really excited in this episode to understand how she trend forecasts and how she is able to interpret this data. So let's listen to a little bit about how fashion and the world are intertwined. As someone in fashion who loves to follow trends, I get so much negative commentary through social media. People being like, why do we follow trends? It's so cyclical. I do it for fun. I enjoy it because that's just part of fashion. And I'm not someone who will, like, go spend a thousand dollars on something to be trendy, but I like to know what people are interested in. It's what, to me, trends are what keeps, like, kind of the hamster wheel of Fashion moving and the discourse moving and. And it's fun. I really enjoy it. But I wonder, to me, trends feel a little bit emotional. Like a color for the season or ballet flats even have, like, I feel like an emotional context to them. How does analyzing trends make you look at fashion differently? Especially for something that I consider to be deeply emotional?

[Data, but Make It Fashion (La Puerta)]

Yeah, that's a good question. I also, like, definitely now it's a bit different, but when I was starting the account, when it started to grow, I definitely got a lot of comments that were like, we shouldn't just be chasing trends. Like, this is not the point of fashion. And look, like I said, navy is the new black. And here I am in an all black outfit. Like, I'm definitely not telling you you need to buy everything just because it's hot. But I do think it's interesting because I think I wasn't really into fashion when I was younger. I didn't understand it. I thought it was a lot about logos and like, very superfluous, very vain. And it wasn't until I watched the Alexander McQueen documentary that I was like, yeah, so good. No, literally life changing. Like, it changed my life.

[Liz Perez]

If you guys have not seen that, you need to watch it now.

[Nikki Campbell]

Wow.

[Data, but Make It Fashion (La Puerta)]

Definitely watch it. And I think that's when I realized that fashion had so much more to it. Like a lot of creativity, a lot of nuance, a lot of passion, a lot of emotion. And I do think that trends and what's happening in fashion are sometimes a product or very indicative of how people are feeling. What's happening in the world, where we want the world to go from here. So, like, a really good example is when green was really popular this summer. There were two major worldwide artists that had dropped albums that featured very heavily green. And people leaned into that a lot. And then, of course, green starts to. To rise in popularity. And it didn't come out of nowhere. It came because people were listening to these artists music. People were going to their tours. It was resonating. People probably saw it as an inspiration of, you know, I really align with this artist. How can I incorporate green into my wardrobe? And even if it's like subconscious, the data lines or the trend lines definitely show that, you know, trends rise and, and fall usually for a reason. I mean, maybe sometimes it's random, but they don't usually come out of nowhere. And that's what I think is really beautiful to see. When I analyze trends, it's not so much to tell you what to go out and buy or that you have to Go out and buy something to. To be in style or to be stylish. It's more like, okay, you know, there. There are certain things that are happening in the world. There are certain things that, you know, ways that people are feeling, and this is how it's. It's reflective or this is how it's manifesting in fashion and fashion trends.

[Liz Perez]

What do you think makes a trend stick?

[Data, but Make It Fashion (La Puerta)]

For what makes a trend stick, I try and think. Well, I think the biggest example, at least this year, of a trend sticking for a long period of time, I think, was the western aesthetic that started becoming really popular in, like, January, February. I think there's a couple of reasons for that. One, I think everybody was hopping onto it. Like, you had Bad Bunny release an album where he had kind of, you know, like a cowboy on the COVID himself as a cowboy on the COVID You had Pharrell's fashion show for Louis Vuitton that was very western. You have Beyonce come out with Cowboy Carter. You have Peso Pluma and his, you know, kind of very western aesthetic as well at Coachella. Like, there's just so many people that were hopping onto it. Lana Del Rey with her country album Post Malone. I mean, I could go on, but I think what made that trend stick is that it was not very restrictive. Like, for example, if you think of something like skinny jeans, which are always popular, by the way, like, anytime I analyze them, they're always popular. I will say, but, like, that's a very.

[Liz Perez]

Whoa. The earth just shook.

[Data, but Make It Fashion (La Puerta)]

Yeah.

[Liz Perez]

You're telling me that every time you put skinny jeans into your fashion simulator, they come out as popular?

[Data, but Make It Fashion (La Puerta)]

Yes, every single time. And it drives people crazy because I will always post about it, and people get so angry, and I'm like, they've.

[Liz Perez]

Stuck around for a really long time, like, getting hot. I'm getting a little warm.

[Data, but Make It Fashion (La Puerta)]

I think what's difficult about something like skinny jeans is that it's a very specific silhouette. It's a very specific item, and so kind of following that trend really quickly.

[Liz Perez]

Is this a global scan or a US scan? Specifically US specifically.

[Data, but Make It Fashion (La Puerta)]

Yeah, I know, but where?

[Lisa Adams]

Why?

[Alison Borenstein]

Why? What do you think?

[Data, but Make It Fashion (La Puerta)]

Okay.

[Liz Perez]

Okay.

[Data, but Make It Fashion (La Puerta)]

What do you look cute in? A riding boot.

[Liz Perez]

Let me get my shit together. Why do you think that they maintain their popularity? Because one of the questions I wanted to ask you was, going into this year, there has been a very strong conversation about skinny jeans coming back into the fold.

[Data, but Make It Fashion (La Puerta)]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Liz Perez]

Why do you think that they're. Why do you think it's such a divisive Conversation.

[Data, but Make It Fashion (La Puerta)]

I think there are some things that are just popular to hate on. Like I think ballet flats was that until around a year or two ago. I think everybody loved hitting on ballet flats. People love hating on low rise jeans. Like, there are certain things that I think are very popular to hate. And those things I love plugging into my fashion simulator, as you said. And they're always popular. They're always popular. So it's a bit like, you know, say whatever you want. Like, I know you all love skinny jeans and I think, look, skinny jeans maybe is a bad example, but I think, you know, people wear them tucked into boots. People probably have a pair that they've had for a long time.

[Liz Perez]

The boots is a very specific example, which I agree with. Like, do you need one in your closet just to be able to wear with knee high boots?

[Data, but Make It Fashion (La Puerta)]

Probably. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Liz Perez]

As you can tell, I'm a pair.

[Data, but Make It Fashion (La Puerta)]

Yeah, that's why. No, but that's why I keep my pair too. Yeah.

[Liz Perez]

You need them for that.

[Data, but Make It Fashion (La Puerta)]

Yeah.

[Liz Perez]

I thought this moment was really poignant for the year that we just went through. I feel like I was constantly inundated on my socials of like the trend discourse. Right. It became really intense this year. A lot of people questioned whether trends are wasteful or meaningless or honestly anti personal style. Like, the more we engage in trends, the less we are able to like get dressed for the core of who we are. There's a lot of judgment, I feel, around following trends and engaging in them. And I feel like this moment really highlighted why they matter. But I also am a big believer in one thing. Loving fashion has nothing to do with shopping and following trends. In my opinion, being a fashion lover actually has nothing to do with the consumerism of actually buying and wearing fashion. I think if you really love fashion, it's about how you get dressed every day for yourself in your clothes, but also how you watch and chart the fashion industry, both from a fashion history perspective, but also what's going on in the world and how that impacts how we get dressed every day. So I always just want to like really highlight that. Like, it's not about the constant consumerism of buying something new and being up to date. I really love to look at trends because I think that they frame the world in a really interesting way. Like, I will never forget when Ma Day said that skinny jeans are always trending. I can't believe that. And something she said to me was that in Europe they are always on trend, but in America they never are. And I find that interesting. Like what does that say about us and the way that we choose to engage with this piece of clothing that is meant to be our everyday staple? We don't want it to fit too tight, or we like a more baggy aesthetic, or do we not like the idea of, like, something feeling skin tight? I've always found that really interesting. So this moment felt really impactful because it reframed trends to me almost as information. Like, it's not this thing that we constantly need to go buy and take part of, but they're signals of what we as people and the world are collectively feeling, listening to, reacting to, or even craving for the future. So I feel like approaching trends from, like, a less defensive perspective was really valuable in this moment. And it's more important to just look at them as a mirror. Like, they reflect everything that we are paying attention to in the world. One that was, like, really prominent to me this year was the rise of, like, food in fashion. Like, I think of road and I think of so many brands that included butter or, you know, the tomato loewe bag. Like, why did all of that trickle down to fashion? And then at the same time, we're seeing the rise of some of the biggest social media stars be chefs. Like, I think this year was a big year for Nara Smith and Meredith Hayden of Wishbone Kitchen and Ballerina Farm. Like, that really inundated my feed, and so I'm not surprised that it trickled down into how we're getting dressed every day and what we want to be wearing. I loved her example of the color green in this moment. Keep in mind, this was recorded at the end of 2024. So the green moment that she was discussing was Charli XCX's Brat album that came out in the summer of 2024. But between Brat and the Wicked Press tour, green was everywhere last year. And I think it's really interesting to look at the intersection of entertainment and fashion, culture and fashion, and how all of that comes together. So just a note as we go into next year and you're about to be inundated with, like, all the new trends for 2026, it's a mirror for you to analyze what's important to you and what's important to the people around you and the world around you. It doesn' need to buy something or consume it. It's just an interesting insight into the world around you. Okay, last but not least, looking forward. This was such a cool moment for the podcast. I was so excited when I heard this. I think AI has had a really big year. And I think it's really interesting to look at the way that AI and the world is impacting our industry and potentially how we get dressed every day at the top of the year. I had Lisa Adams, who is LA Closet Design. She is an expert at building closets and organization, and she came on the podcast to talk a little bit about her work. The best organizational tips, but then also what she's paying attention to in the future of tech and design. And one moment she said was that Clueless closets might not be that far off. So let's listen. I would love to hear a little bit about any innovations that you're really excited about in the space right now. If there's something new that you're feeling is going to change the way we work in closets.

[Lisa Adams]

Oh, my God, hear this. I'm so excited for technology.

[Alison Borenstein]

Okay.

[Lisa Adams]

I'm so excited to install smart mirrors in closets. So think Clueless. Think about all your inventory in the mirror.

[Liz Perez]

This is a real thing. This is a real thing. Okay. This is.

[Lisa Adams]

You're getting it firsthand here.

[Liz Perez]

Okay.

[Lisa Adams]

I'm so excited. Cause I feel like the time is now. Yeah, right. Clueless came out 30 years ago.

[Liz Perez]

Yes.

[Lisa Adams]

And I've just tried over the years, and it's. It's like I'm trying to send somebody to the moon. It's been very difficult, but I've sort of figured out the technology, and I think I want to install these in closets to make the dressing process more fun, to make it easier, to streamline it, to be more efficient in the morning. And just as a way like you have. You see everything that you have.

[Liz Perez]

So tell me a little bit more about this. Is it a mirror that holds your inventory? Because the first thing that's kind of coming to mind right now is utilizing AI and ChatGPT to be like, hey, I have these jeans on and I want to wear this top. But it's not looking so good. Could you recommend maybe something else? Absolutely.

[Lisa Adams]

So it's that. So it's apps in there with AI. So I've also been installing sort of Josh AI. So, you know, I think there's lighting in the closet, but what about sound in the closet? What about speakers? What about invisible speakers in the closet? So just really kind of dialing up the experience part of the closet. So if you're in there, if you're dressing, if you've got a glam team, if you've got friends over, it's just another layer of that. But I think the Smart mirror portion. Like, I just wanna make that process easier for people. I wanna make it more fun. I want, you know, hey, I'm going to Hawaii. It's 70 degrees there. What should I wear? And then it just sort of pull up.

[Liz Perez]

Looks genius. My God, genius. That is so cool. And I think so needed.

[Lisa Adams]

So needed.

[Liz Perez]

I just, you know, even now I wake up in the morning and if I don't have an idea for the day, I'm scrolling Pinterest. It's like, how can we make that part of our homes every day? Yeah.

[Lisa Adams]

Because technology has really come so far in so many aspects of our life. Right. But how can we incorporate that into closets? How can we make it more fun or more expert?

[Liz Perez]

You know, just, wow, I would be so happy if I had a clueless closet. And I really don't think they're that far away. There's actually an app that I have been paying attention to and have my eye on. It's called Ulta. It was started by Jenny Wang, who was just on the Forbes under 30 under 30 list last year. And it's an AI stylist. And you can sign up for the app. It will digitize your closet and it will then give you different outfit ideas every day of the week. It can help you pack for trips. And I really think this is the future. I think that there is so much there. I'm hoping to try it for you guys at the beginning of the year and I will let you all know how it goes. But I think using AI to help us expand our personal style and give us more outfit variations and variabilities than we might not have thought obviously goes without saying that I think it's going to take the AI a second to get to know us and know our personal style. And I don't want this to take away from like our brain naturally putting outfits together. But I think one thing that I've had a love hate relationship with this year is Pinterest. I've loved it for outfit inspiration, but I've also kind of hit a wall with it where I feel like I'm not so seeing new things and I'm just kind of getting served the same images. I also think that the like highly editorial vibe of it is very hard for inspiration for everyday, practical life. Like a lot of the images I pull on there, like look great for an Instagram, but they're not great for me moving about my day to day. So how can I find something that's giving me inspiration from real examples of what I Already have. Right? Like on Pinterest. Sometimes I'll be like, oh, I need to go buy that sweater to be able to accomplish this look. How do we get inspiration from what we already own? And I think AI is a great way to be able to do that. So I think there's, you know, push and a pull. We have to still do it ourselves. But I'm excited to see how that takes shape in the world and the further advancements that we'll have for our personal style, our closet space, and in the fashion industry as a whole. I would love to know what you guys think about this. I feel like in the past few episodes we've had some interesting takes on AI. Some people don't want to use it at all, some people hate it, some people love it. And so I love to hear your guys thoughts on how it's impacting your world. And if you love it, if you hate it, if you're really skeptical, I think we all are a little bit. But I think it's coming fast. So I'm curious to hear your guys thoughts. Shoot me a dm. As always, I love chatting with you guys. That is a year in review. That's our Spotify wrapped Let's get Dressed edition. Thank you guys so much for an incredible year. We've had some unbelievable guests on the podcast this year and unbelievable moments and I'm just again, I'm so, so, so grateful to be able to host this pod and connect with all of you guys. I have met so many people from this podcast. I've made so many friends from this podcast. So many people that I'm close with now are people that I've cold messaged to have on the podcast and are now my friends. And I'm so grateful, truly and I cannot wait to bring you guys more episodes next year. There's gonna be a lot happening next year. I can't wait to bring to you guys. So maybe some IRL events. So stay tuned for that. If you are holiday shopping this week, go check out my gift guide. It's on my shop. My it's linked in the episode description. I'm here to help. There are men's gift guides. Gifts under 250, gifts under 500. There's something for everybody. So that resource is definitely available to you guys if you are looking for great gifts for people in your life. And even though I'm going to be offline a little bit, you know my DMS are always open. I always love hearing from you guys and I love chatting. So to that and so much more in the future. Have an amazing new year, guys, and I will see you on January 5th.