A mouse recently chewed a hole through the inside lining of my green suede tote bag. It was super gross. I guess I left a half-eaten granola bar in there plus an M&M or two over winter break, and some sneak caught wind of the snack. While thinking about all the things the mouse must have encountered once inside my bag (a tissue, a sock, an overstretched hair tie, a notebook), I was reminded of those old fashion magazine roundups that took on the tone of a Samuel L. Jackson CapitalOne commercial and asked, What’s in your purse?
An annotated photo of an editor’s belongings would follow: a collection of his or her items, equal parts chic, practical, funny, personable, always artfully arranged. At first I wondered, whatever happened to those? I kind of missed them. They were like pre-internet brain breaks.
Later, I realized such peek-inside cravings could be satisfied by the latest Instagram trend. You know, the one where people turn their saved folders into mosaics and post the picturesque screen-shot to their feeds? This has to be our modern millennial equivalent of said magazine format.
I am, on the daily, in awe of people with such an unrelenting sense of aesthetic that their bookmarks are color-coordinated. It’s also exceptionally satisfying to scroll through. Peeking into another’s saved IG feed is the best voyeuristic expedition known to humankind since, “Oh look! The fancy house has their lights on so you can see inside their living room! Get up on my shoulders — I’d like to know their stance on throw pillows.”
As a whole, like the inside of my bag, my saved feed is no organized feast for the eyes. (There just so happens to be, in both cases, the presence of a mouse.) But pulled apart, mine is an assortment of things that reads like a monthly diary of my habitual scrolling: people I find interesting, things I’d like to know more about, style cues I’d like to try, quotes I want to remember. It’s a reminder that, for as much of a frame for selfies as Instagram can be, it remains a platform for discovery, too.
As such, I thought I’d share my saved feed with you, as a sort of Man Repeller equivalent of “What’s in your purse?,” if you will.
1. @AccidentallyWesAnderson
I have a lot of images from this account bookmarked. AccidentallyWesAnderson posts photos of places around the world (often shot in near-perfect symmetry) that, per the name, look like something out of the director’s travel scrapbook and set design mood board.
2. @Allure.Mood
This account is filled with runway throwbacks and beauty shots. I loved this woman’s “disco ball eyelids” and saved the photo as inspiration for a potential future MR story.
3. @Freakebana
Freakebana is “the art of arranging whatever you want,” a weird cousin of Ikebana (the art of Japanese flower arrangement), coined and created by The Cut’s Editor in Chief, Stella Bugbee. I love this account because arranging flowers gives me a similar panic to baking — I love and dream about the idea in theory but choke upon execution for fear of a less-than-perfect outcome. Freakebana erases the rules but keeps all the beauty. This shot is a re-post from @Rosie_Assoulin, and seeing it on Freakebana.Life was like having a bunch of great friends in the same room at once.
4. @SolarMag.Es
Solar Magazine is at your local magazine hub; if you’re a print mag collector who treats them like coffee table books, I encourage you to pick up a copy. It’s really cool. And it is the first independently published lifestyle magazine in Spanish with worldwide distribution.” The Instagram’s great too. (And clearly, I cannot get off the glitter hype of December.)
5. @IssaRae
Issa Rae at the BAFTAs in my dream dress by @Rosie_Assoulin will appear on all my fashion mood boards henceforth, regardless of theme.
6. @VogueMagazine
Blame the current 80s-redux (even though this shot is from a 1995 collection) but vintage Versace has been one of my favorite designer’s archives to delve into lately for the purpose of eyeball happiness.
7. @TamuMcPherson
I love how Tamu McPherson dresses. I bookmark her outfits OFTEN. When Harling and I timeshared that dress? I selected it because Tamu wore a similar one. This outfit in particular was so satisfying in its simplicity, but my favorite part of the combo is her pointy black Balenciaga boots with jeans (which I feel like I can replicate with black socks and pointy pumps and want to try this weekend).
8. @Shrimps
I’m eternally on the hunt for a new coat, the perfect coat, and never take the plunge. I can’t see myself wearing this one so it’s nice to see someone else in it.
9. @Tsunaina
I feel like I save her photos every time she posts a new selfie because I want to shoot her for Man Repeller. This is a bit of a problem with my saved folder: I use it partially as a to-do list (“Amelia: email this person for XYZ thing for MR”) but the problem is, I tend to forget until I scroll through my own saved feed. This just reminded me; making a real “to do” note this time.
10. @LukeEdwardHall
I love his illustrations so much. One of my 2018 resolutions is to draw more and his sketches inspire me to break out the ink.
11. @MollyGoddard
Molly Goddard is a fun designer to follow in general, but I saved this illustration for the same reason as the above: a nudge to doodle more, and a reminder that it doesn’t have to be a whole production, either.
12. @TwoJudgeyGirls
The only Bravo show I watch is Southern Charm, so I am completely out of the Real Housewives loop, but a group of my friends love the franchise and always DM one another memes about the shows to our Instagram chat. I never have any idea what they’re talking about, but — especially after five different people tagged me in a “horse girl” meme the other day (I was that girl who cantered like a horse during gym glass in 4th grade rather than run “like a human,” whatever that means) — this made my entire day. I want to replace it with my face. It also reminds me of how I picture all Sagittariuses.
13. @SeaofShoes
Jane Aldridge was the first style blogger I ever followed, and I still do to this day. She dyed her hair back to red recently and now I have a creepy amount of hair references saved to my phone for the next time I go in to get my hair colored (but I’m not sure I’ll ever be this brave).
14. @LeandraMCohen
I love cheesy Leandra. And this quote.
15. @Taylor_ThatDancer
I once had to unfollow Taylor because her feed was prohibiting me from getting work done. Then I re-followed her because I couldn’t stand being apart. She is mesmerizing. I could (and do) literally spend hours watching her dance.
16. @FleurDuMalNYC
I love fancy, pretty underwear. It’s one of my favorite things to buy.
17. @Stella_Vonsenger
I think Stella may be one of the coolest individuals I know. I feel like she could wear a tuna can as a hat and I would think it was ingenious. I loved this outfit for its unfussy nature: perfect jeans, perfect sweater. I used to have an old Lacoste V-neck like this but gave it away (mine was lemon-colored) and am now on an eBay mission to find something similar again.
18. @Premme.Us
I love this Premme jacket. This was a note to self to call in for a future shoot.
19. @AnimalOnEarth
I have a lot more animals saved than this but in the interest of showing you an edited collection, I leave you with a parent-to-baby Highland Cattle kiss.
In the comments below, let us know if you’re into this kind of story. And just as (more?) importantly, I need to know what your Instagram mosaic looks like!
Feature photo by Alexis Melbourne shot for Premme.Us.
