Shadowing Practice: How to tell if you are a FASHION NPC (and how to grow from it) - Learn English Speaking with Video

You guys remember that scene from The Incredibles

when Syndrome had Mr. Incredible all tied up and was talking about how when everyone is super.

Everyone's super.

No one will be.

That has got to be one of the hardest lines like ever.

I mean, that is how I feel about the state of fashion right now.

It's not like every fashion archive ready user right now.

And without a doubt, it is mainly due to the oversaturated fashion NPC, or as I like to call them, the modern hype beast, AKA, a basic bitch.

Now at first glance, what do you think when you hear that word?

Unless you were born after the year 2010, which doesn't exist.

I refuse to believe any human being was bred after 2005.

When you hear the word hypebeast, you probably think Jordans, Yeezys, Supreme, Babe.

Things that shaped the years where many of us guys hung up the my mom dresses me clothes

and actually started caring about what we wear.

Which is kind of ironic

because I'm pretty sure your mom was still buying those clothes for you

because where is a 13 year old getting money for Yeezys?

You know how expensive Yeezys were back in the day?

Anyways, you were basically considered untouchable if you wore something like a supreme hoodie with some off-white Jordans.

That's what hype-eats wore then.

But you know what they look like now?

This.

This is you, probably.

Hype is when the general public sees something worn by a public figure

or is just trendy at the moment and think, that's fire.

And I'm trying to sit at the cool kid's table at lunch, you know what I mean?

One of the biggest examples that I'm sure many of you remember was back in 2015

when Kanye West wore the triple white Adidas Ultra Boost like mfs were out here fighting each other

and the adidas lines for these now it's things like adidas

sambas margela tabbies labuboos acne studios jeans man y'all love these

bro like like every day my feed is a montage of the same tiktok fit over

and over with just different faces like i was saying there is an over saturation of these

but why because unlike the 2015 hypies these items are a lot more affordable

and attainable relatively but nothing comes without at a price.

The sheer attainability and availability of these items makes it very easy to fit in and dress well, quote-unquote, but in turn has removed all room for creativity.

Very rarely do people create anymore.

It's just copying and only copying, which has resulted in the uprise of, you guessed it, the fashion NPC.

It's exactly like the incredible scene I mentioned before.

When everyone understands fashion, no one does.

On the contrary, being a hype beast isn't necessarily bad and honestly, in my opinion, it is actually necessary for you to get into fashion, at least starting out.

But if at this point you're wondering, do I fit into this category?

Like, am I, am I basic?

Here's a list of ways to tell if you are a hypebeast or a fashion NPC.

And if you stay until the end, I'll explain how you can grow from it.

Number one, you only buy something because you saw on Instagram or TikTok.

In the current state of the world, we have all become zombies to social media.

Like maybe mom was right.

Maybe it was the damn phone, bro.

With the amount of content generated every day, it's kind of hard to avoid something that millions of other people have also consumed.

And after seeing the same clothing pieces, same outfits over and over again, with thousands of people commenting how fire it is, even though they literally just saw the same outfits seven other times before this,

it makes you think, hey, maybe, maybe I should try that.

Now, this isn't necessarily something to be ashamed of, as it's a natural human phenomenon called being unoriginal, herd mentality, or fear of missing out, FOMO for short,

which is the natural tendency for people to conform to the behavior of the groups they believe they belong to

so that they don't feel left out.

For example, during COVID in 2020, it was herd mentality to go stock up on toilet paper.

Obviously, toilet paper is very important, especially when there's a shortage of it.

And I mean, like people gotta go, right?

But I'm almost 100% sure that a lot of you only thought to go do it

because that's what everyone else was doing and you didn't want to be left out.

And this isn't just in terms of survival, it's the social aspect of it.

The urgency of other people going out to do this makes you more urgent to do as well.

Another example is the surge of recent gym goers.

This generation has seen one of the highest numbers of fitness enthusiasts mainly

because of social media and in a market where looking good and Attracting a partner is so competitive.

It's only natural that you wouldn't want to get left behind

and go start lifting too Then we get to fashion you

see all your friends favorite influencers Maybe even some celebrities wearing

the same exact style now you find yourself at the Adidas checkout line holding your third pair of Sambas now

if it turns out that a particular item you did see on social media actually is your personal style, then this doesn't apply to you.

But 99% of the time, if you're adding something to your wardrobe immediately after you see your favorite fashion influencer clone wear it, then...

It's honestly really ironic that I'm saying all this

and it's probably going to come back and bite me in the ass later on.

Number two, you do it for the huzz.

All right, let's be real here.

We all like the feeling of being recognized and acknowledged for the way we present ourselves.

I mean, no matter how you look at it, even though fashion is subjective, having other people like your outfit is also a big part of it.

I mean, like, let's be for real.

I can't lie.

There are times where I live for putting on an outfit just so I can go outside and somebody will say, hey, I really like your outfit.

Naturally, I say thanks and walk away really nonchalant.

But as soon as they're gone, I'm giggling and kicking my feet and shit.

But it's a different story when you're specifically doing it for the Huzz.

And just to clear things up, when I say Huzz in this context, I mean your target audience.

Whatever that might be is up you to decide but we all know who you're trying to impress and most importantly attract.

Male peacocks flaunt their feathers to attract a mate and let others know that they're the top dog.

Humans

wear Balenciaga hoodies because you know a certain type of person will recognize it and maybe be impressed by the brand name.

But the problem with this is like I said before, fashion is supposed to be subjective, meaning unique to you and expressing who you are.

How are you supposed to do that when you're only worried about what other people think?

Yes, it is human nature to want to be seen but it becomes detrimental when you value that over your own opinion.

We all know if you're trying to dress for a person of interest to notice you, you're probably going to wear something that's hype and popular because it has the highest success rate of catching someone's attention.

Like it is much more likely for somebody to say, wow, I really like your Acne Studios jeans compared to,

OMG, I really like your Comme des Garcons Spring Summer 2015 Roses and Blood Collection Red Leather Balloon Pants.

What?

Has anyone said those words?

That's a real item, by the way.

I actually really want these.

And I'm not saying you have to go for anything luxury, but you do understand you are not the only guy wearing that fit for the exact same reason, right?

You are just competing with 50 other clones of yourself for the same girl.

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If I've learned anything from my relationship with my girlfriend, it's that girls appreciate you for who you are and what makes you special.

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She already has 20 other Uniqlo boys chasing her, bro.

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Don't add to that.

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Number three, you prioritize the brand name.

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Okay, let me set this straight.

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I'm not talking about genuinely liking a brand for its aesthetic, quality, story, whatever.

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If you are a die-hard fan of Uniqlo because you are legitimately an advocate for minimal Japanese fashion at an affordable price, then that's awesome and you are completely entitled to your preference.

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But if you're just there to buy the oversized Arizum t-shirt for the 50th time just

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because it has the Uniqlo name on it, then you might be a hypebeast.

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Now, I do feel like this comes with the asterisk of what if my brand knowledge is just very limited.

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Which is understandable, especially if you're relatively new to fashion and trying to find your personal style.

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It's hard to weigh your options if you're only aware of a short selection.

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However, I think my point still stands as doing research about

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brands you truly personally resonate with is a huge part of fashion.

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I think the goal that many people miss is to buy a brand

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because you want to and not because you have to.

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And by have to in this case, I mean the FOMO you feel when you're not buying from a brand specifically because everyone else around you is wearing it.

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Herd mentality.

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Damn, I'm good at this.

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And I'm not going to sit here on my high horse

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and act like I haven't bought something just because of the brand name either.

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I'm 1 million percent guilty of this.

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Like I already own five no graphic black t-shirts already.

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And I thought about buying another one just because it had a CDG tag on it.

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But the difference is I eventually let go of many of my hype items

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because I learned it doesn't fit with my personal style and the rest of my wardrobe.

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And the ones that I've kept genuinely do fit with my authentic style aesthetic or aesthetics.

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You want to be your own unique product, not a billboard for somebody else.

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Number four, your wardrobe isn't consistent.

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Now having multiple styles or even experimenting with two or three at a time will inevitably create clutter in your wardrobe.

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That's fine and completely natural.

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The problem arises when it starts looking like the bedroom of an NBA bandwagon.

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You know that dude that's got the Jordan, Kobe, and LeBron jerseys hung up on their wall.

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Like, bro, I know you cheat on your girlfriend.

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And it honestly is like dating, right?

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Like, it's cool if you're dating around, trying to figure out who you are and what you're looking for.

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Some of y'all are out here with seven girls at once, and none of them know about each other.

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Having an inconsistent wardrobe is kind of like that.

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You lust over an aesthetic that you hear everyone else talking about, and that gets you interested as well.

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But as soon as the next hottest thing walks by, you're onto that one too.

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And the next one and the next one.

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Are we still talking about clothes?

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Not only is it difficult to maintain multiple hyped things at a time, it's also never going to be enough for you.

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The more you have, the more you're going to want.

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Are we still talking about clothes?

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Eventually, they're all going to clash and you're not even sure if you genuinely liked any of them in the first place.

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Because you don't know if it was something you genuinely love or just something that was tempting at the moment.

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This is definitely not about clothes anymore.

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The point is, if you devote yourself to trends, you will inevitably have a wardrobe where One Piece has no synergy with everything else.

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Because trends were never meant to be compatible, at least consecutively.

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It's just whatever's hot at the moment.

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No one's thinking about how One Piece is gonna match with something trending months from now.

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Building a consistent wardrobe is like an investment.

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The longer you stay in, the higher the payout will be.

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This is not a sign to go gambling.

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Unless you have a wardrobe that leads to Narnia and more money than player 456, I suggest only sticking to one to two consistent aesthetics at a time.

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Number five, you often buy replicas.

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Let me ask you this.

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Have you seen anybody buy replicas for the Nike ACG Rufus?

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I honestly have no idea what that is.

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I legitimately went on Nike's website and just looked for a shoe I've never heard of before.

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And that's just the point.

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Replicas are made because the real thing is so limited

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or sought after that it is almost impossible for the average person to obtain.

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So what other options do you have

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when you can't get the new hottest shoe other than coming to your senses

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and realizing you don't have to dress for everybody else and actually finding a personal style that resonates with you.

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Wish.com.

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I was gonna say PandaBuy, but I'm pretty sure that got shut down.

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Now, I know there's gonna be a huge argument about this

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because I understand there might be a lot of reasons why you might want to buy a replica.

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Like, you might genuinely like how something is designed, but you just can't afford it or something.

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Let me ask you this.

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Do you really want to live your entire life settling for second because you can never catch first?

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And no, this is not me telling you to blow all your money on like super expensive limited items.

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What I mean is, are you really going to spend all this time scrolling on Alibaba for something

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that you're not even sure if you like or somebody else likes, rather than actually putting in the time to learn what's going to look good on you specifically?

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And this isn't a throw shade, but I know there is a very large community that thrives off of building collections of replicas.

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And if it solely is for collection purposes, then more power to you.

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I'm not going to disrespect that.

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But for those of you who are just doing it to keep up a facade, I'm telling you right now, you're never truly going to be happy.

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And the worst of the worst are those of you who

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try to play off the replicas as the real ones

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that you guys oh no like bro just say you're coping

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at this point like buying something fake for the intention of

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playing it off as real like you guys remember those videos

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where dudes would walk up to random girls on the street

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and then tell them hey can you pretend to be my

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girlfriend my mom's calling that's you guys bro i'm never gonna say anything more about you guys

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because you are already fighting your own demons

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and i've seen this firsthand finally number six your interest dies

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when the hype dies if there wasn't already a surefire way to tell if you were a hypebeast, this is it.

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We all know that feeling of finally getting a new piece that you've been really wanting recently.

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The sentiment of achievement when you finally acquire something so desired is one of the best feelings in the world.

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So how were you able to lose interest that fast just because it wasn't on your Instagram explore page anymore?

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You know what we call that?

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Commitment issues.

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Ladies, if he wears the Kill Bill Anitaka Tigers one day and the Marjala Tabby's the next, he's a red flag.

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You know what's really funny and ironic is that the Hypebeast back in the day, who are still into Jordan's Yeezy Supreme now, they have all beat the allegations.

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They fought through their Hypebeast era and learned that they genuinely love that side of fashion, even when it's not trending anymore.

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And those of you who fell off from that and are now bidding for the boo-boos on StockX, you guys now hold that title.

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Okay, so if you look here, I've taken the liberty of making a list of some of the hyped items of the past 10 or so years.

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And if you are a Hypebeast, I'm sure you remember these.

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Now, if you want, you can pause the video and take a look at all of these, but I'm only going to be mentioning the most notable ones.

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The Yeezy 350 in 2015.

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Off-White Nike Collection in 2017.

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The Travis Scott Jordans in 2019.

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The Fear of God Ascentral Collection with Paxson in 2020.

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Man, you guys treated this one like it was gold, man.

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Nike Dunks in 2022, specifically the Panda Dunks.

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And surprise, surprise, the Adidas Samba in 2024.

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If you have owned, wanted to own, or bought replicas for at least three or four of these items, congratulations.

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You dress for other people.

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Now, I know this whole video seems like being a hype beast or a fashion NBC is a bad thing, and that I was basically roasting all of you this entire time. And I was.

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But that's only because I've been there, and I've done all of these things.

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That's why I understand it so well.

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However, I still stand by the fact

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that you legitimately have to be a hype beast before you find your own personal style.

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Many of us have taken interest in fashion because we were intrigued by interesting ways that people can dress, and hyped clothing is probably the biggest and easiest exposures of that.

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There's nothing wrong with starting out by wearing things

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that the general public is interested in as long as you have the intentions to grow

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and develop it into your own for the future.

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In terms of myself, I was also into Jordans

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and Yeezys in the past and as a high school kid who just wanted to fit in, I thought those are my gateways to becoming popular and I bought into it.

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Not really because I couldn't really afford the cool ones but the point is I tried to.

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And it wasn't until I got into the Japanese anti-fashion part of it all

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that I realized I looked best and felt most comfortable in that type of clothing.

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So what can you do to evolve

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and grow from being a fashion people pleaser and become someone with their own identity when they look in the mirror?

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The first step I would take is close your social media apps.

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I mean, like and share all my videos first, but then you go, oh my god.

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Social media is one of the biggest poisons of being a hypebeast

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because there's just so much of the same thing on there.

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Sure, it's fine to intentionally use it as inspiration when you know what you're looking for, but overconsumption will make you confused and question if you like it for what it is or because Timothee Chalamet wore it.

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If anything, I would suggest having no more than three to five main accounts

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that you pull inspiration from and then study their styles and learn how to develop it into your own.

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Do not doom scroll on fashion TikTok and then buy into everything that that person is selling you.

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The second step might sound cliche, but look in the mirror and really see who you are.

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Fashion is best served on a plate with your name on it.

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Being inspired from your interests, hobbies, and life in general is not only going to make your style more authentic, but a whole lot easier to create as well.

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Do you like rock music?

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Maybe you're more into punk style fashion.

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Do you like sports?

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Maybe you're into more athletic style.

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For myself, I've always been pretty active my entire life, and I'm a huge advocate for Japanese culture, both modern and historical.

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That's why one of my main aesthetics is a fusion between athletic and Japanese menswear.

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Yes, I'm also kind of a weeb too, but...

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But you can be completely different as long as it has an authentic meaning behind...

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What is this?

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MAMI!

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Personally, this is one of the most challenging steps that I've taken in my journey in fashion, and I want you to know it's okay if it takes a while to figure this out.

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To be honest, I'm still kind of figuring it all out to this day.

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Some people will get there quicker than others, but the point is that we all get there and not how long it takes.

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Finally, the third step is researching brands that resonate with your interests.

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Look, I know I made a whole section in this video dedicated to why you shouldn't buy specifically for the brand, but that's different from understanding what brands fit well with their personal aesthetic.

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The difference is buying from a brand that other people like and buying from a brand that you like.

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Uh, obviously, right?

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Like, no s.

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But is it really that obvious?

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If it was, I wouldn't be making this video.

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Especially if you have multiple styles, it is really important to know two to three brands per aesthetic

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that you can count on when you want to shop for new pieces to add to your collection.

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Just don't buy something because you saw a cool Instagram ad about it.

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And I know it's difficult with the sheer amount of Instagram brands out there right now.

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Like, bro, I swear everybody's personality now is either I have an Instagram brand or I have a podcast.

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Maybe I should start one.

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Do your research and make sure it's something

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that you want to invest in because the worst thing you can do is go on an unfiltered shopping spree

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and end up with a wardrobe that you don't even wear.

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Okay, that's pretty much all I have for you guys today.

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As I'll say in this video and all of my other videos, style is subjective.

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And overall, you should really be just having fun with your own

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and trying new things to understand what you like and what you feel most comfortable in.

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If you're new here, my name is Austin.

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And my goal isn't to help you to dress well because like what is dressing well, bro?

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My goal is to bring exposure on how to dress for yourself.

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There are already so many amazing creators out there that will teach you the basics of fashion.

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And what I want to do is help bridge that gap between that and finding your own style.

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It is so hard to stand out in this day

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and age as it is so easy to dress the societal standard at little to no cost.

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That's why I prioritize developing your own sense of style so

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that you can be happy in your own skin and not look like this guy.

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If you like my content, it would mean the world to me if you liked this video

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and subscribed and maybe share this with someone who you think might benefit from not being a hypebeast.

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And if it turns out you wasted your time or don't like my style or me as a person, well...

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing Practice: How to tell if you are a FASHION NPC (and how to grow from it) - Learn English Speaking with Video

Why practice speaking with this video?

Grammar & Expressions in Context

Common Pronunciation Traps

What is the Shadowing Technique?