My 7 Favourite Style Instagram Accounts

Now that I am finally active on Instagram with both daily posts and Instagram stories, I’ve really started to enjoy finding new accounts to follow. I think that discussions about Instagram these days are mostly griping and complaining, so I’ve decided to focus on the positives! (Disclaimer: I’m not an Instagram expert, just a person who uses it.) Some of my favourite accounts are doggos, some are travellers, some are just people sharing their life- today I’m going to focus on the style related Instagram accounts that I’ve been loving lately!

1. Defunct Fashion

Defunct Fashion, the Instagram arm of the Tumblr site, is a gorgeous collection of dresses from current and past designers, as well as recreations, and it’s pretty spectacular. A lot of style and fashion accounts will only focus on historical items OR pieces from current houses, but Edward shares a delightful mix from the mid eighteenth century to the mid to late twentieth century. He often carries themes of purpose (ie. court dresses) or colour throughout, and it can be fascinating to see how styles change throughout the decades and centuries. I am a sucker for classic Dior, so I often spend more time than I should peering at those 🙂 It is quite the curated account, I would recommend following for anyone interested in women’s fashion throughout the years!

2. How to Read a Dress

How to Read a Dress is the Instagram account of fashion historian Lydia Edwards, and serves as the perfect companion to her 2017 book of the same name! She looks at mostly women’s (but some men’s clothing) across five centuries, and provides an interesting and informative commentary on the evolution of what is considered fashionable. What I enjoy is that she not only shares dresses/pieces themselves, but often the portraits that they may have been featured in, giving more of a context as to who wore them. I also love her comparisons between historical pieces and more recent couture- turns out some designers are going much further back for inspiration than we thought!

3. Pop Fashion Podcast

Ahhh, Pop Fashion, I’ve spoken of my love many a time on the blog! Kaarin and Lisa are two of the most entertaining and intelligent women reporting on the fashion and business world, and their Instagram is much the same. The Instagram account for the podcast is actually fantastic for keeping up with style and fashion news, as it is about 50% of what they share, along with some of the weirdest pieces and trends to come out of fashion. They also like to keep us updated with what fashion exhibitions and shows they go to, so it’s quite a healthy mix! (If you want an Instagram account to make you feel more informed about the world of fashion and business, Pop Fashion is definitely the number one account.)

4. FIT Fashion History

This account is from the historical arm of the Fashion Institute of Technology (New York State University), and if you are interested in the technical details of historical clothing look no further. While a lot of fashion historians will focus on the piece within it’s context (like me), they focus on the technical and design details of the garment itself. If you follow through to the website linked n their profile, it actually takes you to a historical timeline where you can actually read in-depth on both the portrait/image or piece’s provenance, as well as the fabric, cut, design and details of the item in question. If you are looking for an academic approach to style history that you can ingest in bite size pieces, this is it!

5. Elegant Duchess 

Okay, so this isn’t necessarily style specific, but I have talked about my love of the Duchess of Cambridge’s style on the blog before, and I follow quite a few accounts that track her fashion. What I love in particular about the Elegant Duchess account though, is that they are usually clear shots of the entire ensemble which usually lets you appreciate much more of the finer detail that we don’t always get in those first pictures. (Also, a lot of DoC accounts tend to focus on finding little seen pictures, which is interesting in itself for some, but aren’t always the best shots of the clothing itself.) Give me a moment while I continue to drool over her wardrobe…

6. Cath Kidston 

Cath Kidston is the only company I’ve featured here, and they aren’t strictly a fashion company, but a lot of what they make is clothing which I love. I like to think of Cath Kidston as the UK’s answer to Kate Spade- whimsical, fun, and rather lady-like. While they do typically have one featured Disney collection (like the Alice in Wonderland collection you can see in these pictures), they also have less themed pieces that are purely pretty. Few companies can do a floral print perfectly, but Cath Kidston does it every time. I also love that if you find wearing a dress or a top in a print a bit overwhelming, they also have handbags and accessories to add a little whimsy to your wardrobe without feeling uncomfortable. I will certainly be heading to Cath Kidston on my trip to the UK in February!

7. Catherine Smith 

Catherine Smith is the owner of Plan de Ville, an online retail company where you can find the latest emerging luxury designers. While I will admit that a lot of what is on Plan de Ville isn’t my own style, Catherine curates a fantastic mix of classic, trendy, and interesting pieces. Her instagram account is more of her own style which tends to gravitate towards my own classic sense, and I love that she often shares beauty tips in her Instagram stories that the average person can use! (You may feel slightly incompetent at life when you realise that she is running her own luxury clothing business in addition to doing her MBA at Columbia right now, but it’s good motivation for the rest of us!)

What are your favourite Instagram accounts? 
Until tomorrow,
The Historian
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Bloglovin’