third clique

Influencers don’t just wear clothes, they work on them. From adjusting fits to perfecting poses, outfits always seem to look better on them than on us.

Have you ever bought an outfit after seeing an influencer wear it effortlessly on the gram, only to try it on and feel disappointed? You’re not alone. Influencers always seem to make clothes look better, but the truth is, it’s not just about the outfit, there’s a lot of tweaking behind every post, all working together to create that perfect look.

Image credits: Styled & photographed by Anvi Jain
Model: Bhavna Choudhary

Khushi Puri (@_khushipuri_), 22, a Delhi-based influencer with 13000 followers, explains that looking good in clothes is not just about wearing them but about adjusting them. “People think I just put an outfit on and step out looking polished. Nope. I tweak everything. If a blazer’s sleeves are too long, I push them up. If a dress is loose, I belt it and try cinching the waist. If the top doesn’t sit right, I tuck or pin it.”

Small styling tricks like these make an immense difference in how an outfit looks. Posing and photography play a huge role in making the most baggy dress look like it fits the body the right way.

Image credits: Styled & photographed by Anvi Jain
Model: Medha Gupta

Kanika Rajpal, 23, an MBA student in Delhi, learnt this after buying a dress she saw on Instagram, “I liked the collaboration of Freakins and Parul Gulati, it was so casual and smart. I ordered the denim bustier top that she wore for the collaboration, which looked absolutely amazing on her. When I tried it on, I looked like a potato. Then I realised the influencer wasn’t just standing in it, she was slightly tilting her hips, elongating her legs, and posing in studio light.”

Puri admits that while she doesn’t heavily edit her pictures, she does enhance them. If the lighting is dim, she adjusts it, and if her clothes have wrinkles, she smooths them out. It’s easy to forget that what people see online is a carefully curated version of reality. Quoting “India Today” in an article published on 17 December, 2024, titled “Social media influencers impact on youth,” author Nimish Kadam wrote, “Many influencers promote a perfect and unrealistic image of themselves and their lives, which can lead to unrealistic expectations and unrealistic body standards for young people. This can result in body shaming and low self-esteem among the youth.”

Image credits: Styled & photographed by Anvi Jain
Model: Bhavna Choudhary

When we see an influencer wearing an outfit in a perfectly styled setting, our brain associates it with confidence and effortless style. But when we try it on in a dimly lit room, the magic disappears. Rajpal realised she was setting herself up for disappointment. “I’d see outfits in a well-lit setting with heavy editing, like Hailey Bieber’s effortless street style or Komal Pandey’s perfectly curated looks, and expect them to look identical on me, without considering the effort that went into making them look that good.”