Pinterest (LOVE!), a website modeled after inspiration boards, has taken the online community by storm. While it is stereotypically used as a wedding-planning tool for 20-somethings who might have no intention of getting married, the scope of Pinterest’s material is quickly expanding.
As a junior “pinner,” I mainly re-pin other pins and most images are of cute puppies and/or woodland creatures. In my limited experiences, however, I have noticed several emerging Pinterest trends. Bring these trends into real life and fellow pinners will immediately notice; keep some of these trends on Pinterest, and your friends will think you’re wacko:
1. Mason jars
Old-fashioned and rustic, Mason jars have become a hipster staple, popping up in trendy restaurants and in houses of avid PBR drinkers. On Pinterest, however, Mason jars have been converted into light fixtures, terrariums, and lanterns. Most notably, they are pinned to wedding boards and are filled with flowers and may possibly be hanging from a tree (adorable!). Center your wedding decor around jars intended for raspberry jam, though, and your guests will know the truth: you’re a Pinterest fanatic.
2. Elaborate hair styles
Just last week, I spent around 20 minutes trying to imitate a low, braided bun made of three separate regular braids. Surprisingly, it looked halfway decent! On the other hand, I had about six hair ties holding the braids in and 20 bobby pins keeping those braids in a bun (a bun that–as you can imagine–became very large). It was madness; I opted for a ponytail instead. The fish tail braid has been particularly popular among pinners and in certain cases, I’m not so sure it looks that good. Pinterest hair trends, though, are more difficult to spot in real life. Just last night, I asked a friend with an elaborately braided, looped, pinned, and hair-tied do if she was sporting “Pinterest hair.” She said no; it was, in fact, Downton Abbey hair. This is entirely different.
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3. Really cute little kids
I’m not exactly sure what to think when a friend pins a picture of a little kid. Are they having a hormone-induced bout of baby fever? Hopefully they’re just a United Colors of Benetton fashion photographer looking for ideas. On occasion, I don’t have to ask these questions because the pinner has added a caption like, “OMG! My future child. So cute.” Imagine what that kid’s parents must think! Of course, parents are the ones forcing their kids into child modeling, so that may excuse some of their creepiness. Otherwise, they should only pin a picture of a small child if he is wearing a chicken costume and they’ve peed a little from laughing at him.
4. Desserts in drinkable form
(Or drinks in edible form) If you are looking to have a 21-and-over celebration AND you love cake more than life itself, what sounds better than a Pinterest-inspired birthday cake shot? It’s like mainlining batter, frosting, and sprinkles. There’s the reverse as well. Why, just the other day I enjoyed a chocolate filled cupcake with Bailey’s frosting. It was brilliant, but does the fascination with combining desserts and alcohol highlight two of our most notable vices? Are we pinners just a bunch of cake-hungry drunks? The jury is still out.
5. “Motivational” pictures
More like pictures that signify a profound insecurity with your body image! You generally find these kinds of images on boards in the “Fitness” category with captions that mention “thinspiration” or the pinner’s desire to look like the picture. I can’t even say anything sarcastic about this one; I just want you ladies to love your body and to stop citing anorexic women as your “fitness” ideal. Today I saw a pin that read, “I’m getting lighter with every step,” and featured a woman running. Is “lighter” what we really should want? To waste away as much as possible? Perhaps we should be using words like “stronger,” “healthier,” “faster,” or “more confident.”
With a public forum like Pinterest, where we can’t decide to keep any pins private, we must pin responsibly and thoughtfully. This is, after all, the digital age and half of our identities are displayed through the Internet. Pinterest may not be the place to let our freak flags fly.
Photo Sources:
http://images.oncewed.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/wedding-mason-jar-ideas.jpg
http://www.fashionizers.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/fishtail-5.png
http://www.fashionfame.com/2012/02/burberry-spring-2012-childrenswear-collection-campaign/
http://d.asset.soup.io/asset/2850/2557_2313.jpeg
http://fitbody411.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/skinny-model-1.jpg