Social media sites encourage people to put best faces forward

As the owner of a trendy fashion boutique, Lauren Feather watches young women ponder different garments all day long. But, if she can step in and help them find a way to wear one piece three different ways, they usually stop pondering and start buying.

Some of her shoppers do it strictly for the mileage. Others do it for Facebook.

"Every time people go out, if they're my age, or just anyone who's on Facebook, they don't want an outfit repeat," says Feather, 19. "People don't want to spend a ton of money because they're only going to wear an outfit out once or twice."

Has Facebook made people more image-conscious? According to Facebook figures, the average user has 130 friends. If photos are snapped and tagged every time a user attends a social event, that means all 130 friends, co-workers and family members will see what they wore, how their hair was styled and what kind of party they attended. For many people, it means the clothes, the hair, maybe even the party get more consideration than they used to.

Feather knows the concept well because she lives it. She had Facebook fashion conundrums in high school and solved them with disposable fashion, clothes very modestly priced and meant for minimal use. She was so taken with the concept, last year she opened a store in Summerlin, (Best Kept Secret) Boutique, which sells clothes mostly less than $20.

Now she helps her customers overcome the kind of fashion crises only celebrities used to experience. She shows them how to avoid Facebook "outfit repeats" by using accessories to transform the look and feel of a garment.

Many young women used to give the impression that they owned more clothes simply by reaching into friends' closets. But, if your friend has a Facebook account, it gets tricky. Feather says you have to make sure it's a nondescript piece you're borrowing, otherwise you're dealing with a scenario of "Who wore it better?" a reference to the popular celebrity fashion feature in Us Weekly magazine.

"Facebook has changed the game of social life, including what people are wearing," she says. "It's had a big influence on upping people's fashion."

It's had a big influence on all things image-related.

Last January, Saks Fifth Avenue held a social networking event with Harper's Bazaar and Estee Lauder in which consultants offered tips on how to take the perfect Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn profile picture. After the consultation, shoppers had their makeup done. Their photo was shot, retouched and then emailed to them to post to the social networking profile of their choice. The event was called "Your Beauty, Your Style, Your Profile."

Local photographer Eric Jamison is well aware of the importance of a profile pic. His company, Studio J, shoots commercial advertising projects, but launched a service called Facebook Fridays last year. He saw another photographer succeed with it in a different market and figured he'd give it a go. For $99 every Friday, clients could come in for a photo session, with hair and makeup provided. The photo shoots were used as profile pictures on Facebook.

His target audience consisted mostly of working professionals concerned about potential clients Googling them or conducting preliminary "research" on Facebook. They realize that first impressions these days come long before the handshake. When that happens, image is indeed everything. Something as simple as a Facebook picture can make or break potential business.

"Some people don't want to manage their online image," Jamison says. "But those people could be affected negatively."

That's exactly why Avi Dan-Goor uses a professionally shot photo as his Facebook profile picture. The 30-year-old Realtor wants to portray an "approachable, happy and, you know, professional" image.

Dan-Goor primarily uses his Facebook account to generate leads. He usually gains a new client through a friend of a friend, so his Facebook friends are a healthy mix of business and pleasure.

But that means every time Facebook alerts him that someone has tagged him in a picture, he can't help but get nervous. His immediate thoughts are, "Who posted it and who has already seen it?"

The way he views it, if he's looking like some kind of party guy in photos then it could deter someone from putting him in charge of their $700,000 purchase.

He's very conscious of the way he looks and his friends are aware of it. It's to the point it can be annoying, he acknowledges, but people know not to tag him in photos.

"Especially if it's a party," he says. "If it's a pool party in the summer? Friends don't take a picture of me and put it on Facebook 'cause they know they'll get smacked."

Contact fashion reporter Xazmin Garza at xgarza@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0477.
Follow her on Twitter @startswithanx.