On October 29, the Friday before Halloween, junior Mollie Gross dressed in a pink mask, shirt, and sweatpants, topped off with trendy black sunglasses and a silver tiara. “As it was my birthday and Halloween dress-up day,” Gross said, “I dressed as a princess!” This birthday outfit was then photographed and posted to @fwpfits, an Instagram account run by junior Kiran Mathew. 

Mathew created the Instagram account in an effort to share the varied fashion of Parker, showing trends that Parker students seem to love. Mathew was inspired by @JCPfits and @wyfits, Instagram accounts that share fashion looks at Jones College Prep and Whitney Young. 

As the creator of @fwpfits, Mathew decides who and when to post. “Most of the time submissions are gathered kind of passively,” Mathew said. “Rarely am I specifically looking for outfits to post, but when I see someone wearing a cool outfit, I’ll stop them and ask to take a picture.” 

Mathew feels it is important to have a diverse page, featuring students’ styles from across the Upper School. The account features looks that range from Santa’s elves shirts to Lululemon leggings and Brandy Melville shirts. “It is almost like students are balancing dressing cute and being comfortable,” Gross said. “That is why I wore sweatpants on my birthday.” 

Because students want to be comfortable, she believes that certain trends keep Parker students looking alike. “A lot of students shop at the same places like Lululemon, Aritzia, and Brandy Melville,” Gross said, “so many students have the same clothing pieces, but they wear them differently.” 

“I love being tagged on @fwpfits,” sophomore Francesca Adami said. “I think it’s a really cute account that is super fun to be featured on and to follow.” Junior Emma Newman also loves the account and her four features. “When Kiran asks to take a picture of my outfit, I basically take it as him telling me he likes my look,” Newman said. 

Mathew loves seeing and complimenting others’ styles because he too is very involved in the fashion world. Mathew believes his style varies widely and has certainly changed since freshman year. “What builds my style is finding fashion role models,” Mathew said. 

Figures like Princess Diana, Olivia Pope from “Scandal,” and Sally Albright from “When Harry Met Sally,” are some of Mathew’s most influential fashion icons. Mathew finds his inspiration while scrolling through social media, what he believes to be the most impactful influence on modern-day fashion.

@fwpfits and other school fashion accounts aren’t the only accounts that share style. Newman also has an Instagram account to share her looks and her art, under the username @emmawithnotalent. “I love sharing what I create,” Newman said. “That is why I created my account, and why @fwpfits is getting so much love.” 

The influence social media has on Generation Z is why Mathew believes @fwpfits inspires followers to widen their own style. Apps like Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest allow users to upload looks while simultaneously influencing others. 

Newman has been artistic her whole life, and she uses Pinterest as a way of finding looks she likes. She also utilizes the application to help grow her style by attempting to recreate the outfits. “I do this of course by shopping for clothes,” Newman said, “but I also sew a number of the clothing pieces, whether it’s through upcycling or creating clothing from scratch.” 

The excitement of seeing yourself on @fwpfits is what brings fun to the account, but its deeper purpose of inspiring styles and showing trends is “equally important,” Adami said. “Seeing the followers grow makes me really happy,” Mathew said, “but it also reminds me how prevalent social media is to our generation.”