Aimee Song Says She Manifested Her Wardrobe Through Intentional Shopping

Aimee Song is one the most successful fashion influencers in internet history. Blogging since ‘08, Song was influencing before the term even existed — let alone considered a viable career path. “Never in a million years did I think I would be flown to places, be an ambassador to luxury houses, or sit front row and get dressed by brands, do all these shoots. I didn’t think that would happen,” Song confesses over Zoom.

Amassing over 7.2 million Instagram followers and launching her own label Song of Style, she’s got the job a million girls want. But there’s always room at the top — Song is happy to share real-world advice with aspiring influencers. “Think about what your end goal is and then find your niche, what makes you different from other people. Because there is something so special about you,” she says.

Though content is key, Song adds has one practical tip any creator can do to get noticed: “Tag the brands you wanna work with if you’re wearing them,” Song said. “Brands are most likely to work with influencers who are already customers — whether it’s skincare, fashion, food, [or] drinks. [Brands] don’t only work with big influencers, they love micro-influencers, they love people with only a thousand followers because you’re creating organic content for them.”

Ahead, Song shares even more helpful tips for influencers looking to make it. Plus, how her style has changed since becoming a mom, her thoughts on wardrobe manifestation, and the summer trend she’s loving right now inspired by The Edit by Marshalls, the retailer’s trend report she helped launch.

How has your style changed since becoming a mom? Are there any trends you’ve abandoned or embraced?

I’m definitely wearing less crop tops — I used to wear a lot of crop tops with high-waisted pieces. But other than that, I feel like my outfits are pretty much the same.

What about the way you shop, has that changed at all?

I honestly shop more for my baby than myself. That’s the only thing that’s changed when I’m shopping. I was just in South Korea last week [and] I didn’t buy anything for myself, I bought everything for my baby. So I’m more excited about, “Oh, I’m gonna dress up my baby.”

Who do you think — model, celeb, or influencer — is acing the style game right now?

So many. [I] love Hailey Bieber’s style. She has incredible style. She herself is so involved in her style process and styling herself. And she’s so lovely.

She’s a little bit eclectic but I also love Bella Hadid’s style. Because I know she, a lot of times, styles herself as well. [And] Zoë Kravitz. Even though she’s not really active on social [media], she has great street style, and even [in] her red-carpet moments she always looks so flawless.

What’s currently on your shopping wishlist?

What I’m looking for is [something] I can wear on vacation. I love a matching set because it’s so easy to style. Sometimes I’ll take those tops and I wear them in different ways with different bottoms ‘cause it makes packing easy.

What’s the one item you own that gets the most compliments?

Recently, for my panel at Marshalls, I wore these high-waisted trousers. Honestly, I was like, “Whoa everybody’s so obsessed with these pants.” And they were less than $80. I wanna say the most recent one that everybody went crazy for was the trousers.

As an expert shopper, do you have any shopping hacks for Marshalls specifically?

For me, I always know exactly what I wanna buy. For example, my boyfriend, [when] he goes to a grocery store and so does my sister, they go to every single aisle. I don’t do that. If I go to the grocery store, it’s gonna take me 10 minutes. I know exactly what I’m gonna get, I’m not gonna get extra stuff.

That’s the mindset I go in [with] when I shop at a clothing store. I’m thinking, “What do I need? What event is coming up that I need to shop for?” And I have an idea of what I want and that’s how I manifest and find things.

What advice would you give for scouting the perfect backdrop for an outfit photo? Any thoughts on the merits of blank walls versus busy backdrops?

For me, what’s more important is where the light is coming from. ‘Cause even if the backdrop is absolutely amazing, if the light is coming from behind, then it’s gonna be blown out, so you’re not gonna get your shot. So I always look at the light first.

And then backdrop-wise, it depends. If it’s just all about the outfit, it’s better to have a simple, plain wall. But sometimes I find those boring. It depends on your audience and why you’re taking those photos.

Right now I’m gravitating towards real moments — so a fun backdrop or [being] in the moment. So if you’re out grocery shopping, I love it when people take their outfit photos on the aisle. I’ve done this many times, I just put the phone on timer or sometimes I even put it on video and I’m posing. So when I say it takes me 15 minutes to grocery shop it’s because seven minutes I’m taking photos of myself. I just put it on video and I’ll screenshot the part that I like.

I just like moments and I think my audience likes that too rather than a simple very posey outfit because they wanna be part of what’s my everyday life, what’s happening in real life.

I saw you recently shared a video on Instagram of you getting caught taking your own outfit video!

That was so embarrassing. I was like, “Should I not post this?” Because somebody DM-ed [and] tagged me on Stories. And I was like, “I’ll just own it.”

For people also taking their own outfit photos and videos, do you have practical advice?

I was actually doing that since 2008 and back then I used to carry a tripod because iPhones weren’t as developed. I was literally that girl who would always set up a tripod in the middle of the park while in college. I lived in San Francisco in the middle of San Francisco and everyone just leaves you alone. And I still do that.

Lighting is so important ‘cause there’s nothing worse than being backlit. Everything is blown out, nothing is crisp and clear. That’s why some of my photos look so clear even if I’m filming in video — because I always think about lighting. You [also] just gotta know your angles. I like to put my camera a little bit lower so I look longer and leaner.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out in content creation?

It takes a long time. I feel like the misconception is things happen so fast and sometimes [they] can. But then when things happen in a short amount of time, it also disappears really fast. I’ve noticed that with some of the content creators that blew up in a year and I no longer see them. So have patience.

And tag the brands you wanna work with if you’re wearing them. Brands are most likely to work with influencers who are already customers — whether it’s skincare, fashion, food, [or] drinks. I wanna say the majority of the brands that I worked with I was a fan or customer. [Brands] don’t only work with big influencers, they love micro-influencers, they love people with only a thousand followers because you’re creating organic content for them.

Think about what your end goal is and then find your niche, what makes you different from other people. Because there is something so special about you. And don’t think so much about the numbers and don’t try to impress everybody.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.