Q&A: Erin Eagle of A Style Set Talks Balancing Trends with Sustainability, New York City Living, and Building a Fashion Community
All images courtesy of @inthesejeans & @astylesetIt’s 2015: mood boards rule Tumblr, ‘90s grunge is in, and Instagram is beginning to establish itself as a photo-sharing platform for amateurs and early “influencers” alike. Erin Eagle, then a fashion-loving high school student, is itching for a creative outlet in the emerging social media landscape. Her solution? @inthesejeans, a digital collection of her latest looks and sartorial obsessions.
Five years later, the COVID-19 outbreak turns the world upside down. Businesses close, employees are laid off, and students find school shrunk down to a rectangular glare on their computer screens. Erin—now in her third year of college—is part of that latter group, navigating a new normal. With nothing to do and nothing to lose, she begins sharing her outfits on TikTok, alongside her regular posts on Instagram, as a creative escape. Before long, she’s flooded with requests for personal styling help and starts offering virtual styling services to meet the growing demand. But when her schedule can no longer accommodate the one-on-one sessions after classes resume later that fall, she scales her approach—and A Style Set is born.
Today—another five years later—A Style Set has evolved into an online, community-driven fashion platform for its 500,000 followers across TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest. And Erin? She’s become the full embodiment of her childhood aspirations: a New York City-based creative working in fashion.
[The following is an edited excerpt of our conversation.]
Let’s start 10 years ago when you began posting on social media. Set the stage for us.
I was 16, in high school, and I had always loved fashion. My mom used to be a stylist, so she really helped me have a passion for it. It was a complete hobby, but I was obsessed: I learned to sew, went to fashion camps, and learned fashion design.
[My mom and I] would shop at discount stores just to see what we could find. My high school was very academically rigorous, and there weren't many creative outlets there, so I was like, “Alright, I like social media; it’s emerging, it seems creative, and I like putting outfits together. I'm going to start documenting my outfits on Instagram.” So I did it as a creative outlet, and my mom would help me take pictures. I needed something to do, and I needed something to fuel that passion of mine. It wasn't for money—I didn't know that money was even a possibility—it was just for fun.
We’ve had a fair share of trends come and go in the past decade. Being at the forefront of them, are there any you regret wearing?
Neon. I always gravitate towards black, white, and beige—soft colors. When I was younger, I got caught up in the neon trends, and I regret it. I look back, and I'm like, “That doesn’t suit me. I should’ve just stuck to what I liked.”
[Also] baggy streetwear. A few years ago, I would thrift baggy clothes a lot. I still love that clothing, but I'm short, and it's just not flattering on me [as much as] more refined pieces, like straight-leg jeans or fitted sweaters.
I definitely think I should stick to things that are more flattering and that will last longer. I have more regret feeding into the microtrends and not wearing what suits me—[clothes] I can wear year after year and don't have to throw out or give away.
Switching the focus on sustainability—there’s been debate about whether or not it can coexist with trendiness. As a stylist and content creator, do you think it’s possible to follow trends and still be sustainable?
Yes, I do. Over the past year, I’ve been holding back on my shopping. I used to shop for every season before I realized I had too many clothes—I felt wasteful after a certain point.
So I've tried to hone in on what I like and buy one or two pieces a season. This season, I haven’t bought anything except for a few shirts and one pair of loafers that I wear every single day. I love the loafer trend, and I've been loving it for a few years. Usually, I'll think, “Have I liked this trend for a long time, and is it worth investing in?” If the answer is yes, I’ll consider it. But if it’s, for example, leopard print—trendy, but slowly fading out—I'm probably not going to invest in it because I know that six months from now I'm not going to want it anymore.
I'm more thoughtful about my purchases and that's helped me stay somewhat sustainable, while also still buying a few trends per season.
You’re based in New York, and Sustainable Swaps is partly based there too. The city is known for being inspiring, but also isolating. What’s your experience been like?
I love New York. I'm so inspired living here—you see new things every day. I'm inspired just by people walking down the street and seeing their outfits. I love the food, culture, and all the different types of people that come together. I don't feel lonely because you can walk outside at any moment and experience something new. I find that people here are very welcoming and want to have a community. So I love New York City.
You mentioned being inspired by what people wear. What are you seeing right now?
A lot of loafers and ballet flats—they've kind of replaced sneakers. Everyone's wearing a loafer or a flat instead of a Samba, which we’ve seen in past years. I've also been seeing a lot of trench coats this winter—cool outerwear in general. And I've been seeing a lot of big, slouchy bags that people use for work—functional, but also fashionable.
Let’s talk business. You’ve grown a brand to around 500,000 followers across platforms. Any “pinch-me” moments?
The style quiz I created over a year ago recently took off, and it's at over 700,000 submissions. That's something I would’ve never imagined happening.
A lot of people on Pinterest—because there've been pins that have gone viral of people posting their results on the quiz—have said how much it's helped them find their style. It’s really nice to hear that it's actually providing value for people.
Most of the time, it's doing the daily tasks. It's more about the journey—just getting everything done—but it's fun. I enjoy doing everything, and I love sitting at my computer and making content.
While you've found success, running a business doesn't come without its struggles. How do you stay motivated and maintain balance, especially when posting consistently across multiple platforms?
That’s definitely the hardest part. Consistency is key in this world. When my website gets a lot of traction or I see something take off, it gives me more motivation. Like, “Okay, this style of content works. I'm gonna keep doing that.” And seeing that it's actually helping people also gives me motivation.
But there are days when I run out of ideas or I'm struggling to figure out what my next steps are. That's been hard, but especially running this on my own has been the hardest. Obviously, the help of my amazing interns has been incredible—I'm so, so grateful—but I'd love to, in the future, get more help because there's only so much I could do by myself.
With those experiences in mind, what advice do you have for someone who wants to work in fashion media?
My biggest piece of advice is to start posting, because if you don't start, then it's hard to. Obviously, there are other avenues you can go, but I think posting and creating a platform is the biggest tip that I have—just trying to stay as consistent as possible, creating different types of content, and seeing what sticks.
It's a lot of trial and error—a lot of content that won't do well—but ultimately, if you stay consistent, you'll probably get recognized in whatever you're trying to get into. Whether you want to find brands to work with or work at a specific company, if you post content that resonates with what you want to do, then you'll have an easier time getting there.
That's a good message for perfectionists who get stuck in analysis paralysis: get out there, and start posting.
Yeah. I'm definitely a perfectionist, so the hardest part is not having to have every piece of content be perfect because, sometimes, quantity is more important than quality in the social media space. You just have to keep pumping out content.
We've looked back 10 years. Looking 10 years ahead, where do you see yourself and A Style Set?
I'd love A Style Set to be a leading source for fashion inspiration among Gen Z. I want it to be a hub people can look to for inspiration, where they can also interact with the platform and with the community. On the business side, I'd love to work with more brands and do more cool projects.
It's hard to think 10 years ahead, but that's kind of where I see it going: just continue to build it.
