By Abigail Ali
Medill Reports
LONDON — In a recent Instagram reel, Katie Snooks, 35, teamed mom jeans with a cropped white tank, black heels and a plaid blazer. The 4-foot-11 beauty, dating and lifestyle blogger finished off the look with a messy bun, gold hoops and cat-eye sunglasses. Her caption reads, “I would never have paired these shoes with blue jeans, but I think it works with the right accessories!” In this post, for her Recreating Pinterest Outfits series, she styled clothes she already owns in new ways.
Snooks, a London-based blogger for the past 13 years, specializes in petite women’s fashion. She creates content for YouTube and Instagram around shopping secondhand and styling herself for events. In her popular get-ready-with-me videos, she films herself when she is bloated, demonstrating how to dress comfortably and stylishly even when not feeling her best. With trends like floral dresses and polo shirts making their way around social media platforms like TikTok, Snooks talked about how people can avoid fast fashion, find their personal look and boost their confidence.
This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
How did you start making these posts?
I’ve always been a bit self-conscious in terms of doing this as a career. There are so many people doing it better than me, so why should I bother? But as I’ve gotten older, my confidence has grown. I really enjoy working out how I can recreate some looks using stuff that I already have in my own wardrobe. It’s been really fun to start sharing that with my audience.
What value do you see in using existing pieces versus buying brand-new clothes when you want to switch things up?
I feel like now is the time that we have to be conscious of our waste. For me, I love the thrill of charity shopping and finding stuff secondhand. I always go with a list of what I want so that I’m not aimlessly purchasing stuff. I’ve got a list on my phone: a long black Uniqlo coat, and I want another pair of my favorite jeans (New Look petite Tori jeans). So, I’m making a note every day just to check on Vinted (an online resale store) to see if anyone’s uploaded those items so I can purchase them secondhand.
How did you find your audience for fashion?
I have great audiences that I’ve built up over the years of girls that have similar interests and are like-minded. Not all of them are necessarily petite or get bloated like I do, but I think some of my content is still relatable. I’ve seen that people on the internet will show me to their friends. Also, finding an audience by using hashtags (like #petitefashion) online has helped.
You are known for using your content to make space online for taboo or under-discussed topics. Why is that important to you?
I’ve always had acne. I’ve always suffered from bloating, and people just don’t show stuff like that. One of my main goals is to make people feel less alone in their struggles online. I filmed one of (the dressing while bloated) videos yesterday, and when I put it up, I think you’ll be able to tell that I was in such a bad mood when I was getting ready because I felt so rubbish about myself. But by the end of it, I feel better and I’m confident. I think people will be able to see that we all have those days.
What are some tips you have for petite women as they shop for clothes, especially when going to places like charity shops where sizes are limited?
It feels almost impossible in a charity or thrift store to find petite items, so there are a couple of options. The first is trying to shop for cropped pants and trousers, because that way they’ll already be a lot shorter. Second, find an alterer or friends who can take trousers up for you. Or you could learn how to take trousers up yourself. You can get hemming tape from Amazon super cheap, and you just iron that to the length that you want your clothes. Also, the easy way is just to roll your trousers up. If you go back through my Instagram, you’ll see my trousers are almost always rolled up, because I can never be bothered to alter anything and I like the rolled-up look.
What is something you think people should keep in mind when trying to find their personal style?
Don’t wait for trends to make it happen. Do what you think looks good. Trends come and go. I look back at some of my old outfits and you can very obviously tell that that wasn’t very me. I was just doing it because I thought that that was what I had to wear rather than what I enjoyed wearing or what made me feel good. Whatever body shape you have, wear what makes you feel good about yourself.
Abigail Ali is a magazine graduate student at Medill. You can follow her on Instagram and X at @abbymorganali.
