Midfluencers: Authenticity over perfection
Kat Farmer, Erica Davies, Fran Bacon (to name a few I’m a huge fan of) are what are known on the Internet as ‘Midfluencers”: women, usually over 40, documenting their lives, highs & lows, & style on social media. These ladies have changed the visual landscape for a demographic of women who may have otherwise been forgotten by mainstream advertising & had previously felt un-catered for in the shops, yet are more relatable to a wider audience of ages, and real women.
‘Midfluencers’ might have once been mocked as ‘Mummy bloggers’ yet they are successfully making money through product placements, brand partnerships & sponsored posts BUT all with authenticity & relatability: bucking the entrenched stereotypes of the Influencer phenomena, & all whilst juggling the mania that comes with motherhood, chatting jokingly about previously taboo subjects such as mental health, self-esteem, postnatal depression, and even the menopause.
Image features Kat Farmer (@doesmybumlook40), Erica Davies (@erica_davies) and Fran Bacon (@thefashion_lift)
Influencers tend to have blow dries & perfect nails striving to portray an unattainable image of perfection, while a Midfluencer might post about the glass of wine she just sank after ‘helping’ with her teenagers homework, or why she is late every morning to the school run because she needs to get her caffeine fix to start the day. Influencers will talk about the latest designer It Bag or Must-have heels as though they are the best thing since sliced proverbial, whereas a Midfluencer will happily chat about the warts & all perimenopausal stages ( which deep down we all want & need to know).
On the internet life certainly doesn’t stop at 40! On the contrary, social media comes with less of the age related barriers enabling Midfluencers to accrue followers, tell their story, and prove their commercial clout in a way women rarely have before. These days it’s move over ‘mutton dresses as lamb’ it’s more like this ‘mutton is dressed in leopard print’ and she’s loving (almost) every minute of it!
Between 2001 and 2005, almost half of British Vogue‘s cover stars were aged 20 to 30; by 2021 that dropped to less than a third, as stars between 30 & 50 were given prominence too.
26% of female cover stars between 2016 and 2020 were over 40 compared with only 2% between 2001 and 2005.
Source: Pinterest
But there is far more to the job than just taking selfies. ‘Midfluencers’ are so valuable to the advertisers & so mindful of the community they have created. People are turning increasingly to advertising on Instagram through these women, women ‘we’ trust & admire, switching off or wizzing through the TV adverts. Does anyone really watch tv ads any more?
These ‘Midfluencers’ feel to us like a massive extended group of mates we can look to for inspiration, laughs & relatable style; how we want to look, not how fashion editors dictate ( think Zara’s website & you’re on the right lines).
Kat Farmer, for example, is also frank about her own mental health, something I really relate to you with my own mental health issues I’ve previously talked about (and if you aren’t aware please take a listen to the Podcast I did with Carelle of Firefly Formula. linked here). She wasn’t in a good place after having her children; suffering a breakdown & a loss of identity (which still people question as a real thing BUT So many of us can relate, me for one 🙌 ) We are the generation that talk about what is going on in heads, and sharing may help others, and break the stigma surrounding mental health.
For me, having experienced being an Influencer for M&S to a Midfluencer (kind of) for women to feel good in their clothes, it is more important to present a ‘true representation’ of yourself on Instagram, being authentic & really showing who you are (I’m working on this)! And I definitely prefer this to pushing products that consumers don’t need ( don’t get me started on the shortbread tins push in M&S at Christmas ....”can I interest you in a tin of shortbread with your knickers?”)
Perhaps ‘Midfluencers’ are like those friends for whom you put on extra make up before meeting up. They will remain a world away from the Haute sneer that the fashion industry has long been famous for & will instead happily wear man-repelling boiler suits and messy mum buns to do the school run, but they are real women we want to listen to & maybe learn from.
Specific to my social media & styling expertise, I felt that in life we get so many massive curveballs thrown at us, from your body changing after a baby to the menopause, so for lots of women this all comes with a whole identity crisis so having an amazing wardrobe can make you feel brilliant! And I’m definitely the one for that job.