For simplicities sake, let’s call Zoella a digital powerhouse. I’ve spent a good ten minutes sitting here trying to decide what pronoun to use for Zoella because this social media giant has long since ascended beyond the candour of a humanising ‘she’. Zoella is a business to be reckoned with.
For the uninitiated (AKA me two hours ago) Zoella has in nine years arguably become the most successful Youtube blog of all time. At age 28 the Brighton resident (real name: Zoe Elizabeth Sugg) has amassed 12 million subscribers and a further 11 million more on Instagram. She reportedly earns £177.3K per year - calculate that net worth, if you will - and her debut novel Girl Online made her the fastest-selling author since records started.
In a mere 120 minutes I’ve learnt what sheets Zoella sleeps on (Orla Kiely) , what color her bedroom walls are (white) and what makes her cry, laugh and smile, which honestly is most things. I’ve seen her goof around with her boyfriend (Alfie Deyes AKA Pointless) and brother (Joe Sugg of ThatcherJoe) - who FYI are also extremely successful YouTubers. It’s her beauty vlogging that has become the rubric for which all influencers (either accidentally or incidentally) base themselves on.
Yes, she’s had some setbacks cough that £50 12-window advent calendar filled with tat, like a cookie cutter and a bauble and those homophobic and snobbish tweets that recently surfaced cough but she’s seemingly weathered the storm. And let's face it, in a decade of a ascension, it would be unheard of for some cracks not to appear.
Zoella, like the Kardashians, has cultivated a clean cut (read: no drugs, alcohol or smoking) inoffensive persona to ensure she’s as ‘relatable’ (and desirable to brands) as possible. Everything from Zoella’s videos, to her merch and Instagram, which is a travel log of cakes, puppies and outfits, consciously refines and underlines this persona. Never is this more clear than through the sartorial language of her Youtube channel - think of it as the symbiosis of her visual and commercial vocabulary. In a desire to get-to-know the Zoella brand and ergo her wardrobe I watched her top 10 videos of all time, which have a mind-boggling collective 142 million views, here’s what I learnt
Debrief Zoella's Wardrobe According To Her YouTube
1 of 8Zoella Wardrobe Tour
Zoella may have a 37 fashion and beauty dedicated videos, but not one made it into her top 10 most viewed. For the sake of research I watched a few. I learnt she likes to speak slowly about what she ordered online from ASOS and Pull & Bear. If a haul video gets your juice's flowing watch away but beware these clips are filled with product placements.
2 of 8Zoella Has ‘Instagram Clothes’
Thumbing through Zoella's Instagram I was convinced she was a hipster. Between the flat whites and graffiti pics are denim-on-denim selfies, pensive shots of her wearing wire-frame reading glasses and semi-ironic slogan tops. However, this could not be further from her Youtube look. Like miles and miles away. Like a galaxy away.
3 of 811-Year-Old Zoella Took More Sartorial Risks That Grown-Up Zoella
According to her fifth most viewed video, Zoella actually started recording the everyday aspects of her day-to-day existence at just 11-years-old. To celebrate a subscriber milestone Miss Sugg let us thirsty viewers see what tween Zoella packed for a family holiday. One thing is ludicrously clear: pre-teen Zoe is far edgier. Between the on-trend hair slides, collection of chokers and spaghetti strap tops, this young girl could outpace grown-up Zoella in the style stakes.
4 of 8Zoella’s Most Inspired Outfits Use Print Like A Weapon
It's a rare day when this blogger breaks out of her twee stripes or plain-top-and-jeans uniform, but when she does it makes a nuclear impact. Take this camouflage top for instance or that eighties-twinged sweater - it's so unexpected it has me sitting up straighter and listening a little closer.
5 of 8Zoella Loves Basics
Zoella is so chirpy and 'normal' she gets accused of being 'basic'. Naturally, the fact that she loves a plain coloured t-shirt should come as no surprise nor the fact that she rarely accessorises beyond a Michael Kors watch. Very relatable.
6 of 8Make-Up Is Her Crutch
Zoella lives her life on screen and even though her income may have skyrocketed in the last decade her wardrobe has remained very grounded. She likes clothes from the brands we like to shop from - Topshop, H&M and ASOS. While she's not jettisoned herself onto the red carpet or other starry walks of life she does one thing very differently from the rest of us: she sits around her bedroom all day in a face of stage make-up. Zoella is rarely seen without foundation, blusher, bronzer, fake lashes and a triptych of eyeshadow shades.
7 of 8Zoella Loves A Peter Pan Collar
There's something passively cute about a Peter Pan collar that makes me think of school children. It's disarming in its lack of pretension and just fashionable enough, which means Zoella can once again parlay visually to the crowd that she is normal, she is relatable, she is accessible.
8 of 8She Isn’t Precious Or Precocious
Zoella's funny 'helllooooo' and affable giggle didn't shock me, but her language did. She's 28 and she uses words like 'poopey' and 'willy', she talks like a pre-teen unsure of how rude they can be. But, this childish persona allows her to be zany. She throws cream pies, gets mucky like a clown and it's adorable. Yeah, I enjoyed the fact she had attractive G-Plan furniture and lights Dyptique candles with abandon, but I continued watching for her PG kookiness.
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.