Pinterest's Global Trends Lead Sydney Stanback on Curating Style Inspiration, Plus The Trends Everyone Is Pinning Right Now

0:01Hi, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Let's Get Dressed. It's your host Liv Perez. I hope you're all having a great start to your week. As always, I'm so glad you're here. We often talk on this podcast about where to find really good style inspiration. And today we are talking to one of my favorite places for inspiration. And honestly, one of the most powerful platforms out there right now that's shaping what we all wear, decorate with, cook, and even get married in. And that's Pinterest. We all have those moments where we're scrolling and suddenly find ourselves down a rabbit hole of new ideas, mood boards, and so much more.

0:40And there's a reason for that. It's not just because Pinterest is a place for inspiration. It's actually become this place where trends start before they even hit our feeds. So today, I'm thrilled to be sitting down with Pinterest's global trends lead, Sydney Stanback, to talk all about how they're predicting what's next, what everyone is pinning right now, and of course, some of the biggest trends that they're forecasting for the year ahead, including festival season, which is right around the corner. We also get into some hot Pinterest tips like how to pin like a pro, how to train Pinterest to know you better than you know yourself, and even shape your own personal style.

1:17I hope you guys loved today's episode. Let's go get dressed with Pinterest's Sydney Standbeck. Sydney, welcome to the show. I'm so excited to have you. Thank you so much for having me. I am a Pinterest nerd. I'm someone who I feel like that is my starting point. Like if I have no idea what to wear or I'm concepting something for an event I come, I have to go to, Pinterest is my first place. And so I'd love to hear from you as someone who obviously loves it enough to work there and live and breathe it every day. How does Pinterest work in your life? Well, first and foremost, it's always great to meet another Pinterest fan.

1:56You know, I, at this point I've used my Pinterest so frequently that I feel like every time I log onto it, it's like a reflection of myself. So I rarely even search for anything anymore. It's just like my home feed is very much tuned to who I am at this point in my life. And it's interesting because I've had my Pinterest for a while. So it's always interesting to go back and see how my boards have evolved, how everything about me has evolved over like pretty much the past decade. So I, you know, my main, it's a, it's a, it's my first stop too, especially when it comes to developing my own personal style.

2:41I actually like to use Pinterest a lot for everyday use cases. I feel like oftentimes when people hear about Pinterest, they associate it more so with those major life moments like wedding planning or home renovations, which of course are fantastic use cases for Pinterest. But for myself, like I'm looking at it multiple times in the day, just trying to figure out, okay, like I have to go into the office tomorrow. Like what am I thinking in terms of, I live in Chicago for context. So like going into the office is always a bit of an adventure because I don't know from a weather standpoint, what I'm going to get.

3:14So everyday use cases in terms of styling myself, but also for food. I'm a huge recipe person on Pinterest as well. So I highly, highly recommend it. So yeah, I mean, it really is a place where it's kind of like my private space to explore myself. It's not noisy. And I feel like a lot of other social media platforms these days can be a bit noisy. So it's really like my quiet space to explore myself, my interests, which is really the main reason why I love it so much. So I have to be so honest here. I'm a new Pinterest girl. I'm new here. New here. I got married last year and it was like the one source of inspiration for me to go to as I was wedding planning.

3:59And then post wedding planning, I was like, wait, I'm kind of addicted to this. Prior to that, I really didn't have this one place that I was going to just to have this like quiet time to seek out inspiration. And that was a really big thing that I learned post wedding and missing that feeling of Pinterest. I was like, oh, I can scroll Instagram. I can scroll TikTok, but it's not the same feeling as like actually carving out time to specifically just flex your creative muscles. It's a totally different thing. And I'm curious for you why you think Pinterest has become kind of that go-to place over any other platform that we have out there right now that's just inspiration central.

4:45You know, I think it's just the user journey is so different, right? Like it's really a space where it's really been built for you to craft, right? Like craft out all different aspects of your life, whether it's a wedding or your outfit for the day. Like that is really what the platform is built for, right? Like it's our mission to bring people the inspiration to live a life that they love. And so when you think about the product experience, right, it's not, it goes well beyond just searching for something you're saving pens, you're building boards. And then the more you do that, the more Pinterest understands you and serves you content that is really attuned to your style and even introduces sometimes new things that you may not be aware of, but maybe might be like adjacent to your interests, right?

5:35So it's not just keeping you within the territory in which you personally exist in. It allows you to explore other territories that you may be interested in, right? And so I think that that is a unique user journey that really isn't available elsewhere. When I think about how I use other social media platforms, is really for me keeping up with my friends or being entertained, right? I don't really go there with like the intent to plan anything. It's kind of just passive entertainment or content, which is great. It serves its purpose, right? But Pinterest is really, in my experience, the only platform that brings me to this intentional mindset where I go in seeking out something that I need and something that I may not even know that I need.

6:24But once I see it, I'm like, oh yeah, like that's, that's it. And I don't experience that anywhere else. And so it's really great to hear from your experience, how wedding planning, and I'm curious, have you shared your wedding more? I would love to see your wedding more. I feel like that's such a, people have asked me and I'm like, that literally feels like the most vulnerable thing ever. Oh, no. Your wedding was so beautiful. I am sure. I get it. It's so vulnerable. I'm just like, wait, are people going to see that and be like, wait, that didn't make sense? I don't know. Maybe I'll share them with this episode.

6:59Please do. I think everyone's inspiration journey is so different, but it's always so remarkable to see how people craft things or build things on their own. I mean, working in data at Pinterest, I've seen like boards that are really creative or have really creative names. I'm not that way. My fashion board is just called style. It's been called that for years, right? It's so like, you know, so it's, but I think, but that, but that's for me, right? That it serves its purpose for myself, but it's very vulnerable to share your boards because again, this is like this private experience that you had as you were building out this major life moment.

7:39But I am sure a lot of people would be heavily inspired by it because your wedding was so beautiful. But that's not like the first time I've heard, even in my personal life, that people were planning these big life moments. One of my best friends got married a couple of years ago and she was using Pinterest for the first time for her wedding planning. And now she's using it for everything. She's opening a coffee shop. She's going there for references to everyday use cases as well. And so I think that a lot of people are being reintroduced to Pinterest through major life moments, but also understanding and discovering like, oh, wait, like I can do so many things here.

8:19It's helpful in so many ways. I feel like when Pinterest first started, it felt like kind of like the scrapbookers digital solve. And I think that kind of pigeonholed the platform a little bit. But I think once you try it, you're like, wait, this has this is a totally different world. And I actually really love that it kind of scratches the itch for me of creative, like efficient scrolling. Yes. I'm not just scrolling for entertainment or like quick satisfaction. I'm actually scrolling to like enhance something in my life, whether it's my personal style or I'm working on a house, like anything like that.

9:00So if you're looking for efficient scrolling, guys, try Pinterest. Love that. Love that. I'm curious for you. And also this is a selfish question for me. How are you going into pinning? Like, what is your first step? I really feel like there are a lot of people listening who probably are not on the Pinterest train. So I'm like, how are we doing this from step one? So it doesn't feel overwhelming. Yeah. You know, I think for beginners, even when you're logging or signing for a Pinterest account, one of the things that they're going to ask you is like, what are you interested in? Right. So are you here for style, food, so on and so forth, wedding planning?

9:35And that's a good, obviously, first step into the platform. But like my, I would also recommend start searching for things that you know you love, right? Like if you've been really interested in a certain aesthetic or some recipe, like search for it. And it's going to serve you a lot of different pens or content around that topic. But don't just stop there, like engage with those pens, right? It's like, oh, this pen looks interesting to me. But as you continue to go down that kind of search process, it's going to continue to serve you relevant pins as well, right? So Pinterest is really all about visual search, right?

10:15So it's about giving you the content that sometimes you don't necessarily have the words for. Like I actually, to this day, I struggle with contextualizing my style and words. But when I open my Pinterest app, it's there. Right. And so I think once you start with some of the words that, you know, that you're like, I think I like I know I usually wear like white button downs with jeans and flats or like I'm very inspired by this specific influencer, this celebrity. and as you continue to engage, you're like, okay, this was my first initial spark of inspiration. But like, it's as you continue to go through Pinterest, right?

10:57You're going to get more and more pins that may, again, not be 100 % in that territory, but adjacent to it that you're like, actually, this is more me. Like this actually makes me feel more comfortable. And you just keep going and you build upon it. I say, you know, and this is not even someone who, this is not advice coming from someone who works at Pinterest is just coming from myself, right? Like the more you engage with Pinterest, the more it gets to know you. So don't like, you know, your first few entries, you might be like, okay, I'm still kind of figuring myself out here. Don't let that stop you because the more you engage with it, the more you're gonna be like, oh yeah, they know exactly who I am, what I like.

11:39And you'll get to a point where you're like, I don't even really need to search anymore. I just, I'm gonna go on the app and it's going to give me exactly what I need in the moment. And there are also a lot of discovery mechanisms on the platform as well and recommendations based off of what's trending on the platform at the moment. So if you just need to seek out inspiration that way, you can as well. So there are a lot of ways in, but my main point of encouragement is like continue leaning in and searching for topics that you may not even know exist on the platform like Live For You Food, right?

12:13Like there's so many recipes on Pinterest. I had no idea. Literally no idea. So many. I think that's actually like back in the day, that was what I, that's what I used it for. And then it evolved into style. And so that is something like if you've heard of a recipe on another platform and you're like, okay, maybe I'm interested in learning more and actually getting the ingredients and actually going to the kind of that original source. It's a little bit more tangible and like gives you the instructions on how to create it. Right. Like you can easily do that on Pinterest. And then based off of that one recipe, it's going to serve you more recommendations that are similar or within like, let's say the same, like, yeah, same, like a cuisine type.

12:58Right. So it's, it's again, continue to use it. I'll get to know you really well. And next thing you know, you won't be able to stop using it. I mean for me I even the other day I was like okay I have this pencil skirt I'm not really sure how I want to style it went on there typed in pencil skirt outfits obviously the entire page populated scrolled through was able to find one that was really similar to my style clicked on it and then even underneath that where it gives you like other relevant searches it's just like there's just so there's something for everybody on there And every time I walk away from it, I'm like, okay, I just found something new that I haven't tried before.

13:37Because again, that ability to like identify you and find your style, but then also inspire you to try something a little bit different. It's just such a great visual tool. If you're someone who is like interested in exploring your personal style, not really sure where to start. It's just such a great springboard. And I actually say like the biggest question that I get is like, Hey, one of the biggest questions that I get is like, I'm in a style rut. I don't really know what to do. And the first thing I say is get on Pinterest. Like build yourself a board of what you like. Maybe not how you're dressing right now, but what you're interested in wearing.

14:13Then from there, you can kind of clean out your closet and be able to bring in pieces, maybe from some of those outfits where you're like, okay, I really, I'm noticing in my board that I love a lot of pencil skirts or I love oversized baggy jeans. Like you're able to pull from those moments to then get your closet to a place where you're more excited about it. So I always say it's like the first place when you're looking for anything style wise. I went through, you know, coming out of, I guess, peak pandemic time when we started going back into the office and being around people again, you know, it was interesting because I was transitioning from like my late twenties and New York city, then that obviously halted.

14:53And then And coming out of it, I was, you know, in my thirties in Chicago and, you know, I've had a different job and just different, you know, I've evolved my style that evolved at that point. And I use Pinterest throughout all those years when we were indoors, basically in sweats or just really comfortable, comfortable clothing to build out more of like an aspirational board of like, okay, when we kind of leave, when we were able to go outside again and be around people, like, this is what I want to show up as, right? Like this is how I plan on, I wouldn't even call it a reinvention. I think it's just an evolution of who I was that into who I was at that time.

15:31And Pinterest was really just a fantastic source of inspiration as we were going through that transition. And just, I've been building off of that ever since. So. It's great for a glow up. great. Oh, a thousand percent. I want to get into trends a little bit because we are kind of at that like perfect time of year where I think people are getting excited about the weather getting warmer. It's about to be festival season, closet clean out era. And then of course we just had fashion month for autumn winter. So there's just a ton of new style inspiration that I think people are really excited about.

16:05And I know you mentioned that Pinterest is really on top of that. how does Pinterest get those trends before they hit the mainstream? Like even for our fashion listeners who are, you know, curious post-fashion month, how does that street, like that kind of stream happen? Well, I, you know, our trendspotting process is really grounded in how people use Pinterest, right? We were just talking about how it's so intentionally used. It's efficient scrolling, which turns out to be a fantastic source, data source for trendspotting because it's driven by people who are planning for their next big thing.

16:44Months, sometimes years. In that case of me exiting the pandemic, in my mind, I was like, oh wait, we're years from that. Didn't know that at the time, but planners are planners, right? And so they kind of give us great insight into what the next big thing will be. And then also from like a data science standpoint, we do apply, I would think, a very rigorous machine learning-backed methodology that enables us to forecast which types of searches or behaviors will continue to grow on our platform. I think the best example of that is through our annual Pinterest Predicts report, which we have been putting out for the past half decade, have an incredible success rate with it.

17:23We've gotten eight in 10 of the trends we predicted every single year right. And again, I think that is really just driven by our data source, right? You use Pinterest so differently than you use any other platform. And that is what helps us really understand kind of these shifts in consumer behavior that we're about to see. And one of the things that I love about our trend spotting process is that it is really grounded in the pinner for the Pinterest user. It's not based off of what one brand is doing or what one influencer is doing. It's really this collective shift in behavior that we're seeing across thousands, tens of thousands of searches across our platform.

18:06So it's very interesting to think that these pinners are the people who are really ahead of the curve because they're thinking ahead of like what the next big moment in their life will be. So right now, festival season is a thousand percent that I believe that people start planning for festival outfits on Pinterest, like at the beginning of the year, right? So I think one of the themes that we've really seen heading into 2025, and this really started even back in 2024, this shift now that we are officially safely able to engage with all the events that we were able to prior to 2020, like festival season, like people are showing up in these very audacious and bold and somewhat maximalist ways.

18:53And Coachella specifically is a very great forum or a place to engage with that into a certain extreme. I think another theme that we're seeing specifically for Coachella Trends is that, you know, people are really tapping into the aesthetics or the vibes that they connect with with their favorite artist, right? So it's not, it's like an aspect of your personal style, but it's like that aspect of your personal style that that specific artist taps into. So it's really, it's so much fun. It's vibrant. It's very joyful. And so I am personally excited to see how all these trends kind of come to life at Coachella.

19:38Interesting. What trends specifically are you seeing that you think are just kind of everywhere right now? So right now, as it pertains to some of the Coachella trends that we're seeing in terms of planning. We have a trend called stereo punk, which is one that I relate really closely to. Actually, I went through a punk era in high school, in college. I think we all had that like, you know, either we were deep in it or we were adjacent to it through wearing just Doc Martens, you know, Doc Martens have never gone out of style. That is very much a part of this trend, but think of it as like cross punk jackets, all leather outfits, plaid skirts, chain belts, Mohawk braids.

20:20And, you know, that's really a connection to, you know, Green Day headlining Coachella, right? You know, it's a way to tap into, I love Green Day. I was a big fan back in the day. And I think that there's a bit of nostalgia associated with some of these trends as well. Nostalgia is huge right now. It's always fun to see how people may reinterpret eras that they maybe weren't an adult and didn't get to engage. And I think this serial punk trend is a great example of that. It's so interesting because I feel like there's such an overlap between entertainment and fashion. Yes. There were so many punk looks that went down the runway in February.

21:06Simkai had a bunch of them, a lot of like kind of like ripped hems. And then even last year, Dior showed in Scotland and the whole show was plaid punk inspired. And it's amazing how these two things always kind of find ways to come together. And I really liked what you said earlier about how a lot of the trends are user generated. And I feel like there's this, there's this frequent conversation in fashion when a runway happens, whether it's New York or Paris, and there's one very obvious trend. People will come together and be like, did all of the designers just like meet up and say that they were going to do that.

21:40But I actually think at the end of the day, they're getting research just like you are of what people are looking up. Like there were so many pins and brooches right now. And that feels so obvious to me post, well, while we're in the midst of like the bag charm era, like people want these like embellishments in their everyday wardrobe that feel really personal to them, kind of leaning into this like maximalist era that you were discussing. Like, I think people really want to be and feel glamorous and embellished, but it's fascinating how these things really tie together. A thousand percent. I mean, I, when we see, you know, all the fashion week moments globally, it's always really amazing to see how some of the trends that we're seeing in our data come to life.

22:27And, you know, I think that the reason why all of this is aligned is that it goes back to how people are feeling in the moment or like what they're trying to seek out through fashion and entertainment moments. Right. It's like a form of escapism. It's a form of experiencing joy, of course. And so like how how are they tapping into engaging with that? Right. And so it's a very it's very interesting to see how, you know, this it this form of maximalism is playing out in the moment. I do think there's this desire for hyper personalization as well. We see that. I think that's, again, why Pinterest is so powerful and why like younger generations, specifically Gen Z, engage with it so much because it gives them a venue to discover themselves or craft out their own identity in a way that no one else can because it is so tuned to your own personal interest.

23:30So I think, you know, the charm trend, the brooch trend, like that is all just like, it's not enough to just have that one items. Like, how do I put my own personal twist on it and my own, on my outfit and my aesthetic? And I think that we're going to be seeing that come through, not just in festival season, but of course for the rest of the year. Because I think that people are, you know, of course, moving away from the micro trend, the fast fashion of it all. and trying to discover new ways that they can really engage with their own personal style. What do you think of micro trends, especially being at a platform where there's just constant inspiration?

24:13I feel like there's probably a lot. Yeah, of course. You know, when we do our trends body, we try to avoid anything that we think might be a fad. It takes us a while to through all of that too, because of course, a lot of it exists really everywhere. But I think that because trends on Pinterest are so personal, the micro trend culture doesn't really trickle in into the platform in ways that it does on some other platforms that we see. It's not like this content overload, right? It's very much like, okay, again, you're only going to see something that you're actually interested in. So even if it's an aspect of a micro trend, right, it's still tuned to your own personal style.

24:59So it's less about engaging with the micro trend wholly. It's like, okay, maybe like for me personally, I know the whole mob wife aesthetic was a huge thing last year, but like leopard print, animal print, of course is huge right now. Not all of that is for me, but there are aspects of it where I'm like, actually, I do have a pair of like leopard jeans from years ago and I haven't worn them. Now I kind of want to let me bring them out because this is something that I know that I like. And it's not because, you know, it's in the moment or it's like, it's more so this is what I care about. And this is what makes me feel good.

25:40Right. So I think micro trend culture is just a byproduct of the rise of like short form video. A hundred percent. I'm so glad you said that. That would be my, that was going to be my next take was like, it's not a, in my mind, like as someone who looks at fashion every day, it's not a real thing. It's just more ideas for people to create more content. So be wary as you're saying like the next micro trend is this, like it's really just, I think more ideas for more content. A thousand percent. And it's, that's again, why like, even if some of that trickles into the Pinterest space, it doesn't impact people in the same way.

26:25Right. Because it's not, it's not just like, let me just serve you all this stuff, this new stuff every single day, every single week. It's like, let me serve you things that are actually meaningful and worthy of your time. That is the key difference. And so it's interesting to be in this space now working in trends. Like I've been working on the Pinterest critics report for a half a decade and the conversation around trends has definitely evolved quite a bit since 2020 when I started at Pinterest. And so, you know, when we, again, when we think about our trend forecasting or trend spotting practices, we are really intentional about making sure it's not noise and that it's driven by a real kind of through line sentiment that we're seeing popping up within this eye geist with the trends that we're seeing in festival season, with the trends that we saw, are we seeing in our Pinterest predicts report as well?

27:21Again, like there is kind of this underlying theme that we're seeing that's driven by boldness, audacity, a bit of nostalgia, but also like we have a few trends that are really community focused, right? But we know those are all topics that are really important right now, right? And so these trends are just kind of the output of these feelings or these kind of overarching themes and topics that people are leaning into at the moment. Is there a trend that you think is going to blow up that people aren't paying attention to yet? You know, that is such an, I don't know if I have an answer to that question.

27:56One of my, one of the things that I'm really curious about specifically as it pertains to Coachella and the lineup with Lady Gaga's new album coming out, Mayhem, I, first of all, obsessed. It's so incredible. It takes me back to the famed monster days, which takes me back to college, college, very different era, but it's, I'm really curious to see like what, what she's going to deliver in that performance and how that is going to kind of influence aesthetics for the rest of the year. I, I, hopefully she goes on tour. I am hoping she goes on tour. She can't not go on tour. The album's so good. And so I'm wondering like with this kind of thing that we're seeing with Coachella and we've seen over the past few years where people are like really overly tapping into the aesthetics that their favorite artists are like performing in like how what she's going to show up as and how that's kind of kind of continue to travel throughout the year as you know her album or her tour as she continues to perform her album hopefully through a tour but that is something to have a mind I think think Think of people like Sabrina Carpenter and how I've never seen more like bouncy blonde blowouts on my TikTok that I have right now.

29:13It's unbelievable. It is. It is incredible. And I don't, you know, I don't think I've ever seen anything like this before. I really don't. And I've really tried hard to think back to like when I was going to concerts growing up. Of course, I wanted it to look great, but I didn't think about I didn't necessarily think about the aesthetic of the artists or the album or the tour that I'm going to. It was just like, I just want to look good. I remember I was in LA a few months ago when Sabrina Carpenter was performing in LA and I was staying at the hotel that was right next to the venue. And I saw all, like, I could tell like, oh, you're here for that concert.

29:52It was very evident. And I just, you know, we're seeing that through all of these tours that are happening right now, people are really tapping into the artist's aesthetic. And so I'm just really curious, again, how that's going to continue to evolve over the summer. And I'm curious to see how it evolves in fashion. I feel like she's worn so many kind of like sequin minis. I've been seeing a lot of that more. But then also I feel like she's been wearing very kind of romantic colorways. Like she wore that gorgeous blue dress to the Grammys. And then all of a sudden that icy blue was everywhere.

30:27So it's incredible to see these big moments really be monumental for fashion. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you so much for being on today. This was so much fun. Of course, this was so much fun. I love hearing truly where, to me, trends are an art form, truly, where they come from, how they take shape in our world, both entertainment, fashion, all the things. So it's so great to hear directly from the source. Thank you so much for having me on. This was so much fun.

31:26Thank you.