emily mitchell STORY: RACHEL COKER PHOTOS: JADE PARK
“The biggest thing to pique my interest (in fashion) was scoliosis.” They’re not words that fall easily out of the mouths of every fashion vlogger on YouTube. But Emily Mitchell isn’t your average fashion vlogger. The teenage YouTuber, better known as “Thatfashiongirl03” to her 184k followers, is known for her effortless sartorial looks and beauty videos. But she actually gained interest in fashion as a middle schooler with a back brace, craving the normalcy and creativity that came with creating different outfits. “I was diagnosed when I was in 4th grade and wore a back brace for 23 hours a day every day for 5 years,” she shares. “It sucked. My only outlet was taking my brace off for my allowed one hour a day and trying on a million outfits I couldn’t wear with my brace. That’s when I started making videos because I could actually document my outfits and feel normal.”What started as an afternoon escape quickly turned into a full-time hobby as viewers from all over the world began tuning into her vlogs and tutorials.
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The fresh-faced high school student was suddenly spending her weekends and summer breaks making videos that would connect with fans on many different levels. Avid fashionistas just adore her, leaving comments like “Your style is to die for” and “YOU SLAY” all over her stream of outfit videos. But Emily is quick to point out that there is real substance beneath the lipstick and ponytails. “I try to be as open and honest as possible. I don’t like to sugar coat anything because I am definitely not a perfect person, and I don’t think it’s fair to have young girls who look up to me thinking I am.” She shares one interaction in particular that showed just how influential fashion vloggers can be to teenage girls. “I get a lot of messages on Tumblr asking and thanking me for advice, and one of the best one I received was from a girl who said watching my videos quite literally saved her life. I started crying because I would have never thought I would be the reason someone chose to stay alive.