The Personal Is Political for StyleLikeU

The mother-daughter duo that comprises StyleLikeU was miffed by the representations of bodies and lives which the magazine and fashion industry put forth. While working as a stylist for high falutin publications, Elisa Goodkind frequently witnessed people be forced into a box; their bodies and looks taxonomized to monetize. When her daughter, Lily Mandelbaum, started to battle body dysmorphia and low self-esteem, Elisa decided to make a change. Lily’s multimedia expertise coupled with Elisa’s background in fashion led to the electrifying scenario StyleLikeU puts forth. The team offers a new landscape of media engagement which showcases people living outside of/in spite of harsh norms and dives deeper into what inspires or inhibits self-acceptance.

The pair perpetuates a holistic view of style and sense of self through their YouTube channel and website. They interrogate gender, sexuality, sexism and ageism within certain industries, racism, addiction, mental health, eating disorders, photo retouching, marriage, cancer, and more. Essentially, anything that happens in/to the human form is up for discussion. They publish videos featuring “role models,” a broad category they leave conventional definitions of success and popularity out of, in order to promote “Self-love, diversity, and inclusion.” Their channel, and the multimedia platform they’ve created as a result, applies pressure to the fashion and beauty industries, positioning the two areas as myth makers and self-confidence stealers. Mandelbaum and Goodkind are trying to create the demand that will change this appearance-based supply chain; they’re producing the representation they want to see.

StyleLikeU has about a decade under its belt, with their oldest YouTube upload (public, that is) dating back to May 26th, 2009. The channel started as a way to interview the stylish NYC folks that didn’t make it into magazine spreads, but grew over time. However, the essence of each video is relatively similar. The mother-daughter team simply hold space for people who march to the beat of their own drum and give them a chance to tell their stories. They are intrinsically interested in the person and their life philosophies, not just their clothes. Early videos are labeled as closet tours, but contain advice for finding the right job and anecdotes for leaving that pesky partner. Mandelbaum and Goodkind seemed to have latched onto this narrative thread, turning to profiles of inspirational, and stylish, people around the second year of StyleLikeU. They were flooded with so much content and so eager to share these stories that they published a book cataloguing choice participants and their wisdom in 2011. With even more fruitful conversations behind their backs, the duo set out to learn more about style’s connection to self-love.

The What’s Underneath Project was born out of this need to connect the dots, and has led to an international reception of the channel and duo. This series of videos asks a diverse pool of participants to “strip down to open up,” removing an article of clothing for each question they’re asked or for each story told, putting their identities on display in two subversive ways. The videos take audiences into some of the darkest parts of people’s lives, with some participants choosing to divulge all the details of their trauma in effort to heal and be healed. Mandelbaum and Goodkind ask participants to strip down in order to build them up and finish every video with the question “Why, in your body, is it a good place to be?,” urging participants and audiences to reframe and look at themselves for what they have, not what they perceive they are (or perceived to be) lacking.

You can submit your personal story, or another person’s story (with their consent) to the duo, as well as ask them to visit your school and community. I appreciate how un-exclusive they’ve managed to keep the platform. Their video playlist has everyday people mingling with celebrities and authors and thinkers, highlighting just how universal feelings of low self-esteem and a lack of self-love is. In addition, the pair now travels internationally to host open calls for The What’s Underneath Project, spending a day in a city interviewing people from all walks of life and providing them space for catharsis and deep listening. Mandelbaum and Goodkind have also started a podcast to give choice participants a larger (well, longer) space to voice their concerns and ethics. I have grown to love this platform because it functions in order to change perceptions on which topics are allowed and deemed important enough to talk about in public spaces. StyleLikeU normalizes the pain and processes involved in living in the world by paying attention to the individual.