Derry influencer taking TikTok by storm

PICTURED ABOVE: Yellow ASOS dress - Another yellow number! It’s hard to escape it this time of year and I’m not complaining because it is beautiful! This is a dress from the ASOS design range. I loved the style of this dress with the puffball skirt as there is something so feminine about it. I love the simplicity of the dress as well as I’m someone who loves accessories so with the dress being a bit more plain, I was able to be a bit more heavy handed on jewellery. I also paired it with chunky brown wedged heels (I WISH you could see them in the photo :( ) and a wee brown back to match.

First up in our special series of articles focusing on those lighting up the local fashion scene, we have Niamh Page.

Derry city girl Niamh describes herself as “your online big sister”. The young girl has made a name for herself online with a following of 32.3k followers on TikTok. Niamh connects with her audience through short videos focusing on topics such as ‘Get ready with me’, makeup and food reviews and ‘Spend the day with me’.

The influencer spoke to Aoife McManus about her inspirations, how she got started in the industry, what it takes to make it in the influencer world and her favourite looks of the year.

Influencer: Niamh Page. Instagram: @niamhpagee_ (2k followers). Tik Tok: @niamhpagee (32.3k followers).

Aoife: Tell me a bit about how and why you got started in the industry?

Niamh: Bit of a cliché answer here, but growing up I always had a major interest in makeup and beauty and a passion for fashion (classic BRATZ reference there). In my early teens I had started posting on social platforms like Instagram and YouTube sharing my love for fashion and beauty; it was then that I realised that I loved creating content. I posted for a few years on and off, just creating and posting content for fun, then about two years ago my friends gave me the push to take it more seriously, and so I started posting more consistently, and I haven’t looked back since!

Aoife: What does fashion mean to you?

Niamh: Fashion to me, like it is to most people, is all about self-expression and confidence. When I put on an outfit that feels like me and suits my personality, it makes me feel powerful and like I can take on the world! Fashion can show parts of my personality without even speaking a word, and there’s something magical about that.

Aoife: Who inspires you?

Niamh: My biggest inspirations are Jordan Lipscombe and Sophie Cairns who I both discovered through TikTok and have been following them for years. When I first became really interested in fashion, for some reason I thought I would have to stick to a particular ‘style’ or ‘aesthetic’ of fashion, but Jordan showed me that you could dress like an ultra-feminine romantic girly girl one day and rock the urban/ streetwear look the next.

She showed me that there are no restrictions on fashion or what you wear, as long as you love it and it makes you feel confident, then it doesn’t matter what you wear or where you wear it. I am someone who loves to get dressed up – no matter the occasion but I was always afraid of being overdressed, especially being from a small town, it can be scary to wear something different to everyone else, even if that meant sacrificing my own sense of style.

PLT Yellow co-ord - this is a wee set from Pretty Little Thing (PLT) that I do a lot of work with. When I saw this set, I HAD to have it and apparently everyone else loves it as much as me as I keep getting compliments on it! Including one girl who stopped me in my tracks on my way to work just to ask where it was from. This outfit is the perfect combination of cute and comfortable for when you want to look put together, without sacrificing comfort. It is also that beautiful lemon yellow colour that is soooo in at the minute.

Thankfully, I came across Sophie Cairns on TikTok who I would describe as a chronic overdresser (and I mean that in the best way possible). She doesn’t care in the slightest what anyone else is wearing; she will be dressed to the nines, even if it’s just a trip to Tesco for the weekly shop.

Watching her videos and how happy she was wearing outfits that made her feel incredible inspired me to do the same because, quite frankly, there are too many stunning pieces of clothing out there to be spending 90% of your life in jeans!

Aoife: Who are your favourite brands/designers?

Niamh: Some brands that I really love are PrettyLittleThing as they have a range of fashion from casual to sportswear to occasion wear. They cover all bases for every part of my busy life, 99% of the time, I’m wearing something from PLT.

Another brand I have discovered recently is Thomwood which has quickly become one of my favourite brands, especially for summer pieces. A lot of their pieces are similar to the brand Coast which is another personal fav and an extremely slept on brand! I particularly love the more ‘over the top’ pieces from both brands as they are so unique. I haven’t seen anything like them before and I love having outfits that not many other people have as it gives me a sense of originality.

One of my favourite designers is Aimee Smale – the founder of the Oddmuse brand. She creates timeless pieces which can be dressed up or down. Her designs are so classic and really fit my style as it shows that you can be elegant and ‘trendy’ at the same time, she executes this combo perfectly.

Aoife: Have you worked with any brands and who is your favourite to work with?

Niamh: I have done a lot of work with PLT in the last year as part of their student ambassador programme for university students who have a passion for fashion. They have been really fun and easy to work with.

White floral skirt - This outfit is also from PLT, but I actually owned these pieces long before working with them! I bought the top last year, but I have seen that it has gotten very popular this year as I have seen loads of people wearing it in different colours. This outfit isn’t typically something I would wear, but I was going to a “galentines” event where I wanted to try something a bit more girly. I really wanted to wear the white rose skirt as it was just so dramatic and romantic, I thought it would be perfect! Usually if I’m going for something extravagant on the bottom, I would try to balance it with something more plain on top, but no matter what I tried, nothing was working. I found the corset pictured in the depths of my wardrobe and I thought I might aswell give it a try, I thought it might have been too much because there is a lot going on on the top as well, but it was PERFECT! This outfit is the perfect example that sometimes less isn’t always more!

I have done some work with a lot of smaller, local brands which are always so fun to share with my followers because I love getting the chance to share the work of local people or smaller businesses who don’t always get the publicity they deserve. I have worked with Calculate Clothing, a local athleisure brand with the BEST fleeces in the market, just saying! Also, as a trainee accountant, I love the name of the brand, combining both sides of my personality, fashion, and maths lol!

I have also worked with Get That Trend, a fashion brand based in Donegal that has trendy pieces for daily wear or dressier pieces for fancier occasions. They have so much to offer, they tailor to everyone, no matter your sense of style.

Aoife: What trends are you excited about at the minute?

Niamh: As someone who strictly followed every trend going in my teenage years, I don’t be too fussed on what is trending anymore. That being said, being present in the fashion industry, I am partial to the odd trend.

At the minute, one trend that I am 100% here for is the ‘buttermilk yellow’ trend; it is being described as the colour of the season, and I have fallen victim and I am not complaining!

It is the perfect colour coming into the Spring/ Summer and as someone who doesn’t wear much colour, I can’t stop wearing buttermilk yellow – that shows you just how gorgeous it is. This might be an obvious one, but athleisure fashion, I love the look of making sportswear high-fashion, especially the tailored tracksuits with a pair of chunky trainers, something that is so easy to throw on – and even better, you don’t have to sacrifice style for comfort!

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A post shared by Niamh Page (@niamhpagee_)

Also, the rise of slow and second-hand fashion: I would argue that apps like Vinted and Depop are just as popular as the high-street fashion brands these days. Especially as a student with a sense of style, I like to dress boujee but on a budget. These kinds of apps sell second-hand clothing which are usually in near-perfect condition and very affordable, even for more expensive brands like Rat & Boa, Revolve or Oh Polly, which are very popular brands among students and girls in their early 20’s.

Aoife: What skills do you think you need to be a successful influencer?

Niamh: I feel like this goes without saying, but you need to be creative, this is what makes you and your content unique and different which is exactly what is favoured by the social apps. In a world where thousands of people could be posting about the same topic as you, you need to be creative enough to find a way to add a unique personal twist on the content – that’s what will set you apart from others as well as allowing you to grow your audience.

Probably the most important skill is communication and being able to build relationships online. From a technical point of view, the TikTok algorithm thrives on engagement, so creating content that encourages viewers to interact and replying to comments can really boost your content to wider audiences and grow your online community.

From a consumer point of view, we love to watch relatable people and content, someone we feel we can build a parasocial relationship with. And so, being able to talk to viewers like you are personally speaking to them, like you’re just two best friends on facetime is important. This will get new viewers interested in you and help you build a loyal and fun community of likeminded people to support you on your content creator journey.

Finally, a bit of a boring one but you have got to be able to manage your time well! Most people who start content creation often don’t do it full time when they’re starting out, so they may be studying or have a job or have both, like me! But if you are wanting to take content a bit more seriously, you don’t want to be creating poor quality content for the sake of having something to post, so make sure you set proper time aside when you can so you can show the best version of yourself in your content.

Sparkly star dress - Possibly my favourite of all 4 outfits! This dress is by Coast that I purchased through Debenhams (Coast is a super underrated brand!). I wore this for New Years because you cannot tell me that that dress doesn’t scream New Years! I pride myself in wearing unique and eye-catching outfits and that’s exactly what this dress is! Coast isn’t a brand that a lot of young people buy from, but they should be when this is the kind of clothes they are selling! Also, for us tall girlies, it can be really hard to find short dresses that are long enough to keep us covered - if you catch my drift - and Coast has got us covered in that department (literally). I have purchased a few more of their short dresses since and I always feel safe and secure in the length of their dresses.

What would I tell someone who is thinking of doing it? – Be authentic! It can be really easy to get lost in trends and copying what’s already popular, but what really makes you stand out is being yourself (cliché, I know).

But, when you are doing or talking about something that you find fun and genuinely love, the content comes across as genuine and that’s what builds connections with your audience. Your uniqueness is your greatest strength in this industry! Show up as you are, share what you love, and the right people will find you!

Aoife: What do you love the most about what you do?

Niamh: I love the freedom I have to create and share whatever I want with people who also have an interest or relate to my content. It’s really rewarding to know that you posted something that people found entertaining, informative or relatable, especially when I’m sharing something that I am passionate about. 99% of my experiences have been positive, but there are some drawbacks.

Thankfully, I have been pretty lucky when it comes to working with brands – but I have had brands reach out for collaborations, with a brief discussion and a contract drawn up and they just disappear, that can be really frustrating. Another thing which I have experienced, especially within the last few weeks as I was trying to finish uni and work a part-time job, is that I feel this pressure to constantly be performing, recording, editing, so that I can stay relevant and grow my account.

It’s hard to balance the content creation with other priorities which come before it, but it can be really disheartening to see lack of engagement and interaction because you can’t post or aren’t putting the usual level of effort into your posts.