Instagram Influencers Answer Your Burning Questions Like: When TF Do You Introduce Your Followers to Bae

From Cosmopolitan

Instagram influencers make so much of their lives public, but there are some real behind-the-scenes details most followers never see. Last week, I was surrounded by a resort-full of these social-media mavens who attended a trip to Mexico with me and clothing retailer Revolve, called #REVOLVEsummer.

On Wednesday, we all took over a private beach cove, relaxing and splashing around in the ocean. It was amazing to soak up the sun, but I also took the time to chat with a few of these ladies about Revolve's latest super affordable brand, Superdown, and the side of being an ~influencer~ that most fans don't know. Like, when do you tell your fans you have a significant other and what if, when you introduce them to your followers, they all slide into bae's DMs? Or, how many times do you *really* wear an outfit and WTF do you do with all the clothes you can't fit in your closet?

Madison Pettis, Lottie Tomlinson, and Tatiana Price were kind enough to indulge my queries about fashion and influence—read on to get all the inside details!

You guys live your lives so publicly! So let's start things off real invasive-like: Are you single?

Madison Pettis: Yes.

Lottie Tomlinson: I'm in a relationship.

Tatiana Price: I have a boyfriend.

Okay, so regardless of your current status...how would you go about introducing your followers to the fact that you're in a relationship?

Madison: I've talked to so many girls about this. I know girls who've had a boyfriend for, like, five years, and they've never posted about them—the world has no idea. But then some people like to share those moments! I personally share what I'm doing in my everyday life that's fun and makes me happy. So whenever I'd feel comfortable sharing and storying, I'd do that, but I probably wouldn't do a "This is my boyfriend!" official post.

Lottie: I think once you know it's going to be more of a long-term thing, that's when you do it. When you're still deciding, getting to know each other, I keep it private then.

Tatiana: The best time to introduce a BF to your followers is during the summer—on vacation—because, you know when you go on vacation, it's real. Three days of me, just me! All side situations, they're gone. We're on vacation! That's when it becomes serious, that's when to introduce him.

Fans can sometimes cross the line. Have any of them tried to slide into your partner's DMs in a shady way? How do you react?

Tatiana: First off, I don't tag him. I treat him more like friends and family—if my Dad had an Instagram that was super low key, I wouldn't tag him. If my boyfriend was an influencer, I'd tag him all the time, but he's not. I'm not hiding him or anything, but...the fans find him anyway. And they have slid into his DMs. I'm secure in my relationship—we love each other. We read them together and just laugh at it because it's kind of funny. I don't get it as bad as a lot of other girls do, though. I think if they're really a fan they're doing it in a does-he-really-love-her kind of way, trying to get the inside scoop. But it's like, Dude...

Lottie: I once put one of my fans who had slid into my boyfriend's DMs on my story. I was like, "You know he's with me, like, don't message him!" But, to be honest, he doesn't really get it that badly—but he doesn't check them anymore, either.

Let's talk more about clothes. How many times do you *actually* wear an outfit?

Madison: I'm really bad. If I photograph it and it's a picture that got seen by some eyes, I oftentimes don't wear it again. Especially if it's, like, a moment for a dress, I only wear it one time. But there are pants I've had forever, and shoes, and bags—you keep the staple pieces around.

Tatiana: I have a trick for wearing things more than once and still getting the photo. I will wear an outfit five times—around different people—in five different settings and get five different photos. I figure out which one is best, and then post that one. Like, I can't wear this [points to her yellow tiger-stripe swimsuit] around you guys anymore, but I'll wear it around other people. Outfits that I really, really like, I never take pictures of, so I can keep wearing them over and over again.

Lottie: Once you get a pic in it, you can't wear it again. But I might re-wear single pieces, like jeans, but if it's a proper head-to-toe lewk, just once.

What do you do with all the pieces you get when you're done shooting them? Or even items you get as gifts that you never wear?

Lottie: I do a regular clear-out. The charity shops love me. I'm constantly bringing bags of clothes to them.

Madison: I bring a huge box to my weekly Wednesday girls' night with my friends. They go crazy. They're swatching things, trying on, testing out, trading. They get really excited about it. Whatever they don't want, I donate.

Tatiana: I give a lot of stuff to my best friend. I also have a Depop and I donate a lot of stuff. I try to be conscious of getting too much stuff, though, because I want to be good for the environment. I don't really want to be getting things I'm not going to use or wear, so I'm selective. I'll politely decline if a company reaches out and I'm not into their products. I pick out things I truly like, wear them a couple times, and give them to my best friend.

I'm so happy it's finally summer time! What are you into wearing for summer 2019?

Lottie: I love wearing these crochet sets, like the one I'm wearing now. They're lightweight, you can wear them in the sun and won't feel too hot. I've also got a pair of blue and white striped Superdown denim shorts that I keep wearing all the time. And I'm into this white jumpsuit I got from them that's good for nights out.

Tatiana: Silks! Silk makes you look expensive, it's sexy—you can pair it with jeans, with any print, it works always. I have a green silk tie-front Superdown shirt I love, I actually wore it today. They also have a bandana-looking silk shirt that's so cute. I'm also always accessoried out. I love full jewelry, gold statement pieces, scarves, earrings, bodychains...

Madison: For me, it's all about mini dresses and white sneakers for the summer. I have a white ruffly Superdown minidress that looks great on my tan skin.

All the silks, mini dresses, and striped shorts you could ever want, right this way:

What do you guys have coming up that you're really excited about?

Madison: I just wrapped up season 2 of my Facebook Watch series called 5 Points—it premieres August 5th! The first season was so much fun and I love the cast to death.

Tatiana: I'm just really excited to move from New York to L.A. and then I'm excited to get more into YouTube so I can get really real with people and show more of my personality. Instagram is so glam, but I want to share more of myself with the world than just that.

Lottie: I've got my own tanning brand called Tanologist and we've just launched in America in Target. That's my biggest project at the minute and I'm so excited about it.

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