Two Chicago-based fashion bloggers who once counted each other as close friends have found themselves at the center of a bitter viral battle, after one accused the other of ‘systematically’ copying her Instagram posts – a claim which is evidenced by a series of near-identical images across their accounts.
Jennifer Lake who runs the successful blog, Style Charade, took to the social media app last week to announce that she has ‘had enough’ of an unnamed individual posting similar outfit pictures and captions on their own account, effectively copying every aspect of her Instagram from the backgrounds to the poses to the outfits.
‘I’m not talking about just a dress, a pose, a wall, etc. (although there’s that too),’ she explained. ‘It’s about ongoing examples of copying (exact looks, images, and ideas).’
Feud: Chicago-based bloggers Jennifer Lake (left) and Rosie Clayton (right) are two of Chicago’s biggest social media stars, but the two appear to have found themselves at the center of a bitter viral battle
Anonymous: Lake took to Instagram to call out an unnamed blogger who she claims has been copying her for three years, and Chicago magazine exposed Clayton as the copycat
Copycat: Lake accused the unnamed person of constantly copying ‘exact looks, images, and ideas’. Although Clayton has shared pictures very similar to to the ones on Lake’s Instagram page, she denies the accusation
Writing on her blog, she expanded on the subject, telling readers that when someone copies her style so directly, it has a direct impact on how much money she can earn as they ‘rob you of money and campaigns’.
She also added that ‘a small part of your creative soul dies inside’.
‘How do we, as an Instagram, blogging, and online community, protect our creative content and brands?’ Lake concludes in her blog post. ‘We can’t patent our ideas or pages. So how do we fix this? How do we protect each other from this situation happening?’
While Lake didn’t name names, Chicago magazine took it upon themselves to get to the bottom of the drama and did a deep dive into several Instagram account to see if they could find the copycat in question.
Their conclusion? Former friend and fellow Chicago-based fashion blogger, Rosie Clayton is the woman in question.
While Clayton was the first to join Instagram back in November 2011, followed shortly after by Lake who joined in December 2011, Lake now has more followers – 150,000 to Clayton’s 120,000 – and when compared side-by-side, the similarities are strikingly similar.
In a series of snaps pointed out by the magazine, both women can be seen posing against the exact same backdrops, wearing similar colors and styles of clothes.
However, Clayton has denied the accusation, telling Chicago that she is ‘not connected with certain fashion bloggers’ and that she doesn’t have a blog.
She also explained that the clothes she wears in her pictures are on trend, meaning they are popular with ‘many women, not just the two of them’.
But she conceded that because she has less followers, it looked like she was the one doing the copying.
However, Chicago did point out that Lake was the first one to post pun-laden captions first in the spring of 2014, ahead of Clayton who started littering her captions with puns in the fall of 2014.
And in comments section Chicago readers have been quick to draw their own conclusions, asserting that Clayton has in fact copied Lake’s aesthetic.
Not so pretty in pink: Chicago magazine also pointed out that Lake was the first one to post pun-laden captions first in the spring of 2014, ahead of Clayton who started littering her captions with puns in the fall of 2014
Too close for comfort: Both women can be seen posing against the exact same backdrops, wearing similar colors and styles of clothes in many of the photos on their individual Instagram pages
Say what? Some followers have suggested that the pair engineered the fight in order to further their online careers
One person wrote: ‘If you scroll back to through Jenn and Rosie’s Instagram feeds is it clear that Jenn had developed this bold and bright aesthetic first, only to have it mimicked by Rosie shortly thereafter.’
While another said: ‘They both started doing mostly walls in August 2015. They both also posted random shots of walls very sporadically before that, just like literally everyone else on Instagram (they sure as hell didn’t invent the idea of posing against walls).’
For fans who share her outrage, Lake’s advice is simple – ‘give credit where credit is due’ and ‘choose sides’.
She also suggested that people should un-follow accounts that copy other ones, and pleaded with Instagram to step in and resolve the situation.
‘From what I understand, Instagram can’t do anything unless someone is impersonating someone else,’ she wrote on her blog.
‘Not copying content. Instagram gods (if you’re listening) – please consider a policy change for larger instances of systematic copying.’
However, in a plot twist, some eagle-eyed amateur investigators have called out the pair on Jezebel, suggesting the women are ‘in cahoots’ with each other.
‘They were obviously friends who were biting off of each other. Whats more believable: They went on a trip together and one posted before the other (7days) or one saw the picture, bought a ticket to CA, and found the exact same mural to take a picture in front of for the likes,’ wrote one woman.
While another added: ‘I agree. Especially since it switches between who posted first in which location. They have to be talking. How does one or the other get to California or Chicago within a week to copy the other (Lake being based in Chicago it looks like, but they both wound up in Venice/LA)? That’s a lot of work.’