Why Mina Le’s Vlogs Are Definitely Worth Your Time
From her first YouTube video “Why Atonement (2007) deserved an Oscar for Costume Design” uploaded in May 2020, culture and fashion commentator Mina Le’s patronage continuously grew over the pandemic. Currently, she already earned more than 1 million subscribers on the site.
How It Started
As we are all aware, many people lost their jobs during the COVID-19 outbreak. Regrettably, Le is one of the many. She used to work at a stationary shop but had been laid off. From there, she started crafting and uploading video essays. Her channel turned into an outlet where she shares her knowledge and sentiments. Eventually, it shaped a tight-knit community she addresses as her “beautiful doves” in her videos.
The 25-year-old Vietnamese-American explains in an interview to Nylon, “I was mainly just doing it for fun at that point so I didn’t expect YouTube to ever be a career but when I started getting those numbers, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can actually be paid for this.’”
Passion for Fashion
Mina Le’s YouTube videos span the discussions on the historical accuracy of costume design in mainstream films and series. There are also popular culture commentary and analysis, and even in-depth discourse on gender and sustainability. Although these may seem severe and a drag to watch, she presents it carefully. It is engaging and obviously written in a substantial manner. It sure leaves the viewers with the essence of the discourse that they came for.
For instance, her most popular video titled “TikTok is kind of bad for fashion” tackles “the cult of Shein”. Specifically, how it negatively affects users to consume clothes that are patterned on the fast-paced cycle of trends. While thoroughly researched and factual, her commentaries are not tedious at all. She includes visually pleasing media, memes, and somewhat alike comedic and hip editing.
Her videos are usually framed with an occasionally changing backdrop. It can only be described as tasteful, with frequent visuals and photos to aid her point. Her signature look—thinly drawn arched (over her shaved) eyebrows, blushed cheeks, and roller-curled hair is reminiscent of a 1950s Hollywood-esque look.
Her wardrobe, she explains “…definitely has adjusted drastically over the years because it was only within the last two years that I really became concrete about my style,” which is mostly vintage and secondhand—which only makes sense for her, as a self-taught fashion historian and believer of sustainable fashion.
According to Input, Le’s passion and interest in vintage clothing and fashion had been inspired by her mother who kept clothes that are even 15 years in her possession. She even adopted her mother’s practice of using a bulletin board and magazine clippings to create physical fashion mood boards.
Moving Forward
By this time, there are already countless vloggers out there. However, only a few are remarkable for a good reason. Mina Le sure stood out among the new generation of content creators, as she dedicated her channel to educating her viewers. For sure, checking her out will not waste your time!
