Origins of Influence: OscarPRGirl
Inside Erika's Elegant Empire
Long before Instagram stories were dotted with West Village & Williamsburg girlies pushing revolve links and DTC injectable studios, there was a semi-anonymous Upper East Sider with a real job, impeccable taste, and a Twitter account.
Her handle was OscarPRGirl. If you’re younger than I am, you might never have known her, or, known that before Instagram, Twitter had its own sphere of fashion and lifestyle influencers sharing twitpics (I can’t tell you how old typing that just made me feel) and tumblr links.
I say semi-anonymous because her identity wasn’t a secret (real name: Erika Bearman). But, unlike today’s influencers, it wasn’t the point. Bearman didn’t push affiliate links for profit—she shared products because she liked them. Maybe she would’ve done so now, but links were much harder back then. She was simply a product of a different era, someone who’d shoot out a simple Twitter missive that revealed something mundane but useful about her (i.e. she does Bikram yoga to get fit), but would never, ever share anything that was actually, deeply personal (chic). She was one of the first non-celebrity strangers in my personal sphere to ‘influence’ me.
Beyond all of that, Bearman had a job beyond influencing for influencing’s sake. Sure, it was in fashion, but it was still corporate. The snippets she shared from her days behind a desk at Oscar — and the fact that she operated under the moniker ‘OscarPRGirl’ and not her own name tapped into the nascent stages of the ‘corporate fetish’ trend that may have started with the publication of Lauren Weisberger’s books, from The Devil Wears Prada (yes, it was a book first) to Everyone Worth Knowing (yes, it’s just as good as The Devil Wears Prada).
Another thing I loved about Bearman’s online presence: she never tried to be relatable. She was unapologetically glamorous — she presented her life as polished and perfect — and I loved that. I, for one, don’t need relatability from influencers. I’d much rather see a glamorous fashion industry titan don a gown for the Met Gala with her hot husband than I would hear a travel blogger complain about her ‘burnout’ and ask if anyone else could relate. I follow influencers to be inspired. Not to relate. (Pandora Sykes wrote a bit about this years ago for Repeller, and I enjoyed it a lot—but alas, the archives have been scrubbed).
So - as we approach a Fourth of July weekend where we’ll undoubtedly see a cavalcade of influencers in polyester ‘gowns’ from Revolve descend upon Montauk, I’d like to inject all of our lives with a bit of glamour, and bring us back, if only for a few minutes, into the world Oscar PR Girl built for us during the halcyon days of 2009-2012 Twitter and Tumblr.
The content:
The summer style tips:
The beauty secrets: Bikram (she used to tweet about it constantly, and, yes, I tried it in high school because of her), sleep, and not worrying. Will try...
The neighborhood: Tribeca.
The restaurant: Raoul’s.
The bar: Bemelman’s
The other spots & another Carlyle shoutout:
The stylist: Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele (look her up. I’m doing an homage to LUCKY soon, if you knew you fucking KNEW).
The recipe: Looks really good, honestly.
The etiquette tip (via Oscar):
The movie rec: Truth or Dare (I wanna see it).
The TV rec: Downtown Abbey. Still haven’t seen (I need to, I know).
The makeup rec: Metier Blush.
The nail polish rec (a bit rogue, but not entirely averse): Essie Good as Gold.
The skincare routine: Clinique Cleanser, Renee Rouleau Peel, Clarisonic.
The reminder to read your industry trades, whatever they may be:
That’s all for this week (can you tell I’m on vacation).
If nothing else, let this letter serve as your invitation to inject some GLAMOUR AND ELEGANCE back into your days. It can feel hard during the summer (it’s much easier to be glamorous when it’s cold out, because coats are the most glamorous item of clothing there is, but it’s possible).
Here’s how: Go to the ballet! Visit the Cloisters! Read Russian literature! Make a recipe with asparagus, peas, ricotta, and lemon zest (my current hyper-fixation)! Buy this Marni coat! Style camel & light blue together (saw that in the Oscar windows a few months ago & took a pic because I loved it)! Buy an armchair (the most glamorous interior design purchase you can make)! Read the physical newspaper (ideally the FT, because it’s pink and it’s also very good)! Make Oscar PR Girl (AND ME) proud…
Best of luck.
I interned for her in 2012 (sighhh)!
Two things, 1) a gossip girl era awaits us? 2) fierce grace yoga (I’m sure you go)