We all know those two-faced fashionistas hiding behind the façade of their fresh manicures, designer sunglasses & head-to-toe Zara ensemble. They’re the ones who make us feel like their best friend without actually caring about us at all. They make us trust them, confide in them and drink copious amounts of happy hour house wine with them. After all, they’re the closest person to you.

Until they’re not. (Keep your friends close & your enemies closer, right?)

A ferociously two-faced frenemy once (or twice) slithered her way into my life. She was all bougie dinners, endless compliments & good ol’ gossip for the first little while. I let her in full force and introduced her to all my friends, all my industry connections and invited her to every event.

Slowly but surely, she started showing me her true self. (Maya Angelou’s words of advice: “When people show you who they are, believe them.”) A few of my friends warned me about her, but I was blinded by her faux charm. She played me for longer than I’d like to admit, but “I’m stronger than yesterday, now it’s nothing but my way.” (Thank you, Britney Spears.)

How to Spot, Avoid & Deal with Ferociously Two-Faced Fashionistas

Spot them from a mile away

All the signs were there with my ferociously two-faced “friend.” She started asking me to pay for dinners with the promise that she’d pay me back, but she never did. Then she started asking my friends to hang out without me. And then, she started ghosting me at events I had invited her to. The cherry on top is that she once blocked me from her insta stories so I wouldn’t see she was out with other people. Whatever happened to a simple, “I’m so sorry but I can’t make it” text?

Avoid them like the plague

Once you know who they are, you’ve gotta kick ’em to the curb. Even if you think you might have something to gain from their “friendship.” At the end of the day, a friendship should be about a two-way street not two-faced fashionistas. After I called out this girl’s behaviour, she offered to courier me a bottle of Veuve Cliquot (which she never did). Then she stopped talking to me altogether.

Just deal with it

My usual advice is: don’t stress, just block & forget. However, in the case of being used & abused by two-faced fashionistas, I like to leave them with a fierce taste of my leopard lifestyle. So, I recommend to mute & move on. This way they can still see all the fabulous stuff you’re up to and you don’t have to be bored to death with their same old, same schemes. Trust me, it’s the best move for everyone. Also, don’t forget that you can still be friendly without being friends. And most importantly: your future self will thank you for taking the high road.

Ultimately, no one needs two-faced fashionistas in their life—in the same way that Manhattan didn’t need Anna Delvey. It can seem fun at first but don’t forget that they’re extremely bad for you. And to quote Britney again, you’re toxic and I’m not slippin’ under. So, before you end up in poison paradise, do yourself a favour and cleanse them out of your life.

My final piece of advice: be extremely cautious of people whose words don’t match their actions—no matter how glamorous or genuine they look when they say it.

All “Two-Faced Fashionistas” photos by Morgan Craigon.